BIOgraphy of the mandrake — on the corporeality of a woman-plant

Abstract

Mandragora is a hallucinogenic plant that has kindled people’s imaginations since the dawn of time. Its human-like root has become the subject of medical inquiry. This plant was also seen as a symbol of the occult. In an illustration of Abraham Bosse dated around 1650, the mandrake was depicted as a naked, headless woman. A similar image can be found in the series of illustrations (1946–1947) called Femme Maison by French artist Louise Bourgeois. In this article, while looking for similarities between these illustrations, the author will try to understand the corporeality and agency of the mandrake as a human-non-human hybrid. Using the tools of the new materialism, the author traces how the combined biological and cultural understanding of the mandrake can contribute to the affirmative view of its entangled presence in the world.