There is plenty of opportunity for interpretation in Carter’s writing, particularly in her book ‘The Bloody Chamber’ which is commonly considered to be her masterwork, brimming with intertextualities and ambiguities. Some may find her work to be excessively violent or savage, perhaps even alienating. Yet others may have found this no-holds-barred approach to be exhilarating and refreshing in comparison to other authors of her time. In her re-writing of Perrault and Beaumont’s classic tales, Carter proposes a reading of several well-known stories with intent to unveil through a feminist perspective the ideological content they present. “The Bloody Chamber” is her take on the tale of Bluebeard; “The Werewolf” is her variation of the tale of Little Red Riding Hood; and “The Snow Child” is a very brief but equally powerful story based on the tale of Snow White. Whilst some may find her writing to be ‘grossly repellent’ and most certainly did at the time of its original publication, it remains clear that there are numerous aspects of intertextuality within her writing which delve beyond the face value of her work, that there is much latent content within every story in the collection. A bloody chamber is repeatedly seen in alternate forms within each of the book’s ten stories, which is perhaps a clear indication as to what inspired Carter to select the title. Though the form or representation of the bloody chamber varies from tale to tale, each example has the same implied symbolism of feminist empowerment. For example, in Carter’s “The Bloody Chamber”, an exuberant rewriting of the classic tale of Bluebeard which shares the title of the collection itself, there is a room where sadomasochism and personal revelation occur simultaneously... ... middle of paper ... ... ed. London: Vintage Classics. Carter, A, 2013. Shaking A Leg: Collected Journalism and Writings . 1st ed. London: Random. Cavallaro, D, 2011. The World of Angela Carter: A Critical Investigation. 1st ed. Carolina: McFarland & Co Inc. Grade Saver. 1999. The Bloody Chamber Study Guide & Essays. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.gradesaver.com/the-bloody-chamber/. [Accessed 03 January 14]. Marina Warner. 2012. Marina Warner on why Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber still bites. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/books/marina-warner-on-why-angela-carter-s-the-bloody-chamber-still-bites-1-2528708. [Accessed 03 January 14]. Unknown. 2012. The Bloody Chamber: AS & A2 Critical Debates: Feminism. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.yorknotes.com/alevel/the-bloody-chamber/study/contexts-critical-debates/04020300_critical-debates. [Accessed 03 January 14].
‘Rebecca’ and ‘The Bloody Chamber’ convey the gothic theme of isolation by employing the embodiment of dominant male characters. The femme fatal persona in ‘Rebecca’ creates a stigma about how Mrs de Winter should act. The Fairy-tale form causes development of female power and causes a sense of resilience throughout the collection of short stories. The use of controversial issues of feminine empowerment exercises the idea that women should have more power within heterosexual relationships. There are several Gothic conventions within both texts, for example setting is vital because the authors use immense, reclusive places like Manderly and the Castles causing physical entrapment for the feminine roles. Violent characteristics from Maxim and
Gender Trouble published in 1990 by Judith Butler, argues that feminism was and still relaying on the presumption that ‘women’ a...
Christina Rossetti also provides an insightful look into the problem of the “fallen woman,” and of the perception of this kind of woman, in Goblin Market. Unlike Eliot, who uses realistic characterization and carefully detailed prose, Rossetti relates her views through fantastical characters and highly energized poetry. Although they work within different genres, however, Eliot and Rossetti both challenge the stereotypical understanding of what it means for a woman to be “innocent” or “experienced.” Through the contrasting natures of sisters Laura and Lizzie,...
In contrast to this, in ‘The Tiger’s Bride’, the bride chooses to turn into a beast herself, stating that “men denied me rationality just as they denied it to all those who were not exactly like themselves”. Unlike Shelley, who censures society as a whole, Carter’s critique has feminist undertones, which is reflective of the second-wave feminist movement, and provides a new perspective for readers of her retellings. Though she is denied a name, Carter gives her a voice by opting for a first-person point of view, making her a more powerful character than Beauty, and foreshadowing Carter’s twist ending. Despite his odd requests, at no point within the story does the beast do anything to harm anyone, rendering the bride’s and society’s fear of him unfounded. Indeed, the bride’s fear of him has its roots in the story she was told when she was a child (“he will gobble you up”). Nevertheless, she mentions that the beast “was far more frightened of me than I was of him.” The bride’s choice to walk her own path and move away from the society that has shunned her raises this question. Is it c...
The stories I have chosen to discuss are not conservative creations designed to please male editors and readers. They are poignant descriptions of the sufferings of women. Their fictional nature makes them acceptable, but their generality makes them applicable. Parton uses her craft to create popularly acceptable criticisms of sexual injustice. I believe that this struggle lends a mimetic quality to her work. Because of the generality of her characters and the continuing oppression of patriarchal society, her stories are as pertinent today as when they were written.
We have all heard the African proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” The response given by Emma Donoghue’s novel Room, simply states, “If you’ve got a village. But if you don’t, then maybe it just takes two people” (Donoghue 234). For Jack, Room is where he was born and has been raised for the past five years; it is his home and his world. Jack’s “Ma” on the other hand knows that Room is not a home, in fact, it is a prison. Since Ma’s kidnapping, seven years prior, she has survived in the shed of her capturer’s backyard. This novel contains literary elements that are not only crucial to the story but give significance as well. The Point-of-view brings a powerful perspective for the audience, while the setting and atmosphere not only affect the characters but evokes emotion and gives the reader a mental picture of their lives, and the impacting theme along-side with conflict, both internal and external, are shown throughout the novel.
