Vegan Book Club discussion
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The Vegetarian
July 2019: The Vegetarian
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Part One: Thoughts + Comments
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Tessa, Founder + Curator
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Jul 09, 2019 10:39AM
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Hi,I just started it. What really got my attention is the fact that the husband is the narrator, I wonder if we will get her point of view in the future.
I have also found interesting the description we get from her, as a person without a personality, so boring and nondescript, and the fact that this is what he seems to like about her, a woman that is not going to stand out, until she becomes vegetarian and that's what makes her special (first line). Is her becoming vegetarian an act of rebellion?? I wonder what will come in the next pages ...
Spoilers:
We do get her point of view. I just finished part one. What a disgusting family!
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- First, I'm trying to figure out how I feel that the story is told mostly though other people's POV. I want to hear more from Yeong-hye. Also, her husband loves to go on and on about how uninteresting she is...but he's just as boring? Has he even bothered to do anything to draw her out? Maybe she is just mirroring his total lack of interest?
- A line that caught my attention: when discussing reasons for becoming vegetarian, he says "Of course, Buddhist priests who have taken certain vows are morally obliged not to participate in the destruction of life, but surely not even impressionable young girls take it quite that far." Guess I'm worse than an impressionable young girl!
- I love how everyone becomes an expert on health and nutrition as soon as they learn she has given up meat...that is so accurate. Some things transcend cultures. Maybe focus on her mental well-being instead if you really cared.
- And can we talk about how completely selfish the husband is? He doesn't seem to want to take responsibility for himself, (view spoiler). What an awful person.
- For a moment, I was happy with her father. He says "if you intend to follow a vegetarian diet you should sit down and draw up a proper, well-balanced meal plan," which is true! But he quickly ruins that image. Ugh.
Yeong-hye's husband and family infuriates me. Some might mean well, but I'm pretty sure her husband only cares about how everything affects him instead of his wife's health. I'm worried about her and am curious to see how things play out.
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I just started it. What really got my attention is the fact that the husband is the narrator, I wonder if we will get her point of view in the future.
I have also found interesting the descrip..."
I would love if we got more of her perspective! But I do think it's an interesting narrative technique. There's so much we can miss with only those brief moments with her POV.
Her vegetarianism is definitely an act of rebellion in my opinion, whether she originally intended it to be or not. It's her moment to think and act for herself instead of everyone else around her. I just hope she becomes healthier as the book progresses.
I totally agree with you, the writer plays with different POV so that we really want to know what is going on her head, her silence helps us see what the people around her are like, wouldn't you agree? I find her character as a really passive one, don't you think so? I really want to finish the book to see if we get an answer to all these questions.She enjoys being naked and becomes a vegetarian, is she trying to get closer to nature? What do you think the meaning /symbolism (if any) is? Could it be a reference to the opposition nature (she) vs culture and tradition (the family)?
Everybody really becomes an expert on nutrition, we all have been there, haven't we? The scene at the table is quite violent, I was shocked about them trying to force-feed her and some of them even collaborated with it. I felt really bad while reading it as I found it really violent.
I also agree with your description of the husband as selfish, did he want a partner or a flowerpot? He definitely rapes her, he doesn't really care about her.
What do you think of her sister? A woman who, in a patriarchal society, supports her husband, an artist without income. She is the breadwinner but is depicted as submissive and hardworking. I'm curious about her, too.
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- Yes, I agree. I'm hoping as the novel goes on, she becomes less passive. We're seeing signs of that though, don't you think? Fighting against her husband, fighting against her father. Almost as soon as we meet her, she's vegetarian and sick and too thin...we only get a brief glimpse of what she was like before (she was an excellent cook, she reads a lot, she has a job) - I wonder what else we miss? What made her so passive? Her family, society in general...?
- Yes! I think it's totally about her (women in general?) going against society and traditions. I'm not super familiar with South Korean traditions, but based on what I've read so far, it's very patriarchal/sexist, so a woman doing anything different from the norm must be a big deal.
- The scene with her family was horrible! Even at the hospital at the end of this section, when her mother came and tried to trick her into eating meat, masking it with herbs and calling it medicine...if only Yeong-hye had kind and supportive friends, since her family clearly is neither.
- Ooh, the sister and her husband are interesting! What must his family think of her being the breadwinner? Wouldn't that be a disgrace, considering how submissive the women clearly are?
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- First, I'm trying to figure out how I feel that the story is told mostly though other people's POV. I want to hear mor..."
Ugh, yes, totally agree. No one forced him to marry her if he thinks she's so boring and doesn't even like her. He chose to do that. And there's that bit where he wakes up late and is so mad at her because she didn't wake him up, as if I'm supposed to feel bad for him. Yeah, no thanks. Take some responsibility for your own life and actions. Time and time again, he proves that he is just a bad husband and bad person. Clearly, Yeong-hye is in some sort of pain, and he only cares about how it affects him because he's not getting what he wants and/or is used to. He's so gross.
Ayoola wrote: "Marga wrote: "I totally agree with you, the writer plays with different POV so that we really want to know what is going on her head, her silence helps us see what the people around her are like, w..."Yes, you are right, she's resisting, I mean that she's not acting like the other characters, she stays at home, she doesn't work (as far as I know, even though she had 3 jobs if I'm not wron, at the beginning of the novel). She was really active in the knife scene. And that makes me really curious about what is going on in her mind. She has that power over me.
