Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection

Julia Kristeva, a Bulgarian-French philosopher, linguist, and psychoanalyst, first published Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection in France in 1980. The English edition appeared in 1982. The work is a philosophical study of the concept of the “abject,” a complex term referring to that which disturbs, undermines, or breaks down the border between the self and others. The human response to the abject is horror and nausea. In Powers of Horror, Kristeva examines the abject in art and literature; the cultural and societal use of abjection through taboos and prohibitions; and human psychosexual development. Kristeva applies a structuralist, psychoanalytic lens to her analysis, building on the works of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan and referring to a wide range of literary, historical, and religious figures and their writings. Powers of Horror provides insights for feminist, queer, new historical, psychoanalytical, and cultural theories and illuminates the intersections between them.

This guide is based on the 1982 Columbia University Press edition, translated into English by Leon S. Roudiez.

Content Warning: The source text refers to many disturbing and grotesque images and includes an extended discussion of a writer known for his antisemitism and pro-Nazi sentiments.

Summary