Chapter 37 Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens with Ji-won returning to her car after her earlier encounter with the homeless man to whom she gave coins. She notices a pair of tattered Nikes pointing skyward, laces trailing, and calls out to see if anyone is there. Stepping off the sidewalk, she peers through the bushes and finds the man's body—limp, unmoving, and cold. His skin is gray, and when she touches his wrist, she finds no pulse. She recognizes him as the man she saw hours earlier, and she is shocked that he has died so suddenly.

Crouching over his head, she holds her hand near his nose and mouth, confirming he is not breathing. She lifts one of his eyelids and falls backward in surprise, landing flat on her back. The man's eyes are blue, and he is dead.

This triggers a vivid flashback to when Ji-won was twelve years old. Her grandmother, Halmeoni, who used to watch her and her sister Ji-hyun, had passed away suddenly. The funeral was delayed for six weeks while waiting for family to arrive from Korea. Her mother, Umma, pushed Ji-won toward the casket to say goodbye. Ji-won saw her grandmother's stiff, gray, grimacing corpse, and the image haunted her for months, causing nightmares of rotting flesh, worms, and cockroaches. She had to sleep with the lights on. In the flashback, she also remembers covering Ji-hyun's eyes to protect her from the sight.

Returning to the present, Ji-won notices that the dead man's face looks more natural than her grandmother's had, almost as if he were sleeping. This observation floods her with memories of George—his blue eyes, his smile, and the way he squeezed a freshly cleaned fish eye. Without conscious thought, she finds a knife in her hand. She cuts into the man's eyelid, which yields easily, and blood spills onto her hands. She expects the eye to pop out as it does in her dreams, but it resists. She uses her nails to dig it out, and the optic nerve snaps. She holds the oozing mass in her fist, staring at it, hypnotized by its color. She feels an intense desire to taste it, chew it, and swallow it whole.

However, the sound of approaching footsteps jolts her back to reality. Paralyzed with fear, she shoves the eyeball into her pocket, lurches out of the bushes, and gets into her car. As she drives away, she catches a flash of green in the rearview mirror.

Key Events

Ji-won discovers the dead body of the homeless man she gave coins to earlier.
She confirms he is dead and lifts his eyelid, seeing his blue eyes.
A flashback reveals her traumatic first encounter with death at her grandmother's funeral when she was twelve.
Ji-won recalls her nightmares and her protective gesture toward her sister Ji-hyun.
She is overwhelmed by memories of George and his blue eyes.
She cuts into the man's eyelid and removes his eyeball with her nails, snapping the optic nerve.
She is startled by footsteps, hides the eye in her pocket, and flees to her car.
In the rearview mirror, she sees a flash of green.

Character Development

This chapter marks a critical turning point for Ji-won. Her obsession with eyes, which has been building throughout the story, escalates from voyeuristic fascination to violent action. The act of extracting the eye is impulsive and compulsive—she describes the knife being in her hand before she knows what she is doing. This suggests a loss of control and a deepening psychological disturbance.

The flashback to her grandmother's funeral reveals the origin of her trauma. At twelve, she was forced to confront death in a way that left her with nightmares for months. Her instinct to protect Ji-hyun from the same horror shows a caring side, but it also highlights how she internalized the experience alone. The contrast between her grandmother's waxy, unnatural corpse and the dead man's more natural appearance triggers her memories of George, linking her past trauma to her present obsession.

Ji-won's reaction to the extracted eye—wanting to taste it, chew it, and swallow it—reveals a primal, almost cannibalistic desire. This is a far cry from her earlier, more detached observations. The fear of discovery that follows shows she is still aware of societal norms, but her compulsion overrides her judgment. The flash of green in the rearview mirror is ambiguous, but it suggests that she may not be alone in her secret, or that something else is watching her.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Death and Decomposition: The chapter confronts the physical reality of death. The dead man's body is cold and gray, and Ji-won's flashback emphasizes the rotting process of her grandmother's corpse. The contrast between the two bodies highlights how death can be both natural and unnatural.
Childhood Trauma: Ji-won's grandmother's funeral is a formative trauma. The nightmares she experienced as a child resurface in her adult actions, suggesting that her obsession with eyes is a way to process or control her fear of death.
Obsession with Eyes: Eyes are a recurring motif. The blue eyes of the dead man and George are linked, and Ji-won's desire to possess the eye is a literal manifestation of her obsession. The act of extraction is both violent and intimate.
Compulsion vs. Desire: Ji-won's actions are driven by an uncontrollable urge. She does not plan the extraction; it happens almost involuntarily. This raises questions about free will and the power of trauma.
Protection of Innocence: In the flashback, Ji-won shields Ji-hyun from seeing the corpse, showing her desire to protect her sister from the same trauma. This contrasts with her own exposure and suggests a cycle of protection and suffering.
Fear of Discovery: The footsteps that interrupt Ji-won's act create a sense of paranoia. The flash of green in the rearview mirror hints at an unseen observer, adding a layer of suspense.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is a pivotal moment in the novel. Ji-won crosses a moral and legal line by mutilating a corpse, and her obsession transforms into a violent act. The flashback provides crucial backstory, explaining her psychological fragility and linking her past to her present behavior. The chapter also deepens the mystery surrounding George and the significance of blue eyes. The flash of green introduces a new element of uncertainty, suggesting that Ji-won's actions may have consequences she cannot foresee. This chapter sets the stage for the climax and resolution of the story, as Ji-won's compulsion can no longer be contained.

Study Questions and Answers

How does the flashback to Halmeoni's funeral shape Ji-won's reaction to the dead man's body?

The flashback reveals that Ji-won's first encounter with death was traumatic and left her with nightmares for months. Her grandmother's corpse was stiff, gray, and grimacing, which made death seem unnatural and frightening. In contrast, the dead man's face looks more natural, almost as if he is sleeping. This difference triggers her memories of George and his blue eyes, and it may make the act of extraction feel less like violating a person and more like an act of curiosity or obsession. The trauma also explains why she is so fixated on eyes—they are a way to confront death on her own terms.

What does Ji-won's desire to taste, chew, and swallow the eye reveal about her mental state?

This desire indicates a profound psychological breakdown. Ji-won is not merely collecting the eye; she wants to consume it, which suggests a need to internalize or possess the object of her obsession completely. This is a primal, almost cannibalistic urge that goes beyond normal curiosity. It shows that her compulsion has taken over her rational mind, and she is losing the ability to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. The fact that she is interrupted before she can act on this desire leaves the reader wondering how far she would have gone.

What might the flash of green in the rearview mirror symbolize or foreshadow?

The flash of green is ambiguous, but it could symbolize several things. It might represent the presence of another person who witnessed her act, possibly someone connected to George or the dead man. It could also be a hallucination, reflecting Ji-won's deteriorating mental state. Alternatively, green is often associated with jealousy, envy, or the supernatural, which could hint at a larger conspiracy or a supernatural element in the story. The ambiguity creates suspense and suggests that Ji-won's actions will have consequences she cannot yet see.

Navigation

Previous Chapter: Thirty-Six
Next Chapter: Thirty-Eight
Book Hub