ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ways in which different cultural readings of Homolka's embodiment are intimately connected to the ways. In which her beauty is variously read as evidence of both her victimhood and her monstrousness, which created a kind of "representational meltdown" in media, juridical, and public discourses. The chapter describes the discourses that were used to evidence Homolka's construction as a dangerous woman and a woman in danger as different truths during different moments in time. It suggests that these representations are in line with traditional depictions of the violent woman whose physicality and sexuality foreclose nuanced readings of "the specific contextual materiality of the body". The chapter explains the controversial issue of Homolka's plea bargain, which journalists dubbed the "sweetheart deal" and the "pact with the devil". It examines Homolka's construction as a selfish and narcissistic woman due to her willingness to place her own welfare and that of her abuser ahead of the safety of their victims.
