The Devil’s Wife Presentation Notes

Slide 2
“The Devil’s Wife” by Carol Ann Duffy is a powerful and unsettling dramatic monologue
spoken from the point of view of Myra Hindley, who was the partner of the infamous British
serial killer Ian Brady. Drawing from real-life events—the notorious Moors Murders of the
1960s—the poem traces Hindley’s psychological and emotional journey as she becomes
involved in Brady’s horrific crimes.

The poem is divided into five sections, each representing a different phase in Hindley’s
transformation and internal conflict:

1. “Dirt” – This section focuses on Hindley’s early relationship with Brady. She recalls how
she was drawn to him and how his influence began to corrupt her. This marks the start
of her moral descent.

2. “Medusa” – Hindley begins to lose her humanity. She becomes emotionally numb and
disconnected from the brutality of the crimes. The title alludes to the mythical Medusa,
symbolizing how Hindley herself becomes a monstrous figure in the eyes of society.

3. “Bible” – In this part, she reflects on her arrest and how the media and public see her
as pure evil. The religious reference in the title suggests themes of judgment,
condemnation, and a longing for redemption that never comes.

4. “Night” – Here, Hindley starts to show emotional turmoil. She is haunted by the
memories of the children who were murdered, revealing guilt and a fractured conscience
beneath the surface.

5. “An Epiphany” – In the final section, Hindley reaches a moment of painful clarity. She
accepts her role in the crimes and her identity as “the devil’s wife,” a phrase that
highlights both her connection to Brady and the burden of being viewed as evil herself.

Throughout the poem, Duffy presents Hindley not just as a criminal, but as a complex individual
shaped by manipulation, emotional dependency, and societal judgment. The poem does not
excuse her actions, but it challenges the reader to confront the disturbing reality of how
ordinary people can become involved in extraordinary evil. It also explores themes of guilt,
influence, gender, and moral responsibility.

By giving voice to a historically demonized woman, Duffy forces us to examine uncomfortable

Slide 3
Carol Ann Duffy collection The World’s Wife, where "The Devil’s Wife” appears, reimagines the
stories of famous men through the perspectives of their wives or female counterparts, revealing
untold experiences and emotional truths. In "The Devil’s Wife", Duffy applies this technique to
the real-life figure of Myra Hindley, exploring her inner voice and emotional journey. Rather than
portraying Hindley as simply a monster, Duffy examines the complexity of her role in the Moors
Murders, the psychological manipulation she may have experienced, and the guilt and internal
conflict she later faced. This approach reflects Duffy’s broader interest in exploring power
dynamics, especially how women can be shaped—and sometimes destroyed—by toxic
relationships and societal expectations. Through this poem, Duffy challenges readers to
confront uncomfortable ideas about complicity, judgment, and the nature of evil, all while staying
true to her poetic aim of exploring hidden or suppressed female perspectives.

Slide 4
Carol Ann Duffy uses The Devil’s Wife to engage with feminist issues in a way that does not
excuse or justify evil but instead critically examines the complex conditions that can lead a
woman to become complicit in it. Through giving voice to Myra Hindley, Duffy explores how
male power can dominate and consume female identity, suggesting that Hindley’s actions
were shaped within a relationship marked by manipulation and control. At the same time, the
poem acknowledges that women can be active participants in wrongdoing, but highlights how
they are often judged by stricter and more gendered moral standards compared to men.

Furthermore, Duffy critiques how society constructs the idea of female evil in particularly
harsh and unforgiving ways, turning women like Hindley into monstrous symbols rather than
complex human beings. This harsh social punishment reflects broader cultural anxieties about
women who transgress traditional roles of innocence and passivity. Duffy’s feminist lens does
not seek to redeem Hindley or absolve her crimes but instead forces readers to confront
uncomfortable truths about how gender, power, and violence intersect. It challenges
simplistic narratives of blame and punishment by exposing the tangled, often painful realities
behind female complicity in evil.