Alexander Stowe is a twin, his brother is Aaron Stowe. Alex is an Unwanted, Aaron is a Wanted, and their parents are Necessaries. Alex is creative in a world where you can’t even see the entire sky, and military is the dream job for everyone and anyone. He should have been eliminated, just like all the unwanteds should have been. He instead comes upon Artimè, where he trains as a magical warrior- after a while. When he was still in basic training, and his friends were not, he got upset, he wants to be the leader, the one everyone looks up to.
Dahl’s account educates implied readers on their own strength and highlights the modern societal view of independence as a major aspect of maturing; this is evident through the characters development by calling her by “miss” rather than a “little girl” (1999, pp. 21-22). The “cloak of red” is reminiscent of Perrault’s symbol of passion and sexuality, however, Dahl’s use of the cloak acts to endorse a woman’s power. Similarly, Dahl’s characterizes the wolf’s “leer” (1999, p.21) as suggestive of a sexual and predatory act, drawing upon Perrault’s versions suggestions of the dangers of men whilst also endorsing a modern perspective of the independence and empowerment of women. As Perrault’s protagonist undresses to get into bed with the wolf, Dahl further hints at the aforementioned tale through the mention of the child’s “knickers” however, affirms the view of empowering woman as “she whips a pistol from her knickers.” (1999, p. 22) This signifies the message of a woman’s sexuality as a form of inner strength; as this tale is for “didactic reasons” (Crago 2003, p. 164) and further enforces the modern approach on gender equality and empowerment of woman in contrast to the early views of oppressing women though rules and boundaries or their own protection as evident in Perrault’s
...strosity of their characters. They centralize their narratives around the story of monstrous women who are neither foils to the heroines nor doubles to female authors. Instead, they are endowed with much leeway to articulate their authorial “I” and verbalize their stories in which they assert their agency and individuality. Through their new gothic monsters, twentieth-century female gothic novelists manage not only to construct a counter-discourse in which they subvert all kinds of binary mechanisms, but also to present a new feminist approach to the traditional female gothic, which suggests the ways that can undermine the conventional perception of identity, gender and sex as fixed and natural categories. Accordingly, I will refer to Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity in order to read their narratives as stories of gender and sexual construction.
In the last paragraph of chapter two, the protagonist makes predictions about the future state of the western world, when women “cease to be the protected sex” (Woolf 48). Over half of a century has passed since Woolf’s initial publication of her essay and women are still subjected to unequal pay, brutal forms of violence, and other injustices influenced by misogyny. Optimistically, dedicated feminists continue to passionately work towards equality, and influential literature such as A Room of One’s Own serves as a motivation for women to create a safe and equitable world for the female
Virginia Woolf uses A Room of One's Own as a platform to discuss past and current social inequities that exist within the realm of women and literature, attempting to document the negative effects that patriarchal society of the early twentieth century England has wrought upon the female psyche. From her analysis of these issues and her own life experiences, Woolf comes to the conclusion which becomes the basis for this essay...
The Victorian times and attitudes victimize Tess, despite the fact that she possesses high morals and standards. The aim of this paper is to show how Hardy illustrates this in many ways. Her family, social, and economic background provide the reader with a perspective of living as a poor woman during the Victorian Era. Another avenue Hardy uses to show the unfairness of life for a poor woman during these times is two men who victimize Tess, Angel Clare and Alec d'Urberv...
Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber and The Tiger’s Bride are both examples of “unsanitary” stories, stories which are filled with gore, sexually explicit themes and norm- breaking story lines. Carter argues that the combination of pornography and conventional gender roles of cultural ideology are responsible for female oppression. In both of these stories, Carter revisits the gender conventions and the problem of inequitable justice of women in faery tales. Overall, the main point which Carter makes is that women are constantly constrained of their self-determination by following the conventional roles society set back in the early 15th century stating that women are simply subordinates to male authority.
In Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient we see a world completely ravaged by war. The land itself is damaged, sometimes beyond recognition as it is torn apart by bombs. Just as these human-made structures have faced the damage of imperialism, so have female bodies in the novel. Ondaatje creates several parallels between man’s attempt to “own” the land around him and his “ownership” of the female body. As we see in the novel, this attempt at ownership almost always ends in destruction, “war,” and often, death. What I believe Ondaatje is trying to present to us is the impossibility of “owning” something that should ultimately be free, such as the female body (or any body, for that matter.) Though some feminist theorists such as Lilijana Burcar have claimed Ondaatje’s novel perpetuates the idea of male ownership of female bodies, I believe we see several examples of female empowerment hidden throughout the novel; examples of females outwardly rejecting such “ownership,” as Hanna refuses to be seen as a sexual object by Carravagio, and even changes her appearance to “defeminize” herself. We even see gender-roles reverse. The “male gaze” seems to apply not only to males, but to females as well as Hanna views the sapper, Kip, in a “feminized” and often “sexual” way. Most striking of all, however, is Ondaatje’s representation of the character Katharine as an almost voiceless physical body which is undoubtedly “owned” and consumed by Almasy’s desire. As we see, this “ownership” leads to what is arguably the biggest destruction in the novel: the destruction of both Katharine and Almasy altogether.
Men and women have so much different relationships back in middle 20th century. Being affected by those unwritten laws, woman writers put so many things to enlighten what they’ve been through in those times. Zadie Smith and Marilyn French, both being well-known writers, intended to tell so many things about that situation. In French’s ‘The Women’s Room’, the unhappy relationships between men and women are depicted.