Power, Patriarchy and the Post-Human Subject: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian

Abstract

Han Kang’s The Vegetarian navigates elements of ecofeminism and patriarchal hegemony. Drawing upon insights from posthuman literary theory and Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA) of the text, this article critically analyzes the roles of sovereign (family) and disciplinary (institutional) in moulding the main protagonist Yeong-hye into a societally acceptable subject, and contends that her wish to transform into a plant is a manifestation of her desire to escape from these superstructures of power by becoming a post-human entity. Yeong-hye’s vegetarianism is rejected by patriarchal and societal forces and efforts of the sovereign power of the family to ‘correct’ her remain unsuccessful. When this fails, she is submitted to the disciplinary power of

the psychiatric facility to fix her vegetarianism which is considered an “abnormality” in the meat- loving culture of South Korea. Yeong-hye loses touch with reality and her post-human wish to

turn into a plant becomes her final means to escape all human forms of discipline and punishment.

Hence, Yeong-hye’s rejection of meat is a rebellious anthropocentric decision that calls for a post- human resistance against human-created power structures.