Abstract
Feminine symbolism in the American frontier myth is an evolving cultural/rhetorical manifestation of a developing archetypal process. The land‐based frontier myth represents a middle stage in which a once‐whole image of the feminine was split by the emergence of patriarchy. An analysis of the films Alien and Aliens reveals that the frontier myth is evolving, at least in this case, into a land/space hybrid, in which the lost feminine is encountered, found to be vengeful at the exploitation of her domain, and then killed by a patriarchalized heroine.

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