The Menstruous-Monstrous : female blood in horror

Abstract

This thesis examines the subject of menstrual blood in gothic and horror literature and film. It aims to map and locate negative constructions and representations of the menstrual body within the genre while also pointing to instances of anarchic transgression and vitalist, positive lines of flight. This thesis engages a trans-disciplinary, postmodern materialist approach that is anti-oedipal, vitalist, non-unitary and historically accountable. The structure is thematic and the chronological parameters are contingent on the area of study. However, for the most part this thesis spans the representation of menstrual blood and the bleeding female body in horror from the nineteenth century to the present.