Of course, once ascribing monstrous traits to women Knox recognizes the corrupting power of these traits. The worst monsters, after all, are not simply the ones who can hurt us individually, but attack society itself. In constructing his monstrous woman in this way Knox is betraying his own fears about the imperfections of men and the social and political system in which he lives. Knox fears that the empire of women will corrupt men, turning them into monstrous forms, forms he no doubt fears exist already. In being neither completely male nor completely female the hermaphrodite challenges all of the assumptions Knox makes about sexual difference.
Monstrous women can corrupt men to the extent that they are no longer recognizable as men.
While still retaining the vehicle of the male metaphor, that is the male genitalia, Knox's monstrous hermaphrodites lack the tenor to which that vehicle is connected. They no longer possess the male traits of wisdom, understanding, and courage. The nature of their maleness, by which they can differentiate themselves from Other, has been broken down by the corrupting influence of the monstrous woman. Even more disturbing to Knox is the corruption the monstrous woman has on the body politic. The deformed body described by Knox is a gruesome reminder to his reader that women can corrupt the public world in ways that render the body incapable of survival.