The Bloody Chamber

To study the gender issues in The Bloody Chamber we have to first look at the motivations behind the writings. Carter’s feminist agenda creates the feminist tones in this novel which are overtly represented. An excerpt from an English anthology writes on the feminist switch of focus, {A} ‘from attacking male versions of the world to exploring the nature of the female world and outlook, and reconstructing the lost or supressed records of female experience’. This is what Angela Carter explores in her novels. The Courtship of Mr Lyon is a reconstruction of a traditional patriarchal story to highlight female independence.

Angela Carter does not speak of a Feminism that succumbs to patriarchal pressure. She allows certain cracks and fissures to become visible in patriarchal structure and roles. Her treatment of the characters and situations is notably ambitious. Her reworking of myths and weaving of imaginary situations evoke ideas of liberation and changes. Carter’s female heroes in The Passion of New Eve and Nights at the Circus are not merely victims of sexual harassment or rape. They are masculine females able to pose a challenge to all patriarchal norms. Both these novels provide Carter opportunities to redefine masculinity. She succeeds in crediting her female protagonists with strong degree of autonomy and in making her male protagonists convincingly drawn human beings.

In “The Victims” by Sharon Olds it describes a divorce through the eyes of the parents’ children. The first section is shown through past tense as the speaker is a child and the last section is shown in present tense with the speaker already being an adult trying to make sense of past events. The word “it” in the first two lines carries a tremendous weight, hinting at the ever so present abuse and mistreatment, but remaining non-specific. The first part generates a negative tone toward the father who is referred to as malicious by the mother who “took it” from him “in silence” until she eventually “kicked him out.” Through the entirety of the poem the children are taught to hate their father. Who taught them? Their mother showed them that their father was a villain and were taught to have no sympathy for him but “to hate you and take it” and so they did so. Although the poem never directly states what the father did to receive the family’s hated, the speaker gives examples as to why he is hated.

In this essay I intend to explore the narrative conventions and values, which Oliver Smithfield presents in the short story Victim. The short story positions the reader to have negative and sympathetic opinion on the issues presented. Such as power, identity and bullying. For example Mickey the young boy is having issues facing his identity. It could be argued that finding your identity may have the individual stuck trying to fit in with upon two groups.

The author, Margaret Atwood demonstrates the theme that in a violent isolated world, feminism is despised by the offended society, the inhuman treatment that women received may lead to physical and psychological perils; conversely, one’s firm belief could embody hope and reveal a precise future. Atwood uses irony to impart the theme. Significantly, the protagonist Offred feels she increasingly losing control of her body as “ an instrument, of pleasure” (Atwood 84). But the infinite emptiness inside her can never swap out the

Carter uses sexual dominance in ‘The Bloody Chamber’ as a metaphor for women’s social inequality with “He in his London tailoring; she, bare as a lamb chop”. The separation of the pronoun “she” represents the isolation forced upon her by her overbearing husband. The girl is also mentioned after the Marquis in this sentence, showing how she ranks after him and has no control now that she’s married. Women are often seen as passive as the Marquis assesses the girl with “the eyes of a connoisseur”, implying that she is an object to be owned and lusted after. Sivyer writes “the man assumes an active and dominant role whilst his bride is positioned as passive” . Her passivity is shown when she says “He made me put on my choker”, she was forced to do it and offered no resistance. The choker itself represents her captivity as it’s similar to a collar, implying that the Marquis is her owner, also exemplified as he calls her “my little nun”. This condescension mocks the girl for her innocence, asserting the Marquis’s dominance, but also the possessive pronoun “my” shows ownership; he believes that his wife belongs to him. Interestingly, Dracula uses similar possessive language to assert power over another male (Jonathan), exclaiming “This man belongs to me!” This declarative statement shows that he has decided that Jonathan is his property, showing his desire for dominance and possession to exhibit his power. His wickedness is

In the novel Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler paints a picture of a dystopia in the United States in which the current societal problems are overly exaggerated into the worst-case scenario. Butler describes a world plagued with high unemployment rates, violence, homelessness, a flawed police system, and a crumbling education system. Butler focuses the story on the poor and the homeless by only giving characters with this background a voice in order to show the reader that society’s views and stereotypes of these groups are flawed. Butler shows the lack of attention they receive and over exaggerates the problem in order to show the extreme consequences if it is not properly addressed.

