To Eat or Not to Eat: The Violence of Survival and the Ethics of Consumption Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

This thesis explores the ethical and metaphorical dimensions of eating in literature, examining how the act of consumption embodies violence toward the Other and how societies rationalize or resist this violence. Through close readings of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian, Marguerite Duras’ Moderato Cantabile, and Lin Zhao’s Chaoxi Tu, I analyze eating as a site of confrontation between the self and the Other, revealing the interconnected systems of power, domination, and survival that shape our relationship to consumption.

The first chapter, centered on The Vegetarian, investigates the protagonist Yeong-hye’s refusal to eat meat as a radical rejection of patriarchal and anthropogenic violence. Her descent into madness underscores the impossibility of complete innocence in a society built on consumption, while her dreams of the Other’s gaze force her to confront her complicity. The second chapter turns to Moderato Cantabile, where eating and drinking symbolize the tension between bourgeois conformity and transgressive desire. Anne Desbaresdes’ cyclical resistance and return complicates the notion of compromise and autonomy within oppressive structures. The final chapter examines Chaoxi Tu, in which a frog’s journey exposes the pathological consumption of colonialism and naturalist science, contrasting necessary sustenance with exploitative domination. The frog’s commemoration of the eaten challenges anthropocentric narratives, offering a posthuman ethics of remembrance.

Together, these texts illustrate how eating, both literal and metaphorical, reveals the violence inherent in survival, while also gesturing toward possibilities of ethical reckoning. Ultimately, this thesis invites reflection around the unsettling truths of our dependence on consumption, and possible ways to undertake one’s responsibility toward the Other.

Table of Contents

Introduction ---- 1

Chapter 1: Eyes of the Eaten: Confronting the Violent Self and Ethics toward the Other in Han Kang’s The Vegetarian ---- 11

Chapter 2: Eating, Drinking, Vomiting: Compliance and Resistance toward Structural Oppression in Marguerite Duras’ Moderato Cantabile ---- 29

Chapter 3: The Pathology of Eating: Intentionality of Consumption and Commemoration of the Eaten in Lin Zhao’s Chaoxi Tu ---- 45

Conclusion ---- 63

Bibliography ---- 70

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Comparative Literature
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Literature, Modern Literature, Comparative Literature, Asian
Mot-clé	Comparative Literature Literature in translation Psychoanalysis Ethics Asian Literature
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Elissa Marder, Emory University
Committee Members	Angelika Bammer, Emory University Guangchen Chen, Emory University

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