Currents (Dec 2024)
From Necromancer to Mother: the analysis of a cyborgian female in Raised by Wolves
Abstract
In her text “Mothers, Monsters and Machines” (1997), R. Braidotti recognizes the unifying factor that connects the monstrous feminine with a machine. She compares the female body to a child-producing machine, which she sees as an incubator for ‘the future of humanity.’ Taking into consideration today’s technological advancement and science fiction speculations, the idea of artificial motherhood is no longer an unrealistic scenario. Also, Donna Haraway , while coining the concept of the cyborg in her “A Cyborg Manifesto” (1985), considers the reproductive possibilities of female cyborgs. As she notices, the cyborgian female, created to surpass human expectations, rebels against the known rules and standards. Yet, the present text argues that a cyborg may still succumb to the idealized version/imposed standards of patriarchal views regarding motherhood. The paper aims to analyse the character of Lamia, a female-gendered cyborg in the TV series Raised by Wolves (2020-2022), which showcases the portrayal of an influential mother figure. Despite the stereotypical gender patterns, and religious and racial prejudices, she experiences all the stages of motherhood, while still being a cyborg and a “Necromancer”. However, she also become the victim of the normative/patriarchal thought/control over reproductive possibilities in virtual space.
