Angela Carter’s 1977 novel The Passion of New Eve follows the geographical journey of the narrator from London, to a riotous and chaotic New York, and across America to Hollywood, California. Simultaneously, the text is an account of Eve(lyn)’s corporal transformation from a misogynistic Evelyn to Eve, whose exterior is manufactured “according to a blueprint taken from a consensus agreement on the physical nature of an ideal woman” (New Eve 75). Evelyn is abducted by an acolyte of a radical feminist group led by Mother, whose goal is to “make a start on the feminisation of Father Time” (New Eve 64). She rapes Evelyn, collects his sperm in a test-tube and freezes it, castrates him, and then metamorphoses him into a “perfect specimen of womanhood” (New Eve 65). Mother’s plan is to impregnate Eve with...
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Citation: Yeandle, Heidi. "The Passion of New Eve". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 December 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7348, accessed 09 June 2026.]
