What Moves the Dead

To incorporate this theme, T. Kingfisher breaks from the patterns associated with Gothic literature and draws attention to historical elements of sexism within real-world culture. While the tropes of traditional Gothic literature often depict an innocent maiden being exploited or abused by an antagonistic force, Kingfisher’s version of the story challenges this stereotype, for Madeline is far from being an innocent maiden. Instead, she is a middle-aged woman who is complicit in the fungus’s attempt to take over her body. By accepting this alternative version of existence, she rejects society’s expectation for her to prioritize finding a husband, and she accepts the fungus’s presence as her life’s purpose. As she reflects, “I was a pretty doll for my mother to dress up and for men to look at, and then she died and eventually I came here, where there were no men to look at me. And at last, I found a purpose” (146). Rather than being an innocent victim, Madeline is empowered by her rejection of social norms. By actively welcoming the fungus into her body and teaching it, she finds new meaning in raising and protecting it—almost as if it is her child. In the climactic scene, her use of the Gallacian pronouns va/van to refer to the fungus supports this interpretation, for these pronouns are only used to refer to children.