In order to do her job, Isserley had to undergo surgery to make her look less like a human being and more like a vodsel. This drug sedated the men until she could get them to Ablach Farms, where they would be processed. When she decided she had an ideal specimen, she activated drug injectors in the passenger seat of her car. She preyed on hitchhikers and weeded out men who would not be missed by getting to know them as well as possible in their short time in the car together. Isserley’s job required her to bring back well-muscled, well-formed men for the meat processing plant at Vess Incorporated’s Ablach Farm.

The barriers to relationships between males and females are also discussed. The novel addresses the idea that it is language that separates the humans from the animals and that injustice can come in a variety of forms.

She additionally had an experience where a hitchhiker tried to rape her, an incident that made her realize she suffered more during her job than her victims did. Isserley rethought her career when she met Amlis Vess, an elite who was staunchly against killing vodsels for meat. She considered the surgery she underwent to make her body look like that of a vodsel a small price to pay to keep her from going to work in the underground New Estates. Isserley knew what it was like to look different from the others of her species in the novel Under the Skin by Michael Faber. NOTE: All citations in this Study Guide refer to the Kindle version of Under the Skin, published July 16, 2001.

Under the skin isserley