Maternal desire is the main issue in the film Aliens; for the heroine, it is loss and the subsequent regaining of the object of maternal desire that is significant. The considerable length of time spent in stasis, loss of job and primarily the loss of her daughter contribute toRipley's physical and emotional displacement. Her cat is the only thing familiar to her, and so fills in as object of this maternal desire in theopening scenes. Ripley's behaviour towards her cat introduces some of thematernal qualities …showed first 85 words of 1674 total…
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…showed last 85 words of 1674 total…the threat of monstrous maternal desire has been overcome, heroism and strength are shown to be relinquishable components of the maternal relationship. By presenting this message in such a way, the film implies that such a relinquishment is a favorable outcome, and that nurturing maternal desire is more essential than the instinctive drive to eliminate threat, because this aspect of maternal desire is closer to the monstrous 'other', and thus is privileged as essential for survival but still outweighed by the dominance of the former.
