Aiming
to explore the interplay between human psyche, vegetal existence, and the
traumatic processing in Han Kang’s The
Vegetarian, the thesis employs the theoretical framework of Michael
Marder’s plant thinking and Lacanian psychoanalysis to delve into how the
resistant possibility is developed by the arboreal embodiment, transcending the
human symbolic order in the novel.
The
first chapter provides a theoretical framework by reviewing trauma
theory and plant studies, while emphasizing the distinct contributions that
Michael Marder’s plant theory and Lacanian psychoanalysis can make to the
analysis of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian.
Through the integration of Lacan’s concept of the Borromean knot, objet a,
trauma and fantasy, and Michael Marder’s highlight on plant-thinking as a
non-cognitive, non-representational mode of thinking, with the potential to act
as an alternative to traditional human-centric rationality and consciousness,
this chapter seeks to bridge the gap between these two disparate fields and proposes
a novel approach to understanding how plant philosophy could connect with
psychoanalysis and trauma theories.
The
second chapter delves into the brother-in-law’s grappling with the political
trauma of the May Massacre in Korea. Utilizing Lacanian concept of fantasy,
trauma, objet a, and the Borromean knot, this chapter examines the
brother-in-law’s obsession over Yeong-hye’s Mongolian mark, his fantasy of
vegetal sex and his distinct perception of Yeong-hye’s conversion into
vegetarianism, differing from the other family members. Through the mediation
of Yeong-hye’s role in the brother-in-law’s trauma processing, the chapter
explores the employment of Lacanian psychoanalysis in the particular
socio-political context, and the linkage between personal and political
traumatic experiences. This linkage further contrasts the brother-in-law’s
traumatic loop in the symbolic order permeated by the patriarchal violence, to
Yeong-hye’s vegetal transformation as an alternative response beyond
anthropocentric logo-centric order.
The
final chapter focuses on Yeong-hye’s process of vegetal fantasy and vegetal
transformation, through the lens of Lacanian psychoanalysis and Michael
Marder’s plant theory. This chapter probes into the trauma represented in her
fragmented dreams and memory, her rejection of meat, and most importantly, how
her embodiment of “plant thinking” echoes with Lacan’s sinthome, enabling her
to traverse the fantasy and consist of a unique mode of ethical resistance.
To
conclude, the thesis seeks to examine the question of how the vegetal
transformation acts as a primary traumatic response in Han Kang’s The Vegetarian and its embodied
resistant possibility. Through the synthesis of theoretical frameworks of
Lacan’s psychoanalysis and Michael Marder’s plant philosophy, the thesis
analyzes and compares the different traumatic processing, therefore consequences
for the brother-in-law and Yeong-hye, in order to offer further insight into a
new model of plant-based trauma healing.
