Abstract
Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” is known as the leading single from her deeply personal album, Midnights. It is the third track on the album, known for typically being a pop hit yet unexpectedly devastating as it captures her anxieties and sheds light on her relationship with femininity in a way that many women throughout history can relate to and have been expressing in their writing. In exploring these anxieties, Swift sings about feeling like a monster. She is hardly the first woman to compare her femininity to a monster. These lyrics immediately spring Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, since some of its most popular readings examine the monster as an extension of Shelley herself.
In this essay, I argue that Swift perceives her femininity in a strikingly similar way to Shelley, despite writing over 200 years apart. As a radio hit, “Anti-Hero” proves that millions of other women and girls also relate to the idea of monstrous femininity. Their shared perception highlights that it is still a relevant, relatable theme in 2022 when the song was released, and my interest in presenting this topic today illustrates that it remains true.
Recommended Citation
Rogers, Alexa B.
(2026)
"The Monster on the Hill: "Anti-Hero" and its Connection to Frankenstein,"
The Manuscript: Journal of Taylor Swift Studies: Vol. 1:
Iss.
1, Article 9.
Available at:
https://orb.binghamton.edu/jotss/vol1/iss1/9