hospital for the criminally insane . In short , Alice ’ s actions often reflect John Luther ’ s shadow-self , a dark and dangerous side that Luther shares with the series ’ sociopathic monsters . In fact , as Alice intuits and acts upon Luther ’ s shadowy desires , she creates a “ moral dilemma ” ( Jung quoted in Hoyt ) for Luther . Indeed , Alice ’ s acting-out of Luther ’ s hidden and “ monstrous ” desires “ challenges [ Luther ’ s ] whole ego-personality .” Because of Alice Morgan , he is forced “[ T ] o become conscious ” of the “ the dark aspects of [ his ] personality as present and real ” ( Jung qtd . in Hoyt ). In short , Alice ’ s behavior often reflects “ the thing [ that John Luther ] … has no wish to be ” ( Jung qtd . In Hoyt ). She reveals to Luther his own monstrous side .
Additionally , Alice is a borderline representation of the “ monstrous feminine ”— of an “ overpowering femininity ” ( Hogle 11 ) that represents a threat to the long-established English patriarchy . Julia Kristeva and Barbara Creed apply this label to women who , alienated and abject , find a familiar place in works of horror . Certainly , Creed ’ s summary of Kristeva ’ s position concerning the connection between abjection and horror in the “ monstrous feminine ” is applicable to a discussion of Alice Morgan :
… Although [ Kristeva ’ s ] study is concerned with psychoanalysis and literature , it nevertheless suggests a way of situating the monstrous-feminine in the horror film in relation to the maternal figure and what Kristeva terms ‘ abjection ,’ that which does not respect borders , position , rules ,’ that which ‘ disturbs identity , system , order …’.” ( 8 )
Kristeva and Creed agree that this “ abjection ” ( clearly manifest in Alice ’ s defiance of rules and borders ) is most often realized in those who have been discarded by a generally patriarchal community built around strict moral requirements that are perhaps best exemplified by religious laws intended purify ( Creed 9 ; Kristeva 15- 17 , 67-68 ). In the words of Kristeva , Alice also borders on being “ immoral , sinister , scheming , and shady ” ( 4 ), her “ overpowering femininity ” ( Hogle 11 ) manifest in the rage created by being forcefully cast off , in this case by her own parents , and resulting in homicidal retribution . Abject , monstrous , Alice is also a version of the “ castrating female ” ( Creed 1-7 ), another Gothic horror archetype that has for one of its sources the legends surrounding the Greek sorceress Medea . This female archetype has as one of her driving motivation the desire to disempower or emasculate the male . Barbara Creed associates the castrating female with the “ toothed ” vagina that threatens to devour ( 105 ) and points out that victims of castration “ die agonizing deaths . Flesh is cut , bodies violated , limbs torn asunder …. Where the monster is a psychopath ,
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