From a Female Gothic Heroine to a Postfeminist Gothic Villainess - The Ambivalent Characterisation of the Young Female Protagonist in Ti West’s Pearl

Aug 26, 2026

Uploaded by Aditya

American filmmaker Ti West’s horror trilogy features Mia Goth performing as Maxine in the first and third films and as Pearl in the first and second. After X (2022) and as a prequel, Pearl (2022) shifts attention to the protagonist’s youth, initially drawing on conventions of the female gothic—confinement narratives and the struggle to escape for love and reunion with lost parents. The film also integrates postfeminist gothic elements via girl power discourse and neoliberal individualism, producing an ambivalent characterisation that both conforms to and subverts gender norms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Ti West’s horror trilogy overview

Dual characterization of Mia Goth as Maxine and Pearl

Female gothic and postfeminist gothic conventions in Pearl

FROM A FEMALE GOTHIC HEROINE TO A POSTFEMINIST GOTHIC VILLAINESS: THE AMBIVALENT CHARACTERIZATION OF THE YOUNG FEMALE PROTAGONIST IN TI WEST’S PEARL 1 Marta Miquel-Baldellou Universitat de Lleida [marta.miquel@udl.cat](marta.miquel@udl.cat) Abstract: American filmmaker Ti West has recently released a horror trilogy in which actress Mia Goth simultaneously plays the roles of Maxine, in the first and third parts of the trilogy, and of Pearl, in the first and second parts. After the release of the first film in the series, X (2022), and as a prequel to it, West’s second film Pearl (2022) focuses on the youth of its protagonist. Initially, the plot presents many of the conventions pertaining to the tradition of the female gothic, and particularly, to its first stage of development, in analogy with narratives that depict a young heroine who is threatened with confinement and struggles to escape in order to join the man she loves and find her lost parent. Conversely, West’s film Pearl also displays illustrative traits of the postfeminist gothic, inasmuch as it involves a rupture with the tradition of the female gothic, since postfeminist gothic narratives encompass popular evocations of girl power, postmodern discussions of feminism, and political discourses of neoliberal individualism. This article aims to analyse the ambivalent character of Pearl in a contemporary cinematic narrative that blends features from the female gothic tradition and the postfeminist gothic, thus portraying Pearl as gender-compliant, but also, gender-subversive. Keywords: female gothic; postfeminist gothic; heroine; villainess; aging; intertextuality. DE HEROÍNA DEL GÓTICO FEMENINO A VILLANA GÓTICA POSFEMINISTA: LA CARACTERIZACIÓN AMBIVALENTE DELA JOVEN PROTAGONISTA FEMENINA EN PEARL DE TI WEST Resumen: El cineasta estadounidense Ti West ha estrenado recientemente una trilogía de terror en la que la actriz Mia Goth interpreta simultáneamente los papeles de Maxine, en la primera y tercera entrega, y de Pearl, en la primera y segunda. Tras el estreno de la primera película de la saga, X (2022), y como precuela de la misma, la segunda películade West, Pearl (2022), se centra en la juventud de su protagonista. Inicialmente, la trama presenta muchas de las convenciones propias de la tradición gótica femenina y, en particular, de su primera etapa de desarrollo, en analogía con relatos que retratan a una joven heroína amenazada con la reclusión, que lucha por escapar para reunirse con el 1 Recommended Citation: Miquel-Baldellou, Marta.“From a Female Gothic Heroine to a Postfeminist Gothic Villainess: The Ambivalent Characterisation of the Young Female Protagonist in Ti West’s Pearl.” Journal of Artistic Creation and Literary Research 14, no. 1, 2026, pp. 1-20: [https://reunido.uniovi.es/index.php/jaclr/index](https://reunido.uniovi.es/index.php/jaclr/index) hombre que ama y que encuentra a su padre o madre desaparecidos. Por el contrario, lapelícula Pearl de West también muestra rasgos característicos del gótico posfeminista, en la medida en que implica una ruptura con la tradición del gótico femenino, ya que las narrativas góticas posfeministas abarcan evocaciones populares del empoderamiento femenino, debates posmodernos sobre el feminismo y discursos políticos del individualismo neoliberal. Este artículo tiene como objetivo analizar el carácter ambivalente de Pearl en una narrativa cinematográfica contemporánea que combina elementos de la tradición gótica femenina y del gótico posfeminista, retratando así a Pearl como a una figura que se ajusta a la par que subvierte las convenciones de género. Palabras clave: gótico femenino; gótico posfeminista; heroína; villana; madurez; intertextualidad. 1. INTRODUCTION American director Ti West has recently given rise to a horror cinematic trilogy as a result of his interest to explore diverse genre conventions and visual styles pertaining to different subgenres in horror cinema. The first

FAQs

What is the main focus of the article about Ti West’s Pearl?

It analyses the ambivalent character of Pearl within a contemporary cinematic narrative that blends the female gothic tradition with the postfeminist gothic.

How does Pearl relate to the female gothic tradition?

It uses conventions associated with the early female gothic, including threat of confinement and the protagonist’s struggle to escape toward love and reunion with missing parents.

In what way does Pearl also reflect postfeminist gothic features?

It shows a rupture with the female gothic tradition by incorporating girl power evocations, postmodern debates about feminism, and political discourse of neoliberal individualism.

Aug 26, 2026

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