The Bloody Chamber Analysis

This essay will attempt to discuss the two gothic tales ‘Carmilla’ and ‘Dracula’ in relation to cultural contexts in which they exist as being presented to the reader through the gender behaviour and sexuality that is portrayed through the texts. Vampire stories always seem to involve some aspect of sexuality and power.

How does Carter represent gender and explore gender issues to create meaning in either ‘The Tiger’s Bride’, ‘The Courtship of Mr Lyon’ or ‘The Bloody Chamber’?

In both Goblin Market and “The Bloody Chamber”, women face objectification as pornographic objects whose solitary purpose is to be a man’s appealing possession. Evidently, the objectification of women impacted the way each author constructed their texts. Feminist movements aiming to undermine these rigid female and male roles are prominent in the time period of both literary works. Both Christina Rossetti and Angela Carter use strange worlds to differentiate from the typical fairy tale’s predictable conclusion and instead make a statement through the use of a female heroine. Both literary works contrast the archetypal idea that a man must always be the savior

Women have a profound role in not only the society, but in all facets of culture. Their impact can be seen/felt in music, fashion, and even literature. After reading the short stories from the last few weeks, it has become more apparent that women truly encompass a definite role as well in gothic fiction. As a result, this paper will seek to analyze and define the roles of women in two (2) prominent gothic fiction pieces: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

Bloody Lowndes was written by a historian named Hassan Kwame Jefferies. The book details the African American struggles faced in the fight for freedom in the rural area of Lowndes County, during the1960’s. He examines different activist groups, the leaders within those groups, and their impact/ role played on the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. Some of groups mentioned throughout the book included, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO) and the

Original fairy tales such as Perrault’s ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ or De Beaumont’s ‘Beauty and The Beast’ depict women as both socially and physically inferior – they reflect a hegemonic patriarchal social structure that restricted female voice and independence in order to maintain the status quo. In ‘The Bloody Chamber’ Angela Carter effectively draws out the theme of feminism by contrasting traditional elements of the fairy-tale genre and Gothic fiction – which usually depict female characters as weak and helpless – with strong female protagonists. This provides Carter the ability to create sexually liberated female

The third and final element of gothic literature that can be found in “The Tell-Tale Heart” is that of the presence of madness and the thin boundary line that

Within My Last Duchess, The Bloody Chamber and Dracula, there is evidence to suggest that women within the gothic genre as portrayed as victims of male authority, as well as evidence to disprove this argument, instead suggesting that it is the women within the Gothic genre which makes themselves victims. ‘Angela Carter is particularly interested in the portrayal of women as victims of male aggression as a limiting factor in the feminist perspective of the time’[i] Carter, with her modern twist on traditional fairytales places a

In Carmilla, Sheridan Le Fanu uses vampires to identify and challenge gender roles of women in the Victorian age. From the outset, Carmilla and Laura’s relationship appears to transcend mere homosocial characteristics; Carmilla awakens sensations in Laura which she has never known before because her sexuality has always been suppressed. This suppression is inherently motived by the dominant ideology in Victorian culture that lesbianism, and homosexuality more generally, are “unnatural” forms of sexuality. According to Colleen Damman, “as a woman, Carmilla can only claim her sexuality after death” (). This is an interesting statement because it provides context for the idea that vampirism is the only way Carmilla can express her own carnal desires; She too is then subject to the constraints of Victorian culture. This to say that, for Le Fanu, the only way to have an open discussion concerning homosexual desire is to employ the vampire. Bearing this concept in mind, by analyzing certain key passages and elements of Carmilla and by applying some modern conceptualizations on gender and sexuality, one can see that Carmilla and Laura are merely byproducts of a period rife with sexual desire, frustration, and tension.

“The Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe is a fantastic short story, but how does it fit into literature? The story uses elements and techniques that delve into the gothic genre and allows the reader to be introduced to a darker reality. In “The Tell Tale Heart”, gothic elements reveal themselves in the short story through the use of setting and also through the use of characterization. These two elements are key components which demonstrate gothic features and help to classify this story as gothic literature. Murder and the supernatural elements also show that this text can be considered within the gothic genre of literature.

This dissertation will examine and analyse two of the macabre and gothic tales from the English author Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865); The Old Nurses Story (1852) and The Poor Clare (1857). Indicating and demonstrating how representations of mystery and the supernatural are used as vehicles of imagination, expression and exploration into the hidden depths of the female psyche through the use of Gothic fiction within the Victorian era (1837-1901). I intend to delve and explore into the identity of the feminine-self exposing the darker and intimate issues of the female Gothic, otherwise hidden within the oppressive constraints of the female role residing in Victorian society. Applying psychoanalytical examples, I shall discuss themes of the

The Gothic genre is an increasingly popular area for feminist studies, showing contrasts in society at the time and the expectations of women within it. In pre industrial times, women were expected to play a subservient role to men, they were expected to marry young and bare children, they would simply care for their husbands and support the family, they were denied the right to vote or own property and were expected to be the innocently silent, supportive backbone behind patriarchal society. It is noted that female characters in Gothic novels and plays often fall into one of two categories: innocent victims, subservient to the strong and powerful

Women in the 18th and 19th century were expected to follow the orders of the males in their lives. They were forced into arranged marriages to connect families in a pursuit for social power and they were expected to abide by anything the males in their lives asked of them. Free will was nonexistent. Much gothic literature effectively highlights the women’s expected role of the time. However, another aspect that seems to surface in gothic literature is whenever there is a woman who is not following the social norms, they seem to be the driving conflict behind the plotline and ultimately lead to any present happy ending.

“Gerald’s Game,” an adaptation of a Stephen King novel by the same title, can be analyzed from the Female Gothic lens, suggesting that the gothic literature mechanisms can also be applied to contemporary tales of female strength and

The following piece of writing will explore factors of a gothic novel. It will exclusively do so in regards of the two novels Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein. These very famous novels will be looked at in a very in depth piece of writing. Each novels main themes and their background will be presented. The morality and the gothic novel with specific reference to Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights will be assessed. The second aspect will be the social and cultural of the genre, the genre being the gothic novel. Thirdly, the monster as punishment and the punishment of the monster in both novels. The final aspect that will be analysed is the constructed nature of boundaries in both texts.