The Interplay of Horror and Disgust: A Critical Exploration of Repressed Abjection in Tender is the Flesh

Abstract

Abjection can be defined as a feeling of intense discomfort or horror triggered by stimuli that can disrupt one’s sense of identity or normalcy. This feeling of discomfort and horror arises when a person is faced with something that is considered taboo or repulsive. Tender is the Flesh explores a dystopic society where all the animal meat has been contaminated and rendered it unconsumable by humans. This pushes the humans to consume humans resulting in institutionalized cannibalism forcing individuals to suppress moral and reactions of horror and disgust to it. Through the lens of Julia Kristeva’s abjection theory, which examines how the human psyche reacts to disruptions in the boundaries between self and other, this novel examines the fallout from enforced desensitization to violence and bodily violation in a society. While much of the existing literature emphasizes the novel’s critique of capitalism, cannibalism, power dynamics and dehumanization, there is a lack of exploration into how abjection, even when systematically repressed, re-emerges. This research will investigate how Tender Is the Flesh exhibits the inevitability of abjection, showing that suppressed feelings of disgust and horror ultimately surface through physical interactions, and emotional breakdowns, thereby challenging the facade of normalization in the society.