Gain or Pain: Hedonism in Serial Femicide Fiction– A Psycho-social Critique

نوع المستند : المقالة الأصلية

المؤلف

October 6 University,

10.21608/shak.2024.307058.1667

المستخلص

Femicide, a significant issue throughout history, is often understudied in literature. Scrutinizing human rights reports on the horrific acts of violence against women reveals that women have constituted a major part of gender-based violence and serial killings since the rise of Jack the Ripper in London in 1888. Systems have failed to combat violent masculinity or protect women's human rights, nevertheless. This paper tackles the hedonistic development of serial femicide killers in fiction and how it is linked to other factors leading to murder acts from which they get temporary relief and satisfaction. It aims to explore not only the serial killers’ ugly monster or animal nature but also to aid law enforcement in identifying, detecting and apprehending the motivations behind their femicide acts. Three novels are examined featuring innovative narrative modes: Perfume; The Story of a Murderer (1985) by German writer Patrick Süskind, American Psycho (1991) by American writer Bret Easton Ellis, and An Isolated Incident (2016) by Australian writer Emily Maguire. They explore brutal femicide serially committed in hedonistic gratification by young, psychopathic, organized and lustful misogynists. Driven by fantasy and sensual pleasure, they struggle in pursuit of power and to maintain feelings of self-identity and self-worth. From an eclectic psychosocial perspective, the research examines the process and aftermath of violent and femicide acts, incorporating Jacques Lacan's concepts of desire, the ‘Other,’ and the ‘mirror stage’ along with Howard Becher’s social labelling theory, underscoring the impact of social reactions on the deviant’s psyche, behaviour and perception.

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