Abstract
This paper reinterprets classical myths in Han Kang’s The Vegetarian (2000) and Agustina Bazterrica’s Tender is the Flesh (2017), focusing on themes of violence, consumption, and patriarchal dominance. Drawing from feminist theory, particularly the works of Judith Butler and Luce Irigaray, I explore how Yeong-hye’s transformation in The Vegetarian parallels Daphne’s metamorphosis, illustrating the female body’s resistance to male control through self-erasure. Similarly, Tender is the Flesh reframes the myth of Zeus and Metis within a dystopian framework that aligns with Michel Foucault’s concept of biopower and Giorgio Agamben’s homo sacer, highlighting the institutionalized objectification and consumption of human bodies. The novel’s portrayal of cannibalism also evokes Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection, wherein the boundaries between self and other, human and animal, are violently disrupted. Through the lens of myth, these contemporary narratives from South Korea and Argentina reconfigure ancient paradigms of dominance and systemic oppression, demonstrating how consumption—both literal and symbolic—operates as a mechanism of patriarchal control. By reimagining mythic violence, The Vegetarian and Tender is the Flesh expose the entanglement of suffering, desire, and survival, ultimately revealing the inescapable consequences of a world where bodies, particularly female bodies, are rendered sites of power and subjugation.
Presenters
Rafaela Fiore UrizarProfessor of Spanish and Latin American Studies, Department of Languages and Cultures, California Lutheran University, California, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Mythology, Systems of Oppression, Violence, Female Body, Literature
