Author(s): Md. Jakir Hossain

Abstract: This paper aims to investigate the complicated dynamics of repression, rejection, and transcendence and evaluate the protagonist's transformative journey in the context of patriarchal society as reflected in Han Kang’s novel The Vegetarian through a psychoanalytic lens. Based on the findings of scanning the original text and studying the relevant reference books and research articles, we re-examine the far-reaching adverse psychological consequences of societal values and norms on female identity and autonomy. And in this process, we reconsider the protagonist Yeong-hye’s narrative in the framework of certain familial and sociocultural factors, particularly the ways of treating a woman which play a pivotal role in determining the course of her life journey. The study further delves into Yeong-hye’s unprecedented defense mechanism that she adopts as a means of denying the world of collective oppression in general and transcending the boundary of her existence as a human being at the end.

Keywords: psychoanalysis, repression, rejection, transcendence, feminine autonomy, patriarchal violence, feminine issues, vegetarianism trauma, identity crisis.

Article Info: Received: 21 Mar 2025; Received in revised form: 24 Apr 2025; Accepted: 02 May 2025; Available online: 09 May 2025

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.103.4