Prime Mates: The Simian, Maternity and Abjection in Brobdingnag

Publication Date

9-2020

Description

This essay investigates the layered nature of animality, maternity, and abjection epitomised by Gulliver’s frightening adventures in Brobdingnag. I focus specifically on the maternal force-feeding Gulliver is subject to by the Brobdingnagian monkey, which he describes as “the greatest Danger I ever faced in the Kingdom.” The monkey is killed following the episode, which temporarily restores Gulliver’s stalwart sense of self. I contend that the monkey incident in Brobdingnag decentres Gulliver’s sense of identity and demonstrates the violability of his body by the feminised animal, which ultimately destabilises his sense of masculinity and opens myriad queer potentialities.

Journal

Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies

Volume

43

Issue

3

First Page

315

Last Page

326

Department

English

Publisher Statement

There is an Open Access fee associated with making this article available in a repository.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1111/1754-0208.12707

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS