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Angela Carter's 'The Bloody Chamber' and other stories subverts traditional fairy tale themes to liberate her female protagonists from the restrictive gender roles they are confined to. She provides the heroines with a voice by exploring the dichotomy between human and beast so that the character can realise their own potential or destiny, even if they did not already know it at the beginning of the story.
My particular favourite short stories from Carter's collection are 'The Bloody Chamber', 'The Snow Child', 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon' and 'The Company of Wolves'. 'The Bloody Chamber', is a truly shocking story which chilled me to the core, 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon', highlights the beast within us all, 'The Snow Child',emphasizes the Count's masculine control over female identity and'The Company of Wolves', changes your perception of the main antagonists, despite their initial negative description by the narrator. However, all of the stories within the collection are noteworthy, and are well worth a read!
I am going to write a review on all of the stories in 'The Bloody Chamber', but to avoid monotonous and tedious scrolling through ten essays, I have decided to write two reviews at a time, this review includes 'The Bloody Chamber' and 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon'.
The Bloody Chamber:
'The
Bloody Chamber', is
a revision of the classic story of Bluebeard, the Marquis plays the
role of Bluebeard who kills his wives and stores their corpses in a
secret chamber. However, Carter distinguishes her short story from
that of the Bluebeard legend, as the narrator states that 'the
sword still raised over his head as in those clockwork tableaux of
Bluebeard that you see in glass cases at fares', highlighting
her subversion of the original tale.
Set in Paris, France, the story revolves around a young girl who is set to marry the 'richest man in France', the Marquis, who has had many wives before her. One can argue that the girl is a creation of the virginal maiden, described as a 'little nun', inexperienced and enclosed within society. However, I believe she is not completely naive; Carter exaggerates her longing for sexual fulfilment as the train is 'ceaselessly thrusting' and she longs for the 'renewal of [the Marquis] caresses', it is clear she is aware of her sexual desires and wishes to fulfil them although she hasn't learnt how to access her sexual power yet. Despite this depiction of the narrator she still acts rather childlike; she rejects the order within the castle and states that her imagination is like a 'schoolgirl' run riot, this could represent her rejection of her confining marital role as she wishes to enjoy the freedom in her new life at the castle, but also emphasizes her immaturity as she refuses to take responsibility of her new role; after all she is only seventeen years old and claims that '[she] was a young girl' and that '[she] didn't understand.'
Although the heroine is empowered she is also subjected to the confining role of a wife because she is a peasant, she has no social standing and therefore has little opportunity to make money for herself; she marries for wealth and status not for love. The Marquis uses his wealth and position to present her with expensive gifts calling her 'his bargain' whereas he takes the role of the 'purchaser'. The wedding ring is a 'fire opal' a precious stone which has been in his family for generations, however, the heroine recalls a warning she once heard from her old nurse- 'opals are bad luck', this not only creates tension but foreshadows the Marquis' plan for her demise.
His wedding gift, a ruby choker was 'clasped around her neck' and she even comments that 'the artistos who'd escaped the guillotine' would tie red ribbons around their necks. The 'flashing crimson' ruby choker can be interpreted in a number of ways; rubies are precious stones which again displays the Marquis' wealth and opulence, but they are also 'bright as arterial blood'. The 'cruel necklace' and it's link to blood foreshadows the Count's plan to slash her throat by using his great-grandfather's 'ceremonial sword' to 'decapitate' her, echoing her previous comments concerning the use of the 'red ribbon'. Furthermore, the necklace which is 'clasped around her neck' begins to make her feel increasingly uncomfortable, which could represent the pain women suffer at the hands of men. The ruby choker is not only an object of status and control, but the name of the necklace 'a choker', isn't particularly pleasant; I imagined a pair of hands clasped around her neck choking her, highlighting the physicality of male dominance and control in marriage which is exposed through the gift of expensive objects.
The Marquis is consistently linked to the 'cobra-headed' lilies, which signify the theme of danger and death. They are 'white' and will 'stain' you; a 'stain' suggests that it is something which is difficult to erase, this could link to the blood stains within 'The Bloody Chamber' itself, but could also highlight the act of consummation; the lilies that surround the Marquis's bedroom directly link to the blood which will inevitably 'stain' the bed sheets during intercourse and we know that death follows the women the first (and last) time they engage in sex with the Marquis. There are so many lilies that the room looks like an 'embalming parlour' they overwhelm her senses with an overpowering stench of 'death', this not only echoes the previous interpretation of the lilies link to the chamber as an 'embalming parlour' which preserves human remains to stifle their decomposition just like 'The Bloody Chamber' preserves the Marquis dead wives, but it also establishes the Marquis as a destructible force and foreshadows the heroines potential demise.
