Monsters: Fictional Representations of Cultural Anxieties

Holm Sørensen, Brian

4. term

English, Master

2011

2011-06-21

77

Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan monstre i fin-de-siècle-perioden (slutningen af 1800-tallet) fungerer som uhyggelige spejlinger af en given kulturs frygt og angst. Den ser også på, hvordan sådanne monstre gøres til syndebukke—figurer, der får skylden og udstødes for at skabe en følelse af renselse eller orden. Analysen bygger på Sigmund Freuds begreber om det “uhyggelige”, “projektion” og “fortrængning” for at læse monstre som psykologiske symboler, samt på René Girards teori om syndebukken for at forklare, hvordan fællesskaber håndterer konflikt gennem eksklusion. Studiet inddrager desuden Noël Carroll og andre teoretikere for at placere disse idéer i bredere teorier og historien om monstret.

This thesis examines how monsters in the fin-de-siècle (late 19th century) function as unsettling reflections of a society’s fears and anxieties. It also explores how such monsters are cast as scapegoats—figures onto whom blame is placed and who are expelled to create a sense of cleansing or order. The analysis draws on Sigmund Freud’s concepts of the “uncanny,” “projection,” and “repression” to read monsters as psychological symbols, and on René Girard’s scapegoat theory to explain how communities manage conflict through exclusion. The study also engages with Noël Carroll and other scholars to situate these ideas within broader theories and histories of the monster.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

Gothic ; fin-de-siécle ; Monsters ; Sigmund Freud ; Rene Girard ; Scapegoat

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