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Ji-woo
An artist friend of the brother-in-law’s who agrees to be painted and to model with Yeong-hye. Over the course of the film shoot, however, he becomes increasingly aroused by but also increasingly uncomfortable with the poses they take. When the brother-in-law suggests they have sex for real, J storms out of the studio, offended and furious at being asked to do so.
J Quotes in The Vegetarian
The The Vegetarian quotes below are all either spoken by J or refer to J. 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:
).
Chapter 2: Mongolian Mark Quotes
She rubbed her neck against J’s like they were two birds caressing, almost as if she’d seen his sketches and knew exactly what he wanted her to do.
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When the brother-in-law asks J to film with Yeong-hye, he starts to direct them in poses. Even though he only addresses J and tells him how to touch Yeong-hye, he is surprised to see Yeong-hye take the initiative. This moment is significant for two reasons: it shows Yeong-hye’s genuine desire and agency in the situation. Even though most of the time she is passive, she is both in control of her body and in control of how it is being viewed. This is another instance of her attempts to assert agency over herself and her body. This passage is also Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum v
He stood up, stepped close to her and pushed her still-fevered body up against the wall. But when he pressed his lips firmly against hers, probing with his tongue, she shoved him away again.
“Why shouldn't we? Because I'm your brother-in-law?”
“No, it’s nothing to do with that.”
“Then why not? Come on, you said you were all wet!” She was silent. “Did you fancy that kid?”
“It wasn’t him, it was the flowers . . .”
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After J storms out of the shoot with Yeong-hye, Yeong-hye admits that she is “all wet.” Overcome with desire, the brother-in-law starts to pull her pants down but she says no and adamantly shoves him away. This action continues to affirm Yeong-hye’s agency in the situation. Even though In-hye later believes that the brother-in-law took advantage of an unwell Yeong-hye, the situation is more complicated than that in reality. Yeong-hye has no problem dictating the terms of her own consent to the brother-in-law, who decides to oblige and seeks out another artist friend named P in order to paint flowers Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque pla
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J Character Timeline in The Vegetarian
The timeline below shows where the character J appears in The Vegetarian. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2: Mongolian Mark
The brother-in-law knows he should go home to Ji-woo and In-hye, but he instead goes to the studio that he and other video artists...
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The images had come to the brother-in-law from a chance conversation: he had noted Ji-woo still had a Mongolian mark while giving him a bath. In-hye had remarked that Yeong-hye...
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...the video he planned would likely be categorized as pornography. In the studio, another artist, J, comes in, and the brother-in-law leaves. On the way out, he sees his reflection and...
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...work, and only asks him to keep Sundays free to spend time with her and Ji-woo. The brother-in-law has been avoiding her because he can only see Yeong-hye’s face when he...
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...tells him how overloaded she’s been, as she hadn’t heard from the brother-in-law all day, Ji-woo has a cold, and she’s worried about Yeong-hye, who was just served divorce papers. The...
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...telling him that she’s running late at the store, and he’ll have to pick up Ji-woo at 7 p.m. The brother-in-law tells her that he can only do so at 9...
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The brother-in-law picks up the sleeping Ji-woo from his neighbor at 9:20 p.m. and carries him to the apartment, though as soon...
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...scream at him, feeling her resignation suffocating him. But once his guilt passes, he calls J and tells him that he wants to show him what he’s been working on.
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When the brother-in-law shows J the tapes, J calls it the brother-in-law’s best work. The brother-in-law then asks J if...
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When the brother-in-law has finished painting, Yeong-hye takes her clothes off once more. She and J kneel together, and she moves close to him without being asked. The brother-in-law turns on...
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The brother-in-law continues to direct J and Yeong-hye, telling them to lie on top of each other. Yeong-hye gently pushes J...
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J continues, but his and Yeong-hye’s sexual tension has dissipated, and J’s movements are forced. The...
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After J leaves, the brother-in-law apologizes to Yeong-hye. She starts to laugh as she dresses; when he...
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