Werewolf Wednesday Entry 4/2/25

Title: The Company of Wolves.

Media: Film, directed by Neil Jordan, story by Angela Carter.

Adapted from Angela Carter’s piece by the same name in the collection The Bloody chamber, The Company of Wolves was released in 1984, and follows protagonist Rosaleen, as she explores her fairytale dream world and experiences various tales about shapeshifters and werewolves. In the dream world, she lives with her parents and sister Alice, whom is later attacked and killed by a wolf. Due to such profound grief, her parents send her away to stay with her grandmother. There, her grandmother tells her stories about dangerous men with eyebrows that meet in the middle, and can transform into wolves. Rosaleen’s imagination runs wild as she hears these tales, infatuated with the idea of shapeshifters and monsters. 

Despite her grandmother’s warning, she later encounters a huntsman in the forest with eyebrows as her grandmother described. Akin to the European folktale, Little Red Riding Hood, the huntsman challenges Rosaleen to race back to her grandmother’s house. The huntsman arrives long before Rosaleen, where he kills her grandmother. Once Rosaleen returns, she is left to speak with the wolf. Despite the horror of the scene, her fear and anger are complicated by her desire for the huntsman. In the ensuing conflict, she accidentally wounds him, forcing him to transform into a wolf. Shocked and sympathetic, Rosaleen comforts the wolf. In the end, the village people storm the house, only to discover that Rosaleen has become a wolf as well, where she flees with the huntsman to live freely in the forest among other wolves. 

The film is latent with the themes of the loss of innocence, and the normalised demonisation of feminine sexuality. Inevitably, Rosaleen opposes the idea that only men can become wolves, by becoming one herself. Throughout the story, Rosaleen is faced with the pressure of marriage, as her family encourages her to pursue a village boy as a potential husband. This pressure only spurs a quiet defiance in Rosaleen, as she later becomes trusting of the huntsman whom will eventually claim the life of her grandmother. 

Overall, The Company of Wolves stands as a reminder of the folkloric qualities present in werewolf mythos both historically, and presently. Stories of shapeshifters are rife with metaphoric potential, and it is of no surprise that the werewolf has captured the interest of feminist storytellers. 

As always, be sure to appreciate your local monsters.