I finished reading Han Kang's ‘The Vegetarian’ in March, but I am still digesting it in May. It has been a confounding read, it indicates to be one thing and then morphs into something unexpected.
I picked up the book knowing well in advance that ‘vegetarianism’ is not the focus but rather a plot device to highlight the conflict between individual choice and the pressure of a conformist society. On surface food choices may seem innocuously personal but food is a shared experience. It has a strong social component, therefore the choice of a woman to embrace vegetarian lifestyle in a predominately meat-eating, conformist, patriarchal Korean society can set the stage for a conflict.
The precipitation is sudden, there is a dream, a gory dream and overnight our protagonist, Yeong-hye decides to quit eating meat. The book doesn’t give a real voice to the protagonist, there is no trajectory to follow her from point A to point B. The aftermath is narrated from the viewpoint of the husband who is confounded by the sudden change.
The precipitation is sudden, there is a dream, a gory dream and overnight our protagonist, Yeong-hye decides to quit eating meat. The book doesn’t give a real voice to the protagonist, there is no trajectory to follow her from point A to point B. The aftermath is narrated from the viewpoint of the husband who is confounded by the sudden change.
Hers is a silent rebellion against the idea of a good wife who cooks to please the husband. Hers is a silent rebellion against the idea of good daughter who fulfills her marital duties to honor her parents. I can fathom this angst but her rebellion goes beyond her social construct and morphs into grotesque violence on herself. She quits meat and spirals towards physical disorders and gets diagnosed with anorexia and schizophrenia. This makes you question her motivation. Her decision is not an act to emphasis her choice to live life on her terms. Hers is a different choice, she chooses to renounce "the very life that her body represented".
I didn’t see that coming..
The other thread of narration is from the viewpoint of Yeong-hye's elder sister. I see the role of the elder sister in the nature of ‘compare and contrast’, best summed up in her moment of reflection :“She was no longer able to cope with all that her sister reminded her of. She’d been unable to forgive her for soaring alone over a boundary she herself could never bring herself to cross, unable to forgive that magnificent irresponsibility that had enabled Yeong-hye to shuck off social constraints and leave her behind, still a prisoner. And before Yeong-hye had broken those bars, she’d never even known they were there…”
At this point, I wonder if ‘renunciation’ and ‘escapism’ in the face of oppressive norms and expectations is the theme we are building towards. But may be not, because in this ostensible bleak and defeatist setting there is one recurring theme-the pursuit of the protagonist to live more naturally and free. Her decision to become vegetarian was almost literal, she wants to 'become vegetation.'
She is repulsed by her human form associated with cruelty, it oppresses her soul. She feels natural ease and happiness at having leaves painted on her naked body. She wants to internalize that display. In the mental care facility she stands still like a tree hoping to transform into one.
She aspires for a different life and dies in pursuit of that freedom. To understand her psyche, one needs to feel from the heart and empathize with her.
Yet I am unsure about my own feelings for her..
We don't hear her narrative, we try to interpret her through her dreams, through her interactions with the people around her. However all her actions ultimately tie up to the one question she asks of us towards the end: Why, is it such a bad thing to die?” and a part of me is unable to reconcile the violence of her choice.
The other thread of narration is from the viewpoint of Yeong-hye's elder sister. I see the role of the elder sister in the nature of ‘compare and contrast’, best summed up in her moment of reflection :“She was no longer able to cope with all that her sister reminded her of. She’d been unable to forgive her for soaring alone over a boundary she herself could never bring herself to cross, unable to forgive that magnificent irresponsibility that had enabled Yeong-hye to shuck off social constraints and leave her behind, still a prisoner. And before Yeong-hye had broken those bars, she’d never even known they were there…”
At this point, I wonder if ‘renunciation’ and ‘escapism’ in the face of oppressive norms and expectations is the theme we are building towards. But may be not, because in this ostensible bleak and defeatist setting there is one recurring theme-the pursuit of the protagonist to live more naturally and free. Her decision to become vegetarian was almost literal, she wants to 'become vegetation.'
She is repulsed by her human form associated with cruelty, it oppresses her soul. She feels natural ease and happiness at having leaves painted on her naked body. She wants to internalize that display. In the mental care facility she stands still like a tree hoping to transform into one.
She aspires for a different life and dies in pursuit of that freedom. To understand her psyche, one needs to feel from the heart and empathize with her.
Yet I am unsure about my own feelings for her..
We don't hear her narrative, we try to interpret her through her dreams, through her interactions with the people around her. However all her actions ultimately tie up to the one question she asks of us towards the end: Why, is it such a bad thing to die?” and a part of me is unable to reconcile the violence of her choice.
