Fearing the Monster Within

This essay interrogates Samuel D. Hunter’s The Whale through the lenses of monstrosity, abjection, and empathy, analyzing both the 2012 stage play and the 2022 film adaptation. Although the creators frame the work as a study in human compassion, fat activists and cultural critics argue that the story reinforces anti-fat stereotypes, positioning fatness as both pathological and monstrous. Drawing on theories from Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, Julia Kristeva, and Jill Dolan, the essay explores how Charlie, the 600-pound protagonist, functions as both a symbol of cultural abjection and potentially a vessel for empathy. Whereas Darren Aronofsky’s film adaptation utilizes horror tropes—camera angles, lighting, and mise-en-scène—to elicit revulsion and monsterize the protagonist, the live theatrical medium invites a more nuanced, embodied exchange between audience and actor, opening space for what Dolan calls the “utopian performative”—a shared moment of affective identification and compassion. The essay argues that live performance better fulfills the play’s stated goal of empathy, whereas the film, despite its emotional impact, undermines this intention by foregrounding the “monstrous.” Ultimately, The Whale serves as a site of both critique and possibility in conversations around representation, fatness, and theatrical empathy.