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

In the “Invisible Child” written by Andrea Elliot, a lifestyle of a homeless girl named Dasani and her family is shown. Elliot displays Dasani’s culture, and some of the struggles that she and her family face daily because they are homeless. Dasani is very dedicated to her school work. She wants to be better than anyone in her family ever was so she doesn’t have to worry about being homeless for the rest of her life. In some ways I can relate to Dasani, I am very passionate about my school work as well. I want to excel so I can be my very best in the future. However, our reasoning’s for wanting to be the best we can be are a little different. She wants to excel so she no longer has to worry about being homeless whereas I’ve never been homeless so I cannot say the exact same. I grew up being a very privileged kid. Both of my parents worked full time good paying jobs. I’ve never had to want for much of anything. My parents have always spoiled me with nice things, they have always made sure my siblings and I had nice clothes and a decent meal to eat. They are even paying for me to attain a college education. Dasani and her family however are a lot different from mine. In the “Invisible Child” Elliot tells us how Dasani’s parents do not have legit jobs, instead they have side “hustles” that only bring in a few dollars. Elliot states (2013) that a lot of mornings Dasani was starving at school because she had no breakfast. Dasani and her siblings also had to wear clothes that were

In Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber, the theme of transformation appears throughout the short story cycle. The hero/heroine’s virginity acts as a source of strength that protects them from harm. Their lack of fear also saves them from death. Virginity acts as power of potentia, either literally or symbolically and results in a release of an observed transformative power. The bloody chamber serves a different symbolic purpose of transformation for Beauty in “The Courtship of Mr Lyon”, the heroine in “The Tiger’s Bride” and the Countess in “The Lady of the House of Love”. Each of these characters will embark on a journey that questions their selfhood in circumstances that are presented to them and ultimately each will go through a

In The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter, the Marquis has a form of beastliness that is quite unique. The Marquis is a rich business man and is the husband of heroine who plays the piano. He married three previous wives, but killed them. When the heroine arrived at the palace, the Marquis took her to his bedroom that had white lilies all over the floor and by the bedside. The white lilies symbolized her purity and virginity that she was going to lose when they had sex. After they had sex, the Marquis fell asleep, then awoke to the sound of the phone ringing. The Marquis received a call and had to travel to America for his business. The heroine, who was given the keys to all the rooms in his castle, was told by the Marquis himself that she should not enter into one certain room.

Folklores have entertained and educated the masses since the dawn of time. These old time stories, passed down through generations, spread laughter, tears, and cautious life lessons. Because of their cultural value, folklores perpetuate the submissiveness of women and their reduced roles in a patriarchal society. One folktale that does this is Bluebeard, an old story from France. Bluebeard tells the tale of a woman who marries the titular character, a wealthy and successful man who has a blue beard, despite controversy of the disappearances of his past wives.

Ghosts are immortally dynamic. Therefore, the ‘ghost’ of a text refers to its structural, cultural and contextual elements that when adapted, appropriated or re-imagined, manifests itself to suit the newly found literary medium. These ‘ghosts’ allow new texts to provide alternative perspectives which act to analyse and critique the original, such as the modernisation of culturally antiquated concepts. Through the process of modern analysis, literary criticism (including the likes of Psychoanalysis and Feminist Criticism) aims to expose messages hidden beneath the subsurface of intended meaning, unique to the time in which they were written. As a result of this process, it is evident to see how the ghosts of Bluebeard are extensively revealed

The book I read this month was, "Crimson Bound," by Rosamund Hodge. The book is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood , but strays away from the original tale by including dark magic ,which makes the book more compelling . This story is about the heroine, Rachelle , who is an immortal creature that serves the king. The book follows her quest to guard and protect the king's illegitimate son Armand. The plot becomes unexpected when they go into a journey to find a legendary sword to protect the village from the darkness and develop a love that they never expected .I enjoyed reading this book and found it irresistible to put down. I had expected it to be a typical retelling , but found this mesmerizing and action-packed . Overall, I believe that

We can read Angela Carter as both entertaining and a critique of constructions and presentations of power, gender, sexuality and construction of gendered identities. First we will consider the oppressive and destructive power of patriarchy which is the social system in which men are regarded as the authority within the family and society. Afterwards in the next chapter we will investigate how Carter's heroines succeed in constructing their femininity and their gendered identities.