"Eating and Being Eaten": The Construction of Female Subjectivity in The Vegetarian and The Edible Woman

Abstract

Han Kang’s The Vegetarian and Margaret Atwood’s The Edible Woman both explore the theme of "eating" and "being eaten," symbolising the loss and resistance of female subjectivity. Despite their different cultural contexts and divergent plots, the two works exhibit a common thread: using "eating" as a means to rebel against "being eaten." In each novel, the heroines experience a progression from loss of subjectivity—to struggle through food metaphors to reclaim subjectivity—to the rebuilding of their subjectivity. The comparative analysis reveals three contrasting pairs of resistance strategies shaped by cultural context: internalised vs. externalised rebellion, family-centric vs. individual-centric identity, and punishment vs. acceptance by society. These differences underscore how deeply cultural factors influence the process and outcome of constructing female subjectivity.