by Subarna Mondal (Author)
There are numerous scholarly works on Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). Some of these works have explored its Gothic potentials. However, no detailed effort has yet been made to explore one of its major motifs - taxidermy. Taxidermy as an art of corporeal preservation has effectively been used in mainstream body horror films years after Psycho was released. Yet Psycho was one of the first films to explore its potentials in the Gothic genre at a time when it was relegated to a low form of art. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and Taxidermy focuses on taxidermy as a cultural practice in both Victorian and modern times and how it has been employed both metaphorically and literally in Hitchcock's films, especially Psycho. It also situates Psycho as a crucial film in the filmic continuum of body horrors where death and docility share a troubled relationship.
Author Biography
Subarna Mondal is Assistant Professor in the Department of English at The Sanskrit College and University Kolkata, India. The author has completed her PhD from Jadavpur University, Department of Film Studies, India. Her areas of interest include late-Victorian Gothic literature, the Gothic on screen, and the films of Alfred Hitchcock. She has been teaching English literature to undergraduate and postgraduate students for the past 14 years.