The Swedish Academy awarded Han Kang the Nobel Prize in Literature in recognition of her poetic prose that confronts historical trauma. Han Kang became the first Asian woman to receive the honor, with her novel The Vegetarian having previously won the Booker Prize, though Smith’s English translation sparked controversy. The novel explores protagonist Yeong-hye’s vegetarian choice and her "arboreal desire" as tools of resistance against social norms, as well as the relationship between humans and other living beings. Whether Yeong-hye’s actions constitute resistance to institutionalized violence or mere escapism, and whether her sacrifice is rendered silent, remain subjects for discussion. This paper analyzes the liminality of food and Yeong-hye’s bodily transgressions in The Vegetarian from a liminal perspective, arguing that the novel embodies a neither-here-nor-there liminal quality, reflecting Han Kang’s profound meditation on difference, boundaries, and ethical dilemmas in the coexistence of humans and other life forms.

Meat or Vegetarianism: The Liminality of Food

This section examines the concept of "liminality" and its application in Han Kang’s The Vegetarian. Liminality describes the dynamic relationship between individuals and communities, involving three stages—separation, margin, and aggregation—while emphasizing the ambiguity and multidimensionality of the liminal phase. In the novel, Yeong-hye’s vegetarianism symbolizes her liminal state of detachment from social structures, challenging patriarchy and traditional gender roles. The liminality of food is reflected in notions of purity and personal preference, while Yeong-hye’s rejection of meat is not only a pursuit of autonomy but also a defiance of patriarchal norms. Her actions disrupt traditional family structures, threaten social order, and lead to her marginalization. The novel uses imagery of Korean cuisine to suggest that food preparation and consumption are microcosms of societal boundary systems. Yeong-hye faces scrutiny in communal dining settings for refusing meat, reflecting society’s rejection of nonconformity. Families bear the cultural responsibility of maintaining social expectations, with Yeong-hye’s father attempting to "normalize" her through violence. Her aversion to meat and self-abasement reflect her struggle for identity and agency, ultimately leaving her abandoned by society as a liminal being with nothing.

Anorexia and Schizophrenia: The Liminal Experience of the Body and the Limits of Rationality

The Vegetarian uses food to examine power dynamics and resistance under patriarchy while questioning rationalism. After a suicide attempt, protagonist Yeong-hye refuses meat, and despite taking psychiatric medication, her behavior grows increasingly indifferent to others’ perceptions, leading to diagnoses of anorexia and schizophrenia. Yet those around her describe her as seemingly "normal," suggesting clinical diagnoses of eating disorders may overlook cultural disciplining of female bodies. In the novel, Yeong-hye’s dreams reveal her psychological shifts and repressed trauma, with her vegetarianism and anorexia serving as reflections on and resistance against the inherent violence of carnivorous culture. Her inner turmoil is conveyed through dream fragments, where nightmares about eating meat expose her fear of carnivorous culture and conflicts in self-identity. Yeong-hye’s vegetarianism and anorexia are not merely expressions of sympathy for animals but also an escape from bodily engagement and an attempt to compensate for human harm. Her bodily transgressions aim to break free from oppression but exceed the bounds of rational discourse, leading society to label her schizophrenic. Other characters in the novel also exhibit an inability to distinguish dreams from reality, even displaying symptoms of madness, illustrating how a singular rational model fails to fully grasp human experience and may lead to reductive interpretations of complex phenomena. Han Kang’s liminal writing critiques the limitations of rationalism, advocating for a more holistic understanding of human experience.

Beyond Human Animality: A Plant-like Existence?

This section explores protagonist Yeong-hye’s longing for a plant-like existence in Han Kang’s The Vegetarian, examining how she seeks to transcend human animality by rejecting food and medicine, yearning to merge with nature. Yeong-hye’s actions reflect not only a desire to return to nature but also a commitment to a posthumanist, plant-like existence, which she views as empowering and affirmative. The chapter references French feminist theorist Irigaray’s philosophy of plant life, particularly her co-authored work Through Vegetal Being, which challenges the patriarchal-centric history of Western thought and advocates for coexisting with nonhuman others by recognizing plant subjectivity. Yeong-hye’s behavior in the novel embodies a reconnection with the sensory stimuli and primal existence of the natural world, with the plant kingdom serving as a metaphor for emotional release and self-transformation. However, the plant-like strategies of Yeong-hye’s brother-in-law expose the objectification of the female body by male desire and a distortion of plant poetics. The novel’s open-ended conclusion intensifies the suspended state of Yeong-hye’s transformation into a nonhuman life form, while her sister In-hye’s character development demonstrates a deep understanding of Yeong-hye’s sacrifice and an awakening to ethical responsibility. Through liminal writing in The Vegetarian, Han Kang emphasizes the importance of reflecting on the ethical relationship between humans and other life forms, rather than simplistically transcending human nature.