<![CDATA[Structural violence and patriarchal domination remain significant threats to women’s existence, particularly within collective societies. This study examines Han Kang’s novel, The Vegetarian, to investigate the protagonist’s radical transformation as a response to systemic oppression. While existing research often focuses on psychological or feminist perspectives, there is a lack of analysis regarding how structural violence materially produces a new subjectivity through Catherine Malabou’s theory of destructive plasticity. This qualitative study employs a thematic approach to analyze the novel, complemented by a biographical approach to trace the author's life trajectory through secondary data, specifically published written interviews with Han Kang spanning from 2016 to 2024. The analysis suggests that Yeong-hye’s transformation constitutes an "ontological accident" triggered by latent childhood trauma and domestic objectification. This process produces a "New Wounded" subject who adopts a vegetal identity to achieve total detachment from a world perceived as inherently violent. Furthermore, the study posits that the erasure of Yeong-hye’s voice reflects South Korea's socio-legal and patriarchal structures, representing a strategic choice to highlight the subject’s alienation. Ultimately, this research concludes that becoming non-human constitutes a radical political act of extraction, allowing the subject to exist beyond the reach of patriarchal jurisdiction.]]>
Copyrights © 2026
