From Victoria to Villanelle: The Representation of Female Serial Killers and their Motivation to Kill in Dacres Zofloya (1806) and Waller-Bridges Killing Eve (2018-2022)

Abstract

Consuming fiction with serial killers is becoming more and more popular; violent crimes are being marketed as something to be watched, read, and listened to (Jarvis 3). It is discussed in some disciplines that violence might be an inherently masculine trait, both in culture and in society. This point of view has been questioned in literature, culture, and film; including in Zofloya and Killing Eve. To be looking at representations of female serial killers and their motivation to kill draws the ground for this text. I will focus on representations of female serial killers, only referencing to studies of society or representations of male serial killers to supply on information when needed. Critics such as Igl (2022) and Hoeveler (1998) have discussed the topic of representations of female serial killers in fiction before, other critics such as Jarvis (2007) has discussed the topic of representations of male serial killers. I will mainly use these critics to build my points on the representation of female serial killers, their motivation to kill and their relationship with femininity and masculinity. There is a possible discussion of whether the representations of female serial killers I have chosen to analyse is in fact ‘serial killers’, they might be spree killers, assassins, or something else entirely. Without defining the word ‘serial killer’ the definition of a serial killer I will be using is an expansive one, and both female representations I have chosen are serial killers for the sake of this text.

Consuming fiction with serial killers is becoming more and more popular; violent crimes are being marketed as something to be watched, read, and listened to (Jarvis 3). It is discussed in some disciplines that violence might be an inherently masculine trait, both in culture and in society. This point of view has been questioned in literature, culture, and film; including in Zofloya and Killing Eve. To be looking at representations of female serial killers and their motivation to kill draws the ground for this text. I will focus on representations of female serial killers, only referencing to studies of society or representations of male serial killers to supply on information when needed. Critics such as Igl (2022) and Hoeveler (1998) have discussed the topic of representations of female serial killers in fiction before, other critics such as Jarvis (2007) has discussed the topic of representations of male serial killers. I will mainly use these critics to build my points on the representation of female serial killers, their motivation to kill and their relationship with femininity and masculinity. There is a possible discussion of whether the representations of female serial killers I have chosen to analyse is in fact ‘serial killers’, they might be spree killers, assassins, or something else entirely. Without defining the word ‘serial killer’ the definition of a serial killer I will be using is an expansive one, and both female representations I have chosen are serial killers for the sake of this text.