“The Vegetarian” is a novel about the transformation of a woman named Yonghe into a plant. A woman's use of her rights other than just being a wife, a mother or a child is not accepted by the society and is exposed to violence.

The book consists of 3 parts:

Vegetarian, Mongolian Stain and Flame Tree. The fact that the stories are told not by the main character but by those around her actually allows us to better realize Yonghe's extraordinary and fragile transformation. As soon as you start reading the story of Yonghe, who stopped eating meat after being influenced by a dream she had, it becomes clear that it is not an ordinary vegetarian story.

First Chapter of the Book: Vegetarian

This episode is narrated by Yonghe's husband. Yonghe is an undesirable, unrespected wife who only does the housework for her husband. She is actually making a revolution by choosing vegetarianism. Han Kang, the South Korean-born author of the book, criticizes the institution of marriage dominated by sexually oppressive men. Throughout the story, the only place Yonghe expresses herself is in his dreams. It's as if he wants us to understand her only by her body language and revealing his nakedness.

Part Two of the Book: The Mongolian Stain

This stain that occurs on the butts of newborns is mostly seen in South and Southeast Asian peoples, North and Central Asian Turks, but it disappears on its own within a few years. This birthmark, which has not been erased over the years and which Yonghe still carries on her butt, is one of the strong symbols in the novel. Considering its racial and psychological impact, this stain appears in the novel as a symbol that refers to both vegetal connotations with its resemblance to a flower and the racial factors of people who are exposed to violence. In the novel, Yorghe's mother force-feeding her and her father's insulting and violence make us think that she has turned into a little baby. Although the feelings that her older sister's husband have for Yorghe do not evoke sexuality, even though it seems like an artistic work reminiscent of Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings and integrating nature and woman, we observe that Yonghe is still subjected to patriarchal pressure.

Chapter Three of the Book: The Flame Tree

The narrator of this episode is Yonghe's older sister Inhe. Yonghe chooses to be a plant as a reaction against human barbarism. The fact that this woman, who stopped wearing a bra and almost performed photosynthesis by holding her bare breasts to the sunlight, wanted to take root in the ground like a tree and not be fed, but only watered, is described as a mental illness by her environment and causes her to be admitted to a mental hospital. Although Yonghe's effort to turn into a plant throughout the story is the reason he wants to escape human cruelty, this is perceived as insanity by society.

Conclusion

Completing the metamorphosis of a woman with three stories, Hang Kang reveals the difficulties faced by a woman who makes her own choices and breaks taboos with the character she creates, and we witness a passive existential conflict in the face of these overwhelming authorities.

Just one of the disturbing stories we come across in the real world is The Vegetarian. It gives people the chance to question what choices life brings about happiness. He reminds that those who defend their elections to the end can be put in a mental hospital or a prison.

I recommend reading this novel.

With love…