Part Two: Thoughts + Comments

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

Share your thoughts on Part Two of The Vegetarian here!

[Marga]

What are your thoughts about the body painting and the flowers?

What do you think about her attitude towards sex?

I don't like her brother-in-law at all, I'm curious about her sister's reaction.

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

Okay, part two was...something.

I was struck by Yeong-hye having more of a voice in this part. She still doesn't talk a lot, but she says more overall. I wonder if this is because of her time in the hospital or something else. Is she just doing better, health-wise, and willing to speak more? Or is it just because of the change in narrator? If her husband found her so uninteresting, he probably viewed anything she said to be unimportant.

I was happy the paint/flowers made Yeong-hye feel better, safer, but I hate how her brother-in-law exploits that. I mean, he clearly takes advantage of his wife too. It really bothers me how the men act in this novel.

Yeong-hye's sister is interesting. At times she comes off as cold, but we're also talking about a woman who is not only the breadwinner and running a business but also taking the majority of responsibility for a child. Early on in this part, it really struck me when the narrator says "She was even grateful that he let her take on so much responsibility, running a business as well as a household, without so much as a word of complaint." Like...he gets off scot-free (well...until the end of this part), and she's the grateful one?

With how part two ends, I've very curious for part three. With the book almost over, I feel like I still have so many questions.

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

Marga wrote: "What are your thoughts about the body painting and the flowers?

What do you think about her attitude towards sex?

I don't like her brother-in-law at all, I'm curious about her sister's reaction."

My problem with the body painting and flowers is Yeong-hye's brother-in-law. He just appears to be exploiting her. I know she enjoyed the flowers and feels safe with them on her body, but the brother-in-law's behavior is gross.

Her attitude towards sex was a bit confusing to me. She said it was the flowers that made her want to have sex with J, that she never really wanted it before...and she quickly has sex with her brother-in-law because of the flowers...and then she bursts into tears and begs him to stop...but then talks to him almost as if nothing happened before falling asleep. This section left me feeling like I'm missing something important.

I will say I am tired of her saying "no" and "stop" getting completely ignored by the men in her life.

Her sister's reaction at the end of part two seems a bit extreme, but I also feel like it's been a long time coming. She and her husband don't seem to be a good match, and I think he's been pushing her and pushing her, so she's finally doing something.

[Marga]

I didn't understand the flower part. How does her brother-in-law come up with the idea of the flowers? What does it have to do with the bruise on her back?
I understand that she likes the flowers and the sex appears as a way of communion with nature, this is what I understood, but I think it was a bit far-fetched.
The sex scenes are disgusting, she doesn't enjoy them.

If her sister doesn't leave his husband, she will run out of energy, this type of people, who let others have all the responsibilities, are "energy vampires", in my opinion.

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

Marga wrote: "I didn't understand the flower part. How does her brother-in-law come up with the idea of the flowers? What does it have to do with the bruise on her back?
I understand that she likes the flowers a..."

Was the Mongolian mark shaped like a flower? I think that was mentioned somewhere, or that it reminded him of one. To me, the Mongolian mark seemed to just be the catalyst for him and his obsession. Yeong-hye was the perfect target/subject because she was already vulnerable.

[Marga]

Yes, I think that the Mongolian mark (first time I heard about it) reminded him of a flower but I can't see the connexion, sorry. She was the perfect target, I agree, she was not ok and became easy prey.

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

Marga wrote: "Yes, I think that the Mongolian mark (first time I heard about it) reminded him of a flower but I can't see the connexion, sorry. She was the perfect target, I agree, she was not ok and became easy..."

Yeah, I'm not entirely sure either. I know the idea came to him in a dream, but I couldn't find any other reason. Flowers usually represent growth and death, but I'm not sure if that's a connection the brother-in-law was making.

I hadn't heard of the Mongolian mark either and had to look it up. There's likely some cultural significance that I might be missing regarding it.

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

Ayoola wrote: "Tessa wrote: "Marga wrote: "Yes, I think that the Mongolian mark (first time I heard about it) reminded him of a flower but I can't see the connexion, sorry. She was the perfect target, I agree, sh..."

Oooh, now that you mention it, that makes so much sense! I hadn't even thought of that. I just read up really quickly on Korean beauty standards and saw that standards have focused more on being cute and innocent in recent years. So that could be related to this.