Psychological portrait of a murderess

Abstract

In Repulsion (1965) by Roman Polanski, his second full-length film, the young Carole simply appears to be shy. However, her perception of reality is extremely subjective and altered, what makes her commit two murders. Speculation about what her exact problem might be are diverse; nevertheless, all conjectures agree on its source. It comes from her own repressed sexuality she is disgusted by and which makes her see menacing, lascivious eyes lurking everywhere and, ultimately, drives her out of touch with reality. This state of dissociation is gradually introduced throughout the film via different uses of space and locations which, along with the character’s psyche from a Freudian perspective, will be analyzed in this article.