every day They look yellowish-green Her skin changes colour Her face becomes pale Her cheeks sink These bruises are the first sign of transformation They show that her body is leaving the human world and entering nature s world The Second Stage Her Body Turns Blue and Green In summer the change grows faster The husband sees her eyes turning pale indigo Her hair becomes as brittle as dried radish leaves The bruises darken like the branches of a weeping willow Her body takes on a green shade She says nbsp As soon as I see the sunlight I get the urge to take my clothes off nbsp She feels attracted to light and air She stands naked on the balcony under the sun This act shows her connection with nature She wants to escape the city s cold walls and breathe freely Seoul s busy lifeless world cannot hold her anymore The Inner Transformation Her Mind and Spirit Change The wife s change is not only in her body It is also in her mind She feels trapped in the flat The high-rise building makes her feel like a prisoner She wants to go far away Her wish for freedom grows stronger The husband cannot understand her He thinks she is only sad or sick But inside her a quiet power wakes up She starts to return to her true self the one who loves air light and water The Final Change From Woman to Plant When the husband comes back from his business trip he finds his wife on the balcony She is naked She kneels near the window Her husband says Her entire body was dark green nbsp Her hair shines like the branches of wild herbs When he pours water on her her body trembles like a leaf She is half-human half-plant Soon her voice fades She calls weakly for water Later nbsp Dark red flowers blossomed from her chest nbsp Roots grow from her thighs Her human form disappears completely The transformation is complete She becomes one with the balcony the air and the soil The Last Transformation Death or Rebirth At the end the wife s lips open and fruits come out The husband collects them carefully He plants them in new pots beside her dry body He says nbsp I lined the small flowerpots up next to that of my withered wife nbsp These fruits show that she is reborn Her life continues in another form The husband feels her presence in the air in the smell of fresh grass He wonders would her flowers bloom red again in spring He does not know the answer But this question shows hope Her death becomes the start of a new life The wife s transformation is both physical and spiritual It begins with bruises and ends with fruits It happens inside a lonely Seoul apartment but reaches the heart of nature Through her change Han Kang shows that freedom and life can grow even from pain The woman dies as a human but lives again as a part of nature s endless circle