V: A Monster in the Body Politic

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

Alan Moore’s bestselling graphic novel V for Vendetta portrays a dystopian, postapocalyptic London in the grip of a patriarchal dictatorship. In this grim scenario, the state is intentionally portrayed as a living human body. For instance: The Voice reinforces a fascist ideology broadcast regularly over the radio; The Finger coercively protects the status quo; The Nose, as intelligence, sniffs out criminal intent. The government performs macabre experiments on some of its citizens. One of these unwilling subjects, housed in room V, manages to create explosives from fertilizer ingredients. The character V then blasts open the compound, freeing himself and the other inmates. But he is also a victim of his liberating explosion, and becomes physically disfigured: a monster. This brush with death transfigures him into an elusive, shadowy character with uncanny super-human capabilities. Donning a cloak, hat and mask, his life’s mission becomes a vendetta against the oppressive regime. His mask, modelled on the infamous Guy Fawkes, menacingly signifies his subversive purposes. In this chapter, I locate the figure of V as a monster in the body politic. Specifically, I construct the psychoanalytically informed argument that he can be viewed as a symbolic embodiment of both masculine and feminine repressed body parts: as dark phallus, ‘vagina dentata’ and womb. Alluding to Carl Jung’s alchemical metaphor, these are also regarded as archetypal symbols that foreshadow a destructive yet creative and vital seeding of a cultural renaissance. By inference, Moore’s V for Vendetta can be interpreted as a cultural dream that mirrors the dysfunction of western nations, yet also portrays dynamic visionary elements struggling for the boon of greater wholeness.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationLeave the Lights On
Subtitle of host publicationLiterary and Other Monsters
PublisherBrill
Pages3-10
Number of pages8
ISBN (Electronic)9781848884052
ISBN (Print)9789004370197
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2019

Keywords

  • Alan Moore
  • Alchemy
  • Jung
  • Mercurius
  • V for Vendetta
  • analytical psychology
  • body parts
  • dark feminine
  • monster
  • psychoanalysis

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'V: A Monster in the Body Politic'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this