The Abject Female Body : The Male Gaze on Woman and Nature in Daphne du Maurier's "The Apple Tree" and "The Blue Lenses"

Abstract: This study examines the portrayal of the woman as monstrous in Daphne du Maurier’s short stories “The Apple Tree” and “The Blue Lenses” and investigates the abject emotions that female bodies induce within the main characters. The study also contrasts the habitual, objectifying gaze of the male focalizer with the reluctant gaze forced upon the female focalizer through a pair of lenses, argued here to represent the patriarchal suppression of woman, as the male gaze is key for mediating the abject in du Maurier’s stories. Additionally, the association of the natural world with the female body is discussed, as the subjugation of nature and women are closely connected in a patriarchal society, and these are both regarded as abject in du Maurier’s stories. It is concluded that gender is elemental to whether the main characters embrace or reject the abject feelings originating within themselves.