Orphans, Demons, and a Mother who Stands In-Between: Monstrous Motherhood in the Anime The Promised Neverland

Motherhood is of the highest order. A mother can offer love and nurture to her children that none other would suffice. This intimacy with her children is what makes motherhood such a potent force. However, motherhood’s critical role is a double-edged sword. A mother can be heroine to her children, but also a monster.

Barbara Creed’s The Monstrous-Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis (1993) was pivotal in reframing our understanding of motherhood in light of the monstrous trope. By looking at classic horror films, Creed argued against a worldview that deemed women the victim. Rather, she highlights the power of female monsters and monstrous womanhood.

This line of thinking is expanded in Monstrous Mothers: Troubling Tropes. This collected volume explores “bad mothers” and the monstrous acts committed by them. At the same time, mothers as humans and all humans are flawed. The authors discuss the impact of monstrous mothers and the issues surrounding these literary, cinematic, and real-life figures.