"We secluded her in animal privacy out of fear of her imperfection because it showed us what we might have been" - Pg. 122
As neither woman or wolf, Wolf-Alice poses a potential threat to the civilization of mankind. She was raised by wolves, the most primal of animals, and as such has become as animistic as her humanity will allow. She is capable of thought beyond instinct but only slightly and only if it is taught to her. She is what people might have been if it had not been for society and the rules that govern it. Society is a means to control human behavior under the maxim that we are all imperfect. Carter uses this concept to contrast the "civilized" world of the nuns and the "primal" world of Wolf-Alice. Carter says, three paragraphs earlier, that if Wolf-Alice had been around during the time of Adam and Eve, she would have been the wise child to lead them; suggesting that the forbidden fruit would never have been eaten. Based on this assumption Carter poses the question: is it better or more perfect to live as a "primal" and "feral" animal than a "civilized" human?
As neither woman or wolf, Wolf-Alice poses a potential threat to the civilization of mankind. She was raised by wolves, the most primal of animals, and as such has become as animistic as her humanity will allow. She is capable of thought beyond instinct but only slightly and only if it is taught to her. She is what people might have been if it had not been for society and the rules that govern it. Society is a means to control human behavior under the maxim that we are all imperfect. Carter uses this concept to contrast the "civilized" world of the nuns and the "primal" world of Wolf-Alice. Carter says, three paragraphs earlier, that if Wolf-Alice had been around during the time of Adam and Eve, she would have been the wise child to lead them; suggesting that the forbidden fruit would never have been eaten. Based on this assumption Carter poses the question: is it better or more perfect to live as a "primal" and "feral" animal than a "civilized" human?
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