Slide 5

Slide 6
Dramatic Mologue

One of the most significant poetic devices Carol Ann Duffy uses in “The Devil’s Wife” is the
dramatic monologue, which adds depth and complexity to Myra Hindley’s voice. By writing
the entire poem from Hindley’s perspective, Duffy gives readers direct access to her inner
thoughts, emotions, and justifications. This narrative style allows Hindley to tell her own
version of events, rather than being presented solely through the lens of public judgment or
the media.

A good example of this is the line, “I had a hole in the middle of me the shape of a boy.” This
metaphor reveals a deep emotional emptiness within Hindley, hinting at a profound need or void
that she believes was filled by Ian Brady. It suggests a twisted emotional dependency on him,
implying that her identity and actions were shaped by this relationship. Through such lines,
Duffy allows readers to see how Hindley may have rationalized her complicity in the crimes,
making her portrayal more disturbing and complex.
The dramatic monologue format also mimics the structure of a confession, yet instead of clear
remorse, it is filled with emotional ambiguity and self-justification. This ambiguity creates
discomfort, as readers are forced to consider the human side of a woman involved in horrific
acts. Duffy doesn't ask readers to forgive Hindley, but she does challenge them to see beyond
the “monster” label and think about how personal vulnerability, manipulation, and social
judgment can contribute to someone’s downfall.

This poetic choice is deeply provocative because it blurs the line between victim and villain,
truth and self-deception, inviting empathy where most would refuse to offer it. It ties directly
into Duffy’s broader themes of voice, guilt, and the moral complexity of female experience,
especially in contexts where women are vilified by society.

Allusion

The poem “The Devil’s Wife” is rich in allusions, particularly religious and cultural, which add
layers of meaning and deepen its thematic complexity. The title itself is a powerful allusion—
referring to Ian Brady as “the Devil,” and casting Myra Hindley as his wife or accomplice. This
immediately places their relationship within a religious framework, echoing themes of
temptation, sin, and damnation. By doing so, Duffy draws on the Christian narrative of the
Fall of Man, subtly comparing Hindley to Eve, a woman corrupted or misled by a dominant
male figure. This positions Myra as someone who may have been tempted into evil, but who
also bears moral responsibility for her choices.

The allusion to the Devil also reflects the mythology that grew around Hindley in the British
media and public consciousness—she was often portrayed as the “evil woman,” even more
horrifying for being female. Society painted her as a symbol of unnatural, feminine evil, while still
blaming Brady as the mastermind. Duffy engages with this narrative but complicates it, raising
questions about guilt, complicity, and agency. Was Hindley simply under Brady’s control, or
was she an active participant in the murders? Duffy does not provide easy answers. Instead,
she unsettles the reader’s moral certainty, forcing us to confront the uncomfortable truth that
evil can be shared, shaped, and even chosen.

By using this biblical and cultural allusion, Duffy also critiques the way women’s roles in
crimes are judged through gendered lenses—where women are either victims or monsters,
rarely anything in between. This framing invites readers to reflect on society’s need to explain
female violence by blaming male influence, rather than facing the disturbing idea that women,
too, can be agents of evil.

Slide 7
Carol Ann Duffy uses powerful symbols throughout “The Devil’s Wife” to explore themes of
guilt, identity, and societal judgment. One of the most prominent is the Bible, which represents
moral authority, guilt, and society’s expectation of repentance. This is seen in the line, “I
took to daffodils and abstinence, the Lord’s Prayer.” Here, Myra Hindley’s sudden turn to
religious imagery while in prison may suggest an effort to seek redemption or demonstrate
remorse. However, the tone Duffy uses is ironically detached, almost as if Hindley is
performing repentance rather than genuinely feeling it. Her mention of “daffodils” (often
symbolizing innocence or new beginnings) alongside “abstinence” and a well-known prayer
feels overly rehearsed—a ritual of redemption rather than a heartfelt transformation.
Through this, Duffy critiques the ritualistic, performative aspects of societal forgiveness,
exposing how repentance can be treated as a checkbox rather than a genuine moral
reckoning.

