Essay On Objectification Of Women In The Bloody Chamber

Objectification leads to procrastination

Fairytales have been around as long as man can remember. Fairytales are told not just for entertainment but try to instill morals and build character. The cultural norms represented in fairytales play a large part in the socialization processes of the child who reads them. Contained within these cultural norms are the beliefs about gender roles that are held by society. The characters in the stories help children to determine what behaviors, traits, or roles are acceptable for children of certain genders. In Angela Carter’s book, The Bloody Chambers, one sees major themes being used to influence people. One of these themes is objectification of women. In every one of Carter’s stories women are objectified. These stories portray women as weak, submissive, dependent, and self-sacrificing while men are powerful, active and dominant. As long as women are primarily bought and sold and are willing to be bought and sold, women will always be looked at as only objects. When looking at the stories, The Bloody chambers, The Courtship of Mr.Lyon, and The Tigers Bride, women are seen being objectified by men. Carter doesn’t give men all the blame, she also shows man as being objectifies in Lady in the house of Love.

The heroine in "The Bloody Chamber" is one of the most obviously objectified. The Marquis makes her into a showpiece by undressing her while remaining dressed. “I could not meet his eye and turned my head…husband approached me in a dozen mirrors and slowly, methodically, teasingly, unfastened the buttons of my jacket and slip it from my shoulder.” He also commanded her to wear a ruby collar around her neck as if she was a dog. “He made me put on my choker… and he kissed those blazing rubie...

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...any male that comes around her. The Countess's story lets us see the other side of objectification. The Countess can never really be happy because she can see men only as objects.

Objectification of women has existed for as long as women have been used for men’s sexual pleasure. One might like to think that feminism has come a long way since the 60s and 70s. Yet if one has look at a newspaper, a woman's magazine, a Hollywood movie, etc, one would realize that the objectification of women is still around. When looking at the stories, The Bloody chambers, Fairytales are clear representation of objectification. These stories portray women as weak, submissive, dependent, and self-sacrificing while men are powerful, active and dominant. As long as women are primarily bought and sold and are willing to be bought and sold, women will always be looked at as only objects.