Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Friday, October 11 is the International Girl Child Day. In India, we are celebrating Maha Ashtami. The Nobel Committee has done a great job by giving the Nobel Prize in literature to a 53-year-old female author, the first one from South Korea, Han Kang. This was the right occasion to recognise a woman’s contribution to the world.
Han Kang’s prose, consisting of poetic elements, describes her own struggle for existence and that of entire humanity. Her works expose how fragile human life is.
Another important aspect of her novels, essays, short stories and novellas is that she has explored patriarchy, violence against women, sorrow, melancholy and humanity.
One of her well-known works, The Vegetarian, was awarded the Man Booker Prize in 2016.
The book portrays the life of a woman Yeong-Hye and her husband, who are ordinary people. He works in an office, and Yeong-Hye is a housewife. A mild-mannered man with moderate ambitions; whereas she is a dutiful wife, though uninspired. Prompted by recurring nightmares, Yeong- Hye’s sudden decision to opt for vegetarian food interrupted the flat line of their marriage.
In South Korea, vegetarianism is almost unheard of. Eating non-vegetarian food is one of the societal mores that one must strictly obey. Yeong-Hye’ s decision is a shocking act. Her rebellion, though passive, displays more bizarre and frightening forms. It leads her husband to self-justified sadism.
Cruelties meted out to her by her husband drive her towards attempting suicide. She remains in hospital. Afterwards, she wins the heart of her sister’s husband. A film was made on the novel in 2009.
The Vegetarian is a novel that circularly progresses. The focus is on unhinged art works. The book is as complex as the eight-figure motion of honey bees. It is also a book about today’s South Korea besides being a novel about shame, desire, and an irresolute attempt to appreciate others. We try to appreciate others, living in a prisoned body.
There are other novels: The White Book, Human Act, and Greek Lessons. Han Kang was born in Gwangju, a city in the south-west of South Korea in 1970.
She studied Korean literature at Yonsei University in the capital. Her literary career began in 1993 when a series of five poems were published in the Korean magazine Literature and Society.
