The Trauma of Post-Apocalyptic Motherhood

Abstract

Shifting from a focus on fictional fathers to fictional mothers, Chapter Five, analyzes the ways in which AMC's hit show, The Walking Dead (2010-present), critiques contemporary gender roles. Through a study of one particular character, Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride), this essay argues that the violent landscape of the zombie narrative might be an ideal space in which to interrogate conceptions of femininity more broadly, and maternity more specifically. This essay attends to the ways in which this character was punished within the narrative of the show for deviating from gender norms, but was embraced by fans on social media for those very same actions.