Possessed girls and covens: the Spanish and American female monster through the lens of conservatism and National-Catholicism

Abstract

The aim of this article is to reflect on the cultural and historical particularities of the female monster known as “possessed girl” during the 1970s. The text will focus on the one depicted in The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973), a film which shaped the preeminent discourse regarding this type of monster, as well as two Spanish productions that imitated Friedkin’s formula: La endemoniada (Amando de Ossorio, 1975) and Exorcismo (Juan Bosch, 1975). This comparison aims to analyse both similarities and differences to understand the cultural nature of the monster and to assert the importance of the historical context in shaping the misogynistic relationship between the audience and the female monster.El objetivo de este artículo es reflexionar sobre las particularidades culturales e históricas del monstruo femenino durante la década de los setenta. Para ello, nos centraremos en “la niña poseída” que aparece en El Exorcista (William Friedkin, 1973), la cual fue el origen del discurso sobre este monstruo, y en dos producciones españolas que imitaron esta fórmula: La endemoniada (Amando de Ossorio, 1975) y Exorcismo (Juan Bosch, 1975). Esta comparación pretende analizar tanto las similitudes como las diferencias para comprender la naturaleza cultural del monstruo y reivindicar la importancia del contexto histórico en el relato misógino del monstruo femenino.