The Marquis deliberately teases and tempts the narrator into entering the room by dangling the keys 'tantalizingly' above her head, almost like a dog begging for a bone; he entices each new wife into entering the chamber when his façade of warnings inevitably fail as they all 'must learn the secret' within and once they have, he kills them. 'There is a striking resemblance between the act of love and the ministrations of a torturer', for the Marquis his idea of love is torture and his fetish for murder. He also sees himself as God-like, commanding the narrator to 'kneel' before him, his perverted actions of tempting his wives and then punishing them also create a link between excessive fortune and the potential for corruption, even the heroine stated that '[she] had never been vain until [she] met him'.
Once the narrator succumbs to temptation and enters 'The Bloody Chamber', she discovers the fates of the three wives before her, who wilfully submitted themselves for sacrifice and is completely horrified to discover a smile on one of his previous wives 'dead lips'. His 'little museum of his perversity' contains his most recently deceased wife who was 'pierced' by not one but a 'hundred spikes' in the 'iron maiden.' The lexis of horror and death not only links to the act of torture, but also the act of sex; one of his wives was 'pierced' by the spikes in her 'coffin', the use of sexual imagery alludes to the consummation of their marriage, associating intercourse with death.
When the Marquis returns she attempts to act as if she had never discovered 'his private slaughterhouse' by trying to seduce him upon his return. His bedroom is surrounded by mirrors in which the narrator sees 'a dozen vulnerable appealing girls', reflected in them, this image alludes to the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ and also likens the heroine to Christ herself; she must must sacrifice herself and become a martyr just as Christ did.
The narrator introduces a blind 'boy' who she describes as 'lovely', his name is Jean Yves and is a complete variation of the Marquis description as a 'bulk'. He professes that he can only offer her 'comfort', not riches which allows the narrator to consider new perspectives on relationships. The narrator confesses that '[she] only did what he knew [she] would', to which Jean Yves replies, 'like Eve', this biblical imagery alludes to Eve in the garden of Eden who tastes the forbidden fruit, which in this case is the 'forbidden key' and succumbs to temptation.
However, she realises that she has found an equal in Jean Yves, she rejects the subservient role of a wife and mother by finding her own partner and creating her own household by riding herself of her former riches and living with him and her mother. The fact Jean Yves is blind is also very significant; he cannot see her therefore, he cannot objectify her for her beauty. In addition, she doesn't rely solely on him for a source of income as she creates her own living as a piano teacher.
Although the ending of 'The Bloody Chamber' appears rather positive, one negative element still remains. The Marquis had previously pressed the key to the chamber into her forehead leaving a 'heart-shaped stain' transferred on her brow. 'No paint nor powder, no matter how thick or white, can mask that red mark on [her] forehead', not only was the narrator practically branded like cattle with the mark of the Marquis and the 'torture chamber', but she is left with a permanent reminder of her once susceptible nature in which she was manipulated and mistreated by him. Perhaps the narrator tells her story as a warning to other women who are forced into marriage, so that they may not fall victim to chauvinistic and sexist abuse in the hands of men.
Set in Paris, France, the story revolves around a young girl who is set to marry the 'richest man in France', the Marquis, who has had many wives before her. One can argue that the girl is a creation of the virginal maiden, described as a 'little nun', inexperienced and enclosed within society. However, I believe she is not completely naive; Carter exaggerates her longing for sexual fulfilment as the train is 'ceaselessly thrusting' and she longs for the 'renewal of [the Marquis] caresses', it is clear she is aware of her sexual desires and wishes to fulfil them although she hasn't learnt how to access her sexual power yet. Despite this depiction of the narrator she still acts rather childlike; she rejects the order within the castle and states that her imagination is like a 'schoolgirl' run riot, this could represent her rejection of her confining marital role as she wishes to enjoy the freedom in her new life at the castle, but also emphasizes her immaturity as she refuses to take responsibility of her new role; after all she is only seventeen years old and claims that '[she] was a young girl' and that '[she] didn't understand.'
