Introduction

In this book I explore the psychology of violent women, outlining the link between childhood experience and adult behaviour. I highlight the psychological and social functions and meanings of violence and provide a psychodynamic perspective on female violence, using case material throughout to illustrate theory. I describe acts of violence committed by women and identify those features which are unique to women. The pioneering work on female perversion by Estela Welldon in Mother, Madonna, Whore: The Idealisation and Denigration of Motherhood, first published in 1988, is central to this task as it provides a conceptual framework for understanding how female development and biology affect the evolution of perverse and violent behaviour.