Saint Christopher's Canine Hybrid Body and its Cultural Autocannibalism

Abstract

This article interrogates the cannibalistic hybrid form of Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travel in order to establish meaningful theoretical links between the threatening characteristics and processes of his monstrous body and the threatening characteristics and processes of travel. Continuing controversy in the Catholic Church over historical accounts of this monstrous saint's life suggests that his religious and cultural influence extends into the twenty-first century, which makes him a remarkable candidate for further study. This article employs postcolonial and psychoanalytic approaches to the text in order to define Saint Christopher as both literally and culturally cannibalistic.