The purpose of this paper is to explore the possible connections between the Virgin
Mary, Myra Hindley and Rosemary West. The paper is divided into five sections. In
the first, I explore the role of Mary in Christian theology and provide a Christian
feminist response to this. In the second, I address some of the theoretical issues
involved in studying female serial killers; this includes outlining the role of the
media in responding to news stories involving female killers. In the third, I
separately address media responses to Myra Hindley and Rosemary West. In the fourth,
I explore psychoanalytic perspectives on mothers and mothering. In the conclusion I
attempt to bring together and synthesize the significant threads of the paper.
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