ABSTRACT
The trope of cannibalism is, at once, a pervasive and transgressive aspect of literary fiction. A craving for the assimilation of another through sexual union invites close comparison to the need for incorporation of individual through the act of literal and symbolic consumption. When this craving to desire/devour another is not only consensual but also, in essence, reciprocal, cannibalistic narratives can arguably transcend the typical colonial and subject–object dichotomy. The chapter focuses on erotic reciprocity via the optics of cannibalism. The symbolic or literal consumption of another often lies at the apex of sexual sadism where reciprocity is emphatically absent as the eaten is not only consumed but dehumanized. With focus on the breast as the site of oral fixation, David Cronenberg's debut novel Consumed follows nomad journalists Naomi Walford and Nathan Wilkinson as their interlinking paths take them around the world on a journey of obsession, consumption and sex.
