‘I have to learn to hang up on you, darling’: Queering female rage in The Human Voice

The article situates Pedro Almodóvar’s The Human Voice within his thematic exploration of ‘women on the verge of a nervous breakdown’ and examines how it queers female rage. Inspired by Jean Cocteau’s play, Almodóvar’s adaptation includes a different ending and a distinctive combination of theatrical staging and cinematic naturalism. Through analyses of the narrative, production design and characterization, the article interprets female rage as a legitimate emotion in human relationships, intimately bound to neo-liberal self-management and affective injustice. Almodóvar’s protagonist’s emotional trajectory – from helplessness to rage – can be seen as a political gesture that challenges traditional feminine ideals. Furthermore, the protagonist’s gender-neutral appearance blurs her absent partner’s sexuality, thereby destabilizing heteronormative desire and expanding the emotional register of female subjectivity.