Then one day, she discovers the truth about her reflection. Whereas before she felt at one with nature, as though it was 'the emanation of her questing nose and erect ears,' now she sees it as 'a backdrop for her, that for her arrivals to give it meaning.' Wolf-Alice, previously as engaged in the moment as a baby or animal, starts to become more withdrawn. Simultaneously, she acquires a sense of being different from her surroundings. She tries to play with her reflection because, like an animal or very young child, she does not recognize it as her own.Īs months pass, Wolf-Alice's menstruation makes her aware of the passage of time. While searching the house for rags to stop her bleeding, Wolf-Alice sees her reflection in a mirror for the first time. She is accustomed to being dirty, but she cleans up the blood out of shame. Confused by her bleeding, Wolf-Alice is struck with wonder for the very first time. That is, until a major event occurs she begins to menstruate. Wolf-Alice lives in a strange state that is neither dreaming or waking. She lives in the Duke's castle and serves as a sort of primitive maid to him, using skills the nuns taught her. Presumably because she is so 'inhuman,' the Duke does not devour Wolf-Alice. Since he does not belong among humans or wolves, the Duke is terribly lonely.

Even wolves would not accept the Duke, because he eats his own kind. To the townspeople, he is an abhorred ally of the devil, but their attempts to scare him off are hopeless because he is not afraid of garlic or Christian symbols. When the moon comes out, he becomes ravenous and devours humans and human corpses. The Duke is a lonely, invincible creature who does not cast a reflection. Exasperated, they send her to live with a werewolf called the Duke. She learns to cooperate with the nuns in order to get food, but they cannot break her of her animal habits. Once they realize she is human, they bring her to live in a convent. Peasants discover Wolf-Alice sleeping next to her wolf mother, whom they shot to death. What distinguishes Wolf-Alice most from other humans is the fact that she is unaware of her own mortality. Even though she is physically a woman, 'Nothing about her is human except that she is not a wolf' she runs on all fours, is nocturnal, howls rather than speaks, and does not wear clothes.

In the bloody chamber