Another significant symbol in the poem is the allusion to Medusa, a figure from Greek
mythology who was punished and transformed into a monster whose gaze turned people to
stone. In the line, “I gave the cameras my Medusa stare,” Hindley compares her public image to
that of Medusa—someone both feared and vilified, and constantly stared at by a judgmental
society. This reference highlights Hindley’s transformation from an ordinary girl into a
cultural monster, just as Medusa was once a mortal woman who was cursed. Duffy uses this
symbol to explore how female offenders, especially those involved in violent crimes, are
stripped of their humanity and turned into mythical symbols of evil. Medusa’s stare
becomes a metaphor for defiance, shame, and visibility—Hindley is not just judged; she is
frozen in the public’s memory as a symbol of female monstrosity.

Through both the religious and mythological symbolism, Duffy presents a layered critique of
how society responds to women who transgress moral boundaries. She shows how
punishment, judgment, and even repentance are often shaped by cultural myths and
public perception, rather than nuanced understanding or justice.

Slide 8
Imagery

Carol Ann Duffy employs disturbing and mythological imagery to highlight not only the horror
of Myra Hindley’s crimes but also the intense media-driven demonization she faced. One of
the most striking examples is the line, “I gave the cameras my Medusa stare.” This metaphor is
rich in meaning. Medusa, a mythological figure cursed with a gaze that turned people to stone,
becomes a powerful symbol of female monstrosity and fear. By comparing Hindley’s look to
Medusa’s, Duffy shows how Hindley was transformed from a real person into a terrifying icon,
her image used to represent pure evil in the public imagination.

The use of the word “stare” also carries significance. It is sharp, aggressive, and
confrontational—unlike a passive glance. In the context of a camera, which captures rather than
attacks, the idea of a “stare” weaponizes the act of being looked at. This contrast emphasizes
how public perception and media imagery can be used to punish, define, and distort.
Hindley is not just being photographed; she is being constructed into a spectacle—a face that
reflects national horror and moral outrage.

Through this disturbing imagery, Duffy critiques how society, especially through the media,
simplifies complex individuals into symbols. In Hindley’s case, she is not just a criminal but a
mythologized monster, stripped of her backstory, agency, and psychological reality. The poem
forces readers to confront how female offenders, particularly those who defy traditional gender
roles (like being nurturing or passive), are often demonized more harshly than their male
counterparts. By using vivid and unsettling metaphors, Duffy challenges the reader to question
the fairness and accuracy of such portrayals, and to reflect on the power of image and
narrative in shaping public memory.

(archetype means a certain type of person)

Irony
Carol Ann Duffy skillfully uses irony in “The Devil’s Wife” to reveal the speaker’s moral
evasiveness and self-deception, making the reader question the truth behind Hindley’s words.
This is especially clear in the line, “I was innocent. He was a charming man.” The stark contrast
between Hindley’s claim of innocence and her involvement in the horrific Moors Murders creates
a chilling and unsettling effect. The word “innocent” feels deeply unreliable here, given the
gravity of the crimes she was complicit in, highlighting how Hindley attempts to distance
herself from responsibility.

Moreover, the casual description of Ian Brady as a “charming man” carries a flippant, almost
dismissive tone. This downplays not only Brady’s evil but also implicitly minimizes Hindley’s own
role by suggesting she was merely captivated or deceived. The irony in calling a notorious serial
killer “charming” serves to expose how Hindley—and through her, the speaker—engages in
self-justification and denial, avoiding full confrontation with the reality of their actions.

This ironic narration makes Hindley an unreliable narrator. Readers are forced to constantly
question her version of events and motives, recognizing the danger of accepting a single,
self-serving perspective. The use of irony here deepens the psychological complexity of the
poem, as it reflects how individuals involved in wrongdoing may use denial and distorted
reasoning to protect themselves from guilt. Duffy’s portrayal thus challenges readers to look
beyond surface claims and confront uncomfortable truths about complicity, responsibility, and
the nature of evil.

Slide 9 - Structure