Monsters are horrifying creatures, yet they also
fascinate and attract heroes and readers. How can
these contradictory emotions and responses be
explained and why do we like monsters although they
scare us? In this book, the author Susanne Zhanial
uses Julia Kristeva s theory of the abject to answer
these questions. The first part of the book
introduces the reader to Kristeva s theory of the
abject. After defining the terms abject and monster,
it will be shown that these two concepts can be
successfully linked. In the second part of the book,
the theoretical insights will be used for the
analysis of three monster stories from the late 19th
and early 20th century, namely Henry Rider Haggard s
She, Bram Stoker s Dracula and Gaston Leroux s The
Phantom of the Opera. By concentrating on a period
of approximately 30 years it will be shown that the
problems, anxieties and scientific developments of
the late Victorian era influenced and determined the
character of the monsters. This study is aimed at
students and scholars of English literature and
Gender Studies.
fascinate and attract heroes and readers. How can
these contradictory emotions and responses be
explained and why do we like monsters although they
scare us? In this book, the author Susanne Zhanial
uses Julia Kristeva s theory of the abject to answer
these questions. The first part of the book
introduces the reader to Kristeva s theory of the
abject. After defining the terms abject and monster,
it will be shown that these two concepts can be
successfully linked. In the second part of the book,
the theoretical insights will be used for the
analysis of three monster stories from the late 19th
and early 20th century, namely Henry Rider Haggard s
She, Bram Stoker s Dracula and Gaston Leroux s The
Phantom of the Opera. By concentrating on a period
of approximately 30 years it will be shown that the
problems, anxieties and scientific developments of
the late Victorian era influenced and determined the
character of the monsters. This study is aimed at
students and scholars of English literature and
Gender Studies.