Company Of Wolves

579 Words2 Pages

Many fairy tales in literature convey hidden messages and meanings that can be found in almost every aspect of life. These subliminal messages are prevalent in the short story, “The Company of Wolves”, through the theme of gender inequality. In “The Company of Wolves”, Angela Carter displays the issue of gender through a feminist light in the plot and through symbolism, as she consistently symbolizes the woman and the wolf creature as archetypal ideologies of their own gender.
The multiple instances of symbolism used by the author create a better understanding of the gender inequality issue and its importance to the plot. In the beginning of the story, the author introduces the plot by symbolizing the half-wolf-half-human creature and describing their evil nature. Carter presents the wolf creature with the following quote: “The wolf is carnivore incarnate and he’s as cunning as he is ferocious; once he’s had a taste of flesh then nothing else will do.” (624). This quote is important because the symbolism reflects the …show more content…

Carter believes that women are strong individuals who should protect their virginity from male predators (wolves) seeking to tempt their purity. The gender claim that Carter is trying to make in in the story is accurately described in the following quote from an article: “...the stories in The Bloody Chamber rework the imagery of classic fairy tales in such a way as to reverse the traditional message that female fulfilment can only be found in submission to the authority of males.” (Stableford). This quote describes the way that Carter uses the plot and sequence of events in her stories to indirectly display her views and claims on the gender inequality issue. Carter claims here that females are only capable of being servant-like towards males. This was a very prevalent issue during her time (1940-1992), and it should be even more closely examined in today's

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