Date of Award

Spring 5-15-2026

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA English

Department

English

Advisor

Russell Sbriglia, PhD.

Advisor

Isabel Guzzardo Tamargo, PhD.

Keywords

posthuman, feminism, ecofeminism, Anthropocene, humanity, womanhood

Abstract

As two novels that feature the reformation and reconstruction of the female body, both Han Kang’s The Vegetarian and K-Ming Chang’s Organ Meats emphasize the posthuman existence of women seeking to break free from the gender-based shackles that constrain them, leading to a striking rejection of the anthropocentric and patriarchal worldviews that plague contemporary society. My thesis comparatively examines each novel through an ecofeminist lens in an attempt to prove that it is only when a woman is able to reframe her existence outside of a male-centric worldview that she can truly find freedom. The Vegetarian’s Yeong-hye loses her sense of humanity and begins to live a more plant-like existence after her violent, blood-filled nightmares cause her to give up eating meat, much to the disdain of her family, especially her husband and father. Organ Meats features Anita, whose desire to return to her roots as a descendant of dog-headed women and women-headed dogs, as well as the later reconstruction of her decaying body after she enters a coma-like state, allows her to achieve an identity outside of typical womanhood as the very embodiment of new life. Though both women attempt to cease the oppression they face by disregarding their humanity and becoming one with nature, only Anita can find true freedom because she does so in a way that allows her to invent a new body outside of the realm of male jurisdiction and even outside of humanity, leading her to truly exist as a free individual not weighed down by the rules of any world that is not her own. Contrastingly, Yeong-hye’s transition into a plant aligns with the sexual fantasies of her brother-in-law. Even though she loses her womanhood and rejects humanity, she still exists within a male-centered world. Through my research, I aim to show how embracing a posthuman existence can lead to freedom for women, but only when it occurs simultaneously with the rejection of the Anthropocene and a male-centric worldview.

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