What do you think of this theory? Share your reactions below in the comments thread.I desire the soul of Christine Brown! We will feast upon it as she festers in the grave! In this sped up and dramatised version of events, it's the only result her actions could have ever accomplished. The final image of Christine is her withering away to a skeleton, fighting against inevitable death.
The eating disorder is her problem, her curse, and she tries to solve it by repeating the very same behaviours she needs to stop, and is forever doomed because of it. Christine’s only way of saving her soul from the Lamia boils down to her decision to shove the cursed button down Mrs Ganush’s throat, and it fails. There is plenty more that supports the theory of Christine’s bulimia, but we’ll end where it’s most appropriate - surprisingly, at the end. There’s no winning when she eats or when she doesn’t eat, the frustration of her inner battle between keeping herself alive, and becoming the image of perfection, in constant flux. By forcing herself to have it regardless of her disgust, she then struggles to swallow, instead choking on the dessert in an uncomfortable display of her own rejection of eating.Įventually, she coughs out a fly - perhaps representing the decay of her body, or even the disgust in herself for actually consuming the product when she’d resisted so much previously. When she does actually try and consume cake at her boyfriend’s house, an eye appears in the dessert, watching her every move in judgemental fashion. As the film progresses, so does the inclusion of blood in these sequences, showing the damage internally inflicted on Christine getting more and more serious. Christine is constantly battling things trying to force their way down her throat, which includes Ganush’s own regurgitated embalming fluid and used handkerchief, in symbolic realization of her relationship with eating. Of course, vomit is another giant portion of this theory, as Raimi offers scenes of oral fixation over and over again. It attacks her in the kitchen and turns her cooking utensils against her, it appears silhouetted with what could be seen as pig hooves, and throws up her own cat in rejection of the ‘food’ it is offered. Her curse on Christine from the Lamia (who in fact shares the name with a woman cursed to unhappiness and feasting on flesh in Greek mythology) is a physical expression of her inner demons: it knows about her disorder that she desperately tries to hide. With broken, yellowed nails, damaged skin, and stringy hair, Ganush is the accumulation of symptoms associated with bulimia, and a vision of what Christine will become - hence her attempts to deny the old woman and push her out of her presence and mind: she ignores her symptoms as 'just a little longer' can earn her a promotion. The visit from Mrs Ganush can be seen as a representation of Christine’s future self if she doesn’t stop the harm she’s putting her body through. “How does this relate to Mrs Ganush and the Lamia?” I hear you cry, and that’s where the theory gets interesting. The one thing she can get true control of in her life is her diet, which is then taken to horrifying extremes in pursuit of happiness and success. Her unhappiness is then channeled into becoming the perfect woman, one that can tick all the boxes that she currently feels like she's failing, and this impossible task is attempted through bulimia.
She’s competing for a promotion at work, put down by her boss and coworker, and her boyfriend’s mom wishes he was with someone else, trying to set him up with other dates within earshot of poor Christine. Christine has obviously come a long way from the past she's ashamed of, but still isn’t good enough in the eyes of everyone around her.