Consuming Women: Patriarchy, Objectification, and the Politics of Meat Refusal in the Vegetarian

Abstract

This article presents a critical ecofeminist and posthumanist interpretation of Han Kang's The Vegetarian, examining how the novel reveals the existence of patriarchal structures in conjunction with other vices, including consumption, objectification, and the rejection of one's body. The paper analyses certain narrative lines such as marital oppression, family pressure, sexual objectification, and violence in institutions to illustrate how Yeong-hye's abstention from meat is a radical act of moral and political resistance in a society where gender is       a crucial factor. The transformation from human to the vegetal is explained by the author as the character's way of dealing with the accumulated trauma and trying to regain control over her body in a way that transcends patriarchal power. The research shows that the power of patriarchy works both in personal relationships and at the level of   institutions, making use of the metaphors related to consumption. Meat refusal is a novel way of subversion which unsettles patriarchal values, but at the same time makes the dissenter an object of harsh social criticism. The study concludes that Yeong-hye’s arboreal transformation represents a transgressive identity that is no longer human, where freedom, opposition, and self-denial intersect in intricate and ambiguous ways. This research contributes to global feminist literary scholarship as it highlights the issues of gendered violence, food politics, trauma, and ecofeminist ethics, which are well connected with the novel's political, ethical, and aesthetic resonances