Christi Nash answers “Am I the only numb nuts that didn't get...”

Angie Annetts asked this question about The Vegetarian:

Am I the only numb nuts that didn't get the ending?

Christi Nash SPOILER ...I'm pretty sure she abandoned her son because she knew she wasn't capable of raising him after what the men in her life had done to herself…moreSPOILER ...I'm pretty sure she abandoned her son because she knew she wasn't capable of raising him after what the men in her life had done to herself and her sister. There's a passage in the book where she experiences guilt that her innocent son is trying to make her laugh and bring her out of her depression, and I think there's so much complexity going on here, not just "the things men do to women" but the role women play as mothers (among other things) in shaping men into what they are. If it is an allegory for South Korea, as well, I believe that the adult males who are authoritarian/rapists/exploiters/sexually selfish and so forth must be a representation of North Korea. That's also a possibility for why the broken women are alone at the end. (less)

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