TITLE:
The Generation of Tragic Pleasure and the “Goblin Complex”: A Case Study of Guardian: The Lonely and Great God
AUTHORS:
Yi Zhou
KEYWORDS:
Tragic Pleasure, Mimesis, Goblin Complex, Aesthetic Distance, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.14 No.7,
July
29,
2026
ABSTRACT: This paper argues that the enduring “Goblin complex” generated by the Korean drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God is rooted in the tragic pleasure that viewers obtain from the work. Through a triple nested tragic structure-the tragedy of fate in the Goryeo period, the tragedy of love in the present, and the eternal tragedy projected into the future-the drama artistically imitates serious action, shapes characters and thoughts that reveal a spirit of resistance in the face of suffering, successfully arouses pity and fear, and realizes catharsis through the characters’ sublime choices under the pressure of fate. Drawing on Aristotle’s theory of tragedy and Zhu Guangqian’s account of tragic pleasure, this study further examines how the drama strengthens tragic emotion and contributes to the pleasure of formal beauty through its objects, media, and modes of mimesis, especially by constructing aesthetic distance and designing aesthetic moments. The analysis shows that the perfect integration of content and form in Goblin produces a multilayered, intense, and lasting experience of tragic pleasure. Taken as a textual-aesthetic account rather than an empirical model of audience response, this mechanism helps illuminate how the “Goblin complex” may exceed mere nostalgia and romantic longing and sustain durable artistic appeal.