Abstract
J.R.R. Tolkien’s menacing character of Shelob embodies the ultimate danger that faces Frodo on his journey to destroy the Ring of Power. Her actions, in combination with the language that Tolkien uses to describe her, invite the reader to view Shelob with revulsion and horror, designating her as Other. However, Shelob is also undeniably a mother, a term laden with social and cultural expectation. This paper explores Shelob as a representation of what Barbara Creed, in her article “Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine: An Imaginary Abjection”, has termed the ‘monstrous-feminine’, examining Shelob’s presentation within the text as not only identified as female, but more specifically as a mother, queering this gendered space.
Recommended Citation
Brown, Sara
(2024)
"Monstrous Feminine, Deviant Mother: Tolkien’s Shelob and the Grotesque Maternal,"
Journal of Tolkien Research: Vol. 20:
Iss.
2, Article 9.
Available at:
https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol20/iss2/9
Included in
Literature in English, British Isles Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Queer Studies Commons, Women's Studies Commons
Comments
Paper given at NEPCA, Fall 2022.