TEH MUN YEEENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE2019-06-282019-06-282019-04-15TEH MUN YEE (2019-04-15). CONCEIVING "MOTHER": MATERNITY AND THE MONSTROUS-FEMININE IN BLOOD TEA AND RED STRING AND CAROLINE. ScholarBank@NUS Repository.https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/155974This thesis is primarily interested in examining the representations of maternity and motherhood in two stop-motion animated films, Blood Tea and Red String (2006) by Christiane Cegavske and Coraline (2009) by Henry Selick. This thesis will be drawing on Barbara Creed’s conception of the monstrous-feminine, which she suggests is usually tied to a woman’s mothering and reproductive functions. This thesis argues that Blood Tea, an arthouse film, undermines the conception of maternity and the monstrous-feminine through destabilizing and problematizing what is seen as “natural” to the female body. Blood Tea thus critiques and dismantles the patriarchal ideologies that construct both the maternal and the monstrous-feminine. On the other hand, Coraline, a commercial film, conforms to the narrow patriarchal conception of the maternal ideal, suggesting that real mothers are mothers who enact the act of mothering and also give birth. By portraying the monstrous-feminine as an unproductive spinster, Coraline enunciates fears surrounding unfruitful women who do not procreate, and eventually reinstates and reinforces the patriarchal ideologies that impose a strict view on maternity and the female body. Ultimately, this thesis argues that though artistic creation allows women an interstice to negotiate procreation and maternity on their own terms, predominant perceptions of maternity and the monstrous-feminine in society remain unchanged.Thesis