A resistance to patriarchy in Han Kang’s the vegetarian

Abstract

This paper explores resistance to patriarchy in Han Kang’s The Vegetarian from a feminist perspective. A woman making a choice on her own in a patriarchal society is largely a matter of suspicion and more importantly a rejection of male chauvinism. Women’s choices are based on the patriarchal doctrine and if they trespass the boundary, either they are considered as a ‘mad-woman’ or they are discarded from their iconic position as ‘good-woman.’ Han Kang’s The Vegetarian articulates a similar issue, portraying Yeong-hey, the protagonist who becomes vegetarian after seeing a brutal and bloody dream. Her choice is never considered to be valid nor is she treated humanely. When she gradually loses her mental control, she rejects the patriarchal values by disobeying her husband and father and also engulfs herself in social taboo. With this in mind, this paper investigates the woman’s action or the performative resistance against male chauvinism in light of Judith Butler’s notion of performativity and Rosi Braidotti’s concept of becoming a woman. Focusing on the protagonist—Yeong-hye, the study inspects women’s choices to overcome the patriarchal notion of women’s subjectivity. In doing so, it claims that locating women in societal discourse demands a restless stand on their choice which gives pace to their retaliation and consolidates the process of becoming a woman. This study discloses the construction of gender as a matter of choice that continuously wrestles against patriarchal forces. Moreover, it unpacks that women achieve alternative positions in human society that defy the patriarchal regulation by embodying self- reflexivity, if they are not considered as the subject themselves. Keywords: patriarchy, conventions, dominance, subjectivity, self-reflexivity, and embodiment