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Meat represents human capacity for violence against which Yeong-hye is rebelling. This is most notably seen in the first section of the book, in which Yeong-hye envisions herself killing some kind of animal and eating its meat raw. These dreams become allegories for the fact that Yeong-hye wants to avoid being abused and sexually consumed by people like her father and her husband Mr. Cheong, but also the fact that she wants to avoid causing this same kind of harm. Subsequently, she decides to throw all of the meat out of the house in an effort to live a less harmful life. There are also several instances in which dead animals (like the dog and the white bird in the first section) become symbolic of Yeong-hye herself as she worries about falling victim to the same fate. Yeong-hye’s desire over the course of the novel to live more like a plant than an animal can also be understood as a desire to lead a more innocent life.
Meat Quotes in The Vegetarian
The The Vegetarian quotes below all refer to the symbol of Meat. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1: The Vegetarian
Quotes
“Have you lost your mind? Why on earth are you throwing all this stuff out?”
I hurriedly stumbled my way through the plastic bags and grabbed her wrist, trying to pry the bags from her grip. Stunned to find her fiercely tugging back against me, I almost faltered for a moment, but my outrage soon gave me the strength to overpower her.
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In that barn, what had I done? Pushed that red raw mass into my mouth, felt it squish against my gums, the roof of my mouth, slick with crimson blood.
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“I couldn't let those things stay in the fridge. It wouldn't be right.”
How on earth could she be so self-centered? I stared at her lowered eyes, her expression of cool self-possession. The very idea that there should be this other side to her, one where she selfishly did as she pleased, was astonishing. Who would have thought she could be so unreasonable?
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“What’s the problem, exactly?”
“I'm tired.”
“Well then, that means you need to eat some meat. That's why you don't have any energy anymore, right? You didn't used to be like this, after all.”
“Actually . . .”
“What?”
“. . . it's the smell.”
“The smell?”
“The meat smell. Your body smells of meat.”
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By the time the twelve magnificent courses were over, my wife had eaten nothing but salad and kimchi, and a little bit of squash porridge. She hadn't even touched the sticky-rice porridge, as they had used a special recipe involving beef stock to give it a rich, luxurious taste. Gradually, the other guests learned to ignore her presence and the conversation started to flow again.
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Can only trust my breasts now. I like my breasts, nothing can be killed by them. Hand, foot, tongue, gaze, all weapons from which nothing is safe. But not my breasts. With my round breasts, I’m okay. Still okay. So why do they keep on shrinking? Not even round anymore. Why? Why am I changing like this? Why are my edges all sharpening—what I am going to gouge?
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Though In-hye sprang at him and held him by the waist, in the instant that the force of the slap had knocked my wife's mouth open he'd managed to jam the pork in. As soon as the strength in Yeong-ho's arms was visibly exhausted, my wife growled and spat out the meat. An animal cry of distress burst from her lips.
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Get the entire The Vegetarian LitChart as a printable PDF.
Meat Symbol Timeline in The Vegetarian
The timeline below shows where the symbol Meat appears in The Vegetarian. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: The Vegetarian
...work, and finds that instead of preparing him breakfast, Yeong-hye is throwing away all the meat in the house. He yells at her for not waking him up, and wrenches the...
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...in fragmented sentences. She has visions of “long bamboo sticks strung with great-blood-red gashes of meat,” and “blood in [her] mouth, blood soaked clothes sucked onto [her] skin.” She describes pushing...
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That evening, Yeong-hye prepares a meatless meal. Mr. Cheong is furious that she threw out all of the meat because of...
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Mr. Cheong asks Yeong-hye if there will never be meat in the house again. Yeong-hye explains that he usually only has breakfast in the house,...
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...been a picky eater and has always been skillful in the kitchen, marinating and snipping meat with “deft and practiced” movements. Now, she is presenting him with “a sorry excuse for...
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...what the problem is, she tells him she’s tired. When he suggests that she eat meat to have more energy, she confesses the real reason: she tells him that his body...
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...perspective, recounts the morning before she had the first dream. She had gotten squeamish mincing meat, and when Mr. Cheong became angry at her for squirming, she accidentally cut her finger....
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...Yeong-hye soup, but Yeong-hye stops the waiter and tells him that she does not eat meat. The others are astonished, and start to discuss vegetarianism—questioning whether it’s possible to live without...
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...and one comments that they’d “hate to share a meal with someone who considers eating meat repulsive.” Yeong-hye sits in silence.
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...courses are served, and Yeong-hye has little to eat, as most of the dishes contain meat or fish. The others gradually ignore her. At the end of the dinner, Yeong-hye barely...
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Yeong-hye’s mother brings in an assortment of dishes with meat and fish in them, insisting that Yeong-hye eat something and trying to put a piece...
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...to jam the pork into her lips, but she screams and immediately spits out the meat, tearing herself away. She then picks up a fruit knife and slices her wrist open,...
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...and dripping blood from its open mouth. That evening they had a feast with the meat of the dog. As Yeong-hye eats, she remembers the dog’s eyes looking at her as...
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...instead, she feels as though something is stuck in her solar plexus—there is too much meat lodged there. “Blood and flesh, all those butchered bodies are scattered in every nook and...
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Chapter 2: Mongolian Mark
...likely to have vegetarian food. During the meal, he asks her why she doesn’t eat meat. She says he wouldn’t understand: it’s because of a dream she had. When he asks...
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...her dreams will stop. She explains that she thought the dreams were related to eating meat, that becoming a vegetarian would stop the faces from returning. She says now that she...
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Chapter 3: Flaming Trees
...him again. Yeong-hye had been sent back to a mental hospital. She refused to eat meat, and often pressed herself up against the window on sunny days to bare her breasts...
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