Although the heroine is empowered she is also subjected to the confining role of a wife because she is a peasant, she has no social standing and therefore has little opportunity to make money for herself; she marries for wealth and status not for love. The Marquis uses his wealth and position to present her with expensive gifts calling her 'his bargain' whereas he takes the role of the 'purchaser'. The wedding ring is a 'fire opal' a precious stone which has been in his family for generations, however, the heroine recalls a warning she once heard from her old nurse- 'opals are bad luck', this not only creates tension but foreshadows the Marquis' plan for her demise.
His wedding gift, a ruby choker was 'clasped around her neck' and she even comments that 'the artistos who'd escaped the guillotine' would tie red ribbons around their necks. The 'flashing crimson' ruby choker can be interpreted in a number of ways; rubies are precious stones which again displays the Marquis' wealth and opulence, but they are also 'bright as arterial blood'. The 'cruel necklace' and it's link to blood foreshadows the Count's plan to slash her throat by using his great-grandfather's 'ceremonial sword' to 'decapitate' her, echoing her previous comments concerning the use of the 'red ribbon'. Furthermore, the necklace which is 'clasped around her neck' begins to make her feel increasingly uncomfortable, which could represent the pain women suffer at the hands of men. The ruby choker is not only an object of status and control, but the name of the necklace 'a choker', isn't particularly pleasant; I imagined a pair of hands clasped around her neck choking her, highlighting the physicality of male dominance and control in marriage which is exposed through the gift of expensive objects.
The Marquis is consistently linked to the 'cobra-headed' lilies, which signify the theme of danger and death. They are 'white' and will 'stain' you; a 'stain' suggests that it is something which is difficult to erase, this could link to the blood stains within 'The Bloody Chamber' itself, but could also highlight the act of consummation; the lilies that surround the Marquis's bedroom directly link to the blood which will inevitably 'stain' the bed sheets during intercourse and we know that death follows the women the first (and last) time they engage in sex with the Marquis. There are so many lilies that the room looks like an 'embalming parlour' they overwhelm her senses with an overpowering stench of 'death', this not only echoes the previous interpretation of the lilies link to the chamber as an 'embalming parlour' which preserves human remains to stifle their decomposition just like 'The Bloody Chamber' preserves the Marquis dead wives, but it also establishes the Marquis as a destructible force and foreshadows the heroines potential demise.
The Marquis deliberately teases and tempts the narrator into entering the room by dangling the keys 'tantalizingly' above her head, almost like a dog begging for a bone; he entices each new wife into entering the chamber when his façade of warnings inevitably fail as they all 'must learn the secret' within and once they have, he kills them. 'There is a striking resemblance between the act of love and the ministrations of a torturer', for the Marquis his idea of love is torture and his fetish for murder. He also sees himself as God-like, commanding the narrator to 'kneel' before him, his perverted actions of tempting his wives and then punishing them also create a link between excessive fortune and the potential for corruption, even the heroine stated that '[she] had never been vain until [she] met him'.
Once the narrator succumbs to temptation and enters 'The Bloody Chamber', she discovers the fates of the three wives before her, who wilfully submitted themselves for sacrifice and is completely horrified to discover a smile on one of his previous wives 'dead lips'. His 'little museum of his perversity' contains his most recently deceased wife who was 'pierced' by not one but a 'hundred spikes' in the 'iron maiden.' The lexis of horror and death not only links to the act of torture, but also the act of sex; one of his wives was 'pierced' by the spikes in her 'coffin', the use of sexual imagery alludes to the consummation of their marriage, associating intercourse with death.
When the Marquis returns she attempts to act as if she had never discovered 'his private slaughterhouse' by trying to seduce him upon his return. His bedroom is surrounded by mirrors in which the narrator sees 'a dozen vulnerable appealing girls', reflected in them, this image alludes to the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ and also likens the heroine to Christ herself; she must must sacrifice herself and become a martyr just as Christ did.
The narrator introduces a blind 'boy' who she describes as 'lovely', his name is Jean Yves and is a complete variation of the Marquis description as a 'bulk'. He professes that he can only offer her 'comfort', not riches which allows the narrator to consider new perspectives on relationships. The narrator confesses that '[she] only did what he knew [she] would', to which Jean Yves replies, 'like Eve', this biblical imagery alludes to Eve in the garden of Eden who tastes the forbidden fruit, which in this case is the 'forbidden key' and succumbs to temptation.
