Examining the Translation of Thematic Essence in Literary Works: A Transitivity-Based Analysis of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian

This study investigates how literary translation conveys the thematic essence of the source text, focusing on Han Kang’s The Vegetarian and its English translation by Deborah Smith. The research employs the concept of transitivity, a core component of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), to examine how shifts in process types, participant roles, and experiential meaning reshape the novel’s ecofeminist themes. A parallel corpus was constructed to compare 465 sentences containing ecofeminist elements from both the Korean and English versions. The analysis reveals that numerous translation shifts occur at the clause level, altering experiential meanings and affecting the portrayal of agency, embodiment, and ideology. In particular, the English translation exhibits a marked tendency toward materialization—a shift from mental or relational processes to material ones—which results in a more dynamic and concrete narrative texture. These linguistic transformations, while enhancing narrative vividness, also modify character representation and symbolic resonance, particularly in the depiction of Yeong-hye and her family. The frequent reinforcement of male-centered perspectives suggests a partial dilution of the original’s feminist and existential undertones. The findings underscore the necessity for translators to engage deeply with the thematic and ideological dimensions of the source text, ensuring that translation serves as an interpretive act that preserves, rather than reconfigures, the author’s intended vision.