ABSTRACT This article investigates the depiction of maternal indifference and ambivalence in Jennifer Kent’s film The Babadook. Using the techniques of psychoanalytical criticism I draw on Kristeva’s [1982. Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Translated by Leon S. Roudiez. New York: Columbia University Press] theory of abjection and Barbara Creed’s [1993. The Monstrous Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis. London: Routledge] application of this to the horror genre to explore the film’s portrayal of repressed grief and the resulting traumatic disruption to the mother/child bond. Taking the protagonist’s troubled relationship with both her son and her bereaved status as my starting point, I argue that The Babadook represents a reimagining of maternal abjection. Both Kristeva and Creed posit that abjection is first experienced as the result of the mother’s refusal to relinquish her hold on the child and to move past the intense dyadic relationship of the infant period. The Babadook inverts this psychic narrative by positioning Amelia’s refusal of this relationship and her lack of proper maternal feeling as the site of her abjection. In this reimagining of maternal abjection, The Babadook presents audiences with a representation of maternal experience that is shocking and confronting. While the narrative arc is ultimately one of redemption the ambiguous ending emphasises the lingering unease inspired by maternal indifference.

中文翻译：

---

令人难忘的喙：孕产期的冷漠，矛盾和巴巴多克人的卑鄙

摘要本文研究了詹妮弗·肯特（Jennifer Kent）的电影《 The Babadook》中对孕产妇的冷漠和模棱两可的描写。使用心理分析批评的技术，我借鉴了克里斯蒂娃（Kristeva）的著作[1982年。恐怖的力量：关于宽恕的散文。由Leon S. Roudiez翻译。纽约：哥伦比亚大学出版社]射流理论和Barbara Creed [1993年。可怕的女性：电影，女性主义，精神分析。伦敦：Routledge]将其应用到恐怖片中，以探讨电影对压抑悲伤的描绘以及由此对母子纽带造成的破坏性破坏。我以主人公与儿子和失去亲人身份的困扰关系为出发点，我认为《巴巴杜克》代表了对母亲的弃绝的重新构想。Kristeva和Creed都认为，由于母亲拒绝放弃对孩子的抱抱并摆脱婴儿期强烈的二元关系，她首先经历了屈辱。Babadook通过将阿米莉亚（Amelia）拒绝这种恋爱关系以及她缺乏适当的母性情感定位为被抛弃的地点，从而扭转了这种心理叙事。在对孕产妇外遇的重新想象中，巴巴杜克向观众展示了令人震惊和直面的孕产妇经历。尽管叙事弧线最终是救赎之一，但模棱两可的结局强调了由母亲的冷漠所激发的挥之不去的不安。Babadook通过将阿米莉亚（Amelia）对这种关系的拒绝以及她缺乏适当的母性情感定位为被抛弃的地点，来颠覆这种心理叙事。在对孕产妇外遇的重新想象中，巴巴杜克向观众展示了令人震惊和直面的孕产妇经历。虽然叙事弧线最终是救赎之一，但模棱两可的结局强调了由母亲的冷漠所激发的挥之不去的不安。Babadook通过将阿米莉亚（Amelia）拒绝这种恋爱关系以及她缺乏适当的母性情感定位为被抛弃的地点，从而扭转了这种心理叙事。在对孕产妇外遇的重新想象中，巴巴杜克向观众展示了令人震惊和直面的孕产妇经历。尽管叙事弧线最终是救赎之一，但模棱两可的结局强调了由母亲的冷漠所激发的挥之不去的不安。