Finally, although the abject is constantly present, it must be repelled at all costs because it threatens annihilation. Ritual, such as through religion or politics, can help to eject the abject from human society (much like the human body ejects waste), however, the human subject can never be completely free from the abject because it helps to define life while threatening to destroy life. Humanity approaches the abject with feelings of disgust, horror, and desire. The abject is everything that doesn’t respect borders and that disrupts meaning and identity. I particularly enjoyed her connection between the abject and politics and religion. Although she does pull a lot on Freudian theory (which I don’t always agree with), she provides plenty of helpful insights into understanding abjection. Julie Kristeva’s Powers of Horror is a massively important text for any scholar interested in horror or the abject.
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