HUMANISMA : Journal of Gender Studies
Vol. 10 No. 1 (2026): June 2026

ALIENATION IN MOTHERHOOD AND INTELLECTUAL LIFE: A SOCIALIST FEMINIST ANALYSIS OF SWALLOW (2019)

Amelia Resti Iffadah (Department of English Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang)
Istiadah (English Literature Department, Faculty of Humanities, UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang)
Noornajihan Jaafar (Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia)



Article Info

Publish Date
01 Jul 2026

Abstract

The study explores about the representation of female alienation in Swallow (2019) by Carlo Mirabella-Davis using Alison M. Jaggar’s (1983) socialist feminist framework. Previous studies on the film mainly focus on psychological trauma and bodily autonomy, while limited research analyses female alienaton from Jaggar’s feminist perspective. This study used qualitative descriptive methods with feminist film analysis. The data consisted of 11 key scenes that show power relations in the domestic and social spheres, analyzed based on Jaggar’s two concepts of alienation, Motherhood and Intellectual Agency. The data were collected by watching the film repeatedly, transcribing relevant dialogues, and identifying scenes that show forms of alienation. The data were then interpreted through narrative characterization analysis and social context analysis. The findings show that Swallow (2019) represents motherhood alienation through control over the main character’s body and pregnancy as part of family expectations and demands. Meanwhile, from the perspective of intellectual agency, female alienation is seen in the silencing of the main character’s voice and the neglect of her decisions in both personal and social settings. This study contributes to feminist film analysis by showing how gender inequality is constructed and normalized in visual representation.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

psga

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Environmental Science Social Sciences

Description

HUMANISMA: Journal of Gender Studies (e-ISSN: 2580-7765 & p-ISSN: 2580-6688) is a Academic Journal Publication by Center for the Gender and Children Studies of State University for Islamic Studies (UIN) Sjech M. Djamil Djambek Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia. It specializes in research on ...