Transforming Veganism: The Intersection of Sexism and Speciesism in Han Kang’s The Vegetarian

Abstract

Since its publication in 2016, the English translation of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian has sparked multiple interpretations concerning the protagonist’s dietary and behavioural transformation. Magdalena Zolkos challenges interpretations where the protagonist is portrayed as mentally instable or psychotic. She argues that the plot is hopeful in essence and explores possibilities of escaping patriarchal societies in which meat plays a vital role. I will argue that the novel’s ambiguous ending allows for a reading that is more cynical. To this end, I will use both Caitlin Stobie’s postcolonial posthumanist reading of the novel as well as The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol Adams. The former problematizes comparisons between the oppression of non-human animals and that of human beings. I argue that the protagonist’s realization of the similarities of oppression in general might put something in the way of this problematization. To delineate the discourse perpetuated by the protagonist’s husband and family members, Derrida’s ‘phallogocentrism’ will be used alongside Adams’ concept of the texts of meat. Firstly, I give a feminist-vegetarian reading of the novel, analysing key passages as they occur throughout the book. Then, I situate the most important male characters of the novel as allegorical for different types of oppressive discourse. Lastly, I reflect upon the transformation of the protagonist to see whether the novel’s ending puts forward a more optimistic or pessimistic interpretation regarding the possibilities of ending oppression towards non-human animals, women, and people of colour.