For today’s post, I have decided to take a look at the concept of the Monstrous Feminine. In particular, I will cover this through a look at Dark Faeries, Dark Mermaids, Vampires, Gorgons, and Succubi. Each of these types of beings can be seen through the lens of being monstrous. I will go into detail in separate sections for each of them.
Dark Faery
~The Dark Faery is a faery woman who feeds in some way on humans, usually men or sometimes children. The most common type of Dark Faery that is said to feed on humans is the Leanan Sidhe, who feeds on men she beds while simultaneously gifting them with great artistic ability. When she tires of them and leaves them the men whither away from longing for her!
Dark Mermaid
~A Dark Mermaid is often referred to as a Siren. She sings her songs to lure sailors to their doom. They are also related to the Russian Rusalka, who lure men into the icy water with their enticing beauty only to drown them. Many a water vixen can be seen as related to the Dark Mermaids!
Vampire
~Vampires are one of the most obvious examples of the monstrous feminine. They are seductive and alluring to us, which is why we have so much fiction devoted to vampiric tales. They are also seen as the most human of monsters, however, I could argue that all of the monsters on this list have human aspects. That being said, it is vampires alone that are regularly portrayed as having once been humans!
Gorgon
~The most famous Gorgon is Medusa. She is the snake-haired Goddess Monster who could turn men to stone with her gaze. In many versions of the tale, she is a victim blamed for her own rape and forced to suffer the consequences of being turned into a monster. However, there is an alternate feminist interpretation where she was gifted the ability to turn men to stone so that she would never be violated again!
Succubus
~Much like vampires Succubi feed on humans. However, they feed on men’s testosterone, or something like it, in most variants of their story. There are interpretations of Succubi that show them feeding on the flesh of humans, much like we would think of zombies doing today. They are traditionally considered more evil than vampires and are not monsters that get much in way of redeeming qualities. In this way, they may be the most monstrous of all of those in this post.
~At the end of the day, all of the Monstrous Feminine is at least in part a reaction based on fear of the unknown. Historically speaking, in a male-dominated world, the unknown was the feminine! I hope that you have enjoyed this brief overview of the Monstrous Feminine and some creatures that fit that bill. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
White Rose of Avalon 
I can’t have been the only one to think it. But I’d bet you money, that the Gorgons and Medusa are holdouts from an earlier people that the Greeks made monstrous. Like the Minoan Snake Goddess, maybe.
What I was left wondering is where the line is, where feminine and monstrous become mutually exclusive. Same question could be asked of the masculine, but there’s not so much of a taboo in crossing that threshold. Obviously there’s a dark aspect to the divine feminine that most find disquieting, such as Kali Maa or even the old paleolithic venuses (which I find lovely.) Anyway, idle musing perhaps.
Anyway , good stuff!
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Thank you so much! I totally agree that Medusa could have been a holdout from earlier deities made monstrous. I do love a good fierce goddess, so I find them very interesting to read and write about! I think it is very easy to make anyone who is seen as scary or other monstrous, look at Morgan le Fay, she went from benevolent Goddess in Vita Merlini to Evil Enchantress bent on destroying Camelot by Le Morte D’Arthur!
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Good point. I’m reading a book called “Myths and Legends of the British Isles ” by Richard Barber, and there’s definitely that streak of daemonising the womenfolk. I haven’t gotten to Morgan, yet, other than in passing references from the Prophecy of Merlin. Links if you’re ever bored.
https://spergbox.wordpress.com/2022/10/14/short-story-the-giants-of-albion/
https://spergbox.wordpress.com/2022/10/10/about-the-settling-of-albion/
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Thanks for the links! I feel like Morgana is so linked to every Celtic Faery Queen on some level. And she certainly is someone who is very connected to the stories of Merlin, Arthur, and all of the Knights!
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I read in a few books that the Knights are akin to spokes on a Sunwheel, that Arthur is an allegory for a Sun God and the Lady of the Lake, whom I’m told may be the same as Morrigna, is like the Goddess of Fate who sets him on the path. It’s a very attractive way of looking at it. Have no idea if it tracks, because my grasp of Arthuriana is weak at best.
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It does track pretty nicely. Morgana in all her forms works to put the Knights, as well as Arthur himself, on the path he needs to be following. She is the one that challenged Gawain in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, making him prove himself ready to embrace the Knightly Virtues. It was also her that created the Val Sans Retour in order to punish unfaithful Knights. So in those ways, that logic makes sense to me!
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Neat. I find your at-hand knowledge of the subject impressive.
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Thank you I appreciate that! It’s something I’ve studied for a long time.
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It shows.
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Thank you!
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Of course.
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