However, she realises that she has found an equal in Jean Yves, she rejects the subservient role of a wife and mother by finding her own partner and creating her own household by riding herself of her former riches and living with him and her mother. The fact Jean Yves is blind is also very significant; he cannot see her therefore, he cannot objectify her for her beauty. In addition, she doesn't rely solely on him for a source of income as she creates her own living as a piano teacher.
Although the ending of 'The Bloody Chamber' appears rather positive, one negative element still remains. The Marquis had previously pressed the key to the chamber into her forehead leaving a 'heart-shaped stain' transferred on her brow. 'No paint nor powder, no matter how thick or white, can mask that red mark on [her] forehead', not only was the narrator practically branded like cattle with the mark of the Marquis and the 'torture chamber', but she is left with a permanent reminder of her once susceptible nature in which she was manipulated and mistreated by him. Perhaps the narrator tells her story as a warning to other women who are forced into marriage, so that they may not fall victim to chauvinistic and sexist abuse in the hands of men.
The Courtship of Mr Lyon:
'The
Courtship of Mr Lyon', is
based on the story of 'Beauty and the Beast', but is however, a plot
reversal of the classic tale. Carter subverts the traditional roles
of the characters by empowering the female, Beauty, who is a young,
penniless girl and showing weakness in the rich and physically
powerful Beast who hides from the world.
The story is set against a classic fairytale backdrop of a 'winters-landscape', while Beauty is described as a 'lovely girl' who is completing 'chores' in the kitchen, this gender stereotype suggests to the reader that she is a weak character who relies on her father, however Carter hints that we should not judge the characters and their surroundings so quickly, 'the roads are bad I hope he'll be safe', suggests that the male character could potentially be in danger.
Carter introduces Beauty's father recalling his daughters wish of receiving a 'single white rose', the rose not only represents femininity, beauty, purity and innocence but also conveys her wish for conventionality. He approaches the beasts front door which is made of 'solid gold' and the 'shape of a lion's head' with 'green eyes', Carter uses a sense of dramatic irony as the true host is actually a lion headed beast with eyes as 'green as agate'.
We are first introduced to the Beast's kind hospitality when Beauty's father arrives, as a table is set with food and drink labelled 'eat me' and 'drink me', clearly alluding the the story of 'Alice and Wonderland', and I believe that the small inclusion of this story once again suggests that all may not be as it seems, the beef is 'still bloody' perhaps suggesting that the Beasts animal nature cannot completely be replaced. However, his civility is swiftly altered when Beauty's father decides to pick a 'white rose' from the Beasts garden to give to Beauty. The Beasts animal nature is realised as his anger 'blazed with furious light' with the roar of a 'pride of lions' and as a lion is the 'king of beasts', he now represents masculine power and ferocity.
Carter uses the symbol of the city to suggest it is a place of male corruption and in contrast to her description of the more feminine, natural and delicate landscape of the countryside. She describes the country road as 'white and unmarked as a spilled bolt of bridal satin', suggesting that it is a place of untouched, virginal purity, whereas the city of London begins to corrode Beauty's innocence, 'she smiled at herself in mirrors a little too often, these days',
replacing her previous inner beauty with that of a spoilt child. In addition, the quote also links to 'The Bloody Chamber', as the heroine also begins to become corrupted from her new found wealth and riches.
When Beauty leaves and doesn't return when she promised, the Beast is unable to eat as he doesn't 'have the stomach to kill' any more, this could symbolize that both man and Beast have something in common; the need for sustenance in order to survive. The traditional and civilised order of the food at the beginning of the story is contrasted at the end, as it signifies innate animal nature, perhaps suggesting that humans too are animals.
Carter also subverts the traditional role of the fairy tale princess trapped in a tower, as the Beast is now helpless he is trapped in his attic guarded by a Beast (himself) which leads Beauty to rescue him from his own beastliness. By subverting these gender roles Carter suggests that although Beauty was initially frightened of the Beast, it is him, in fact who is frightened of her, as she mistakes the 'rough lapping of his tongue' as a threat, but in fact she realizes that he is only 'kissing [her] hands'.
When she realises that he is dying her 'tears fell on his face like snow', transforming him into a man with an 'unkempt mane', and it is revealed that his name is 'Mr Lyon'; he now has a name and is not referred to as 'Beast', however, there are still remnants of his past form which still remain as he still has a 'mane', his former self is also engrained in his very name 'Lyon', which is clearly a variation on his previous form of a 'lion'.
Carter reminds us that beauty has a 'will of her own', although she is innocent and virginal she is pure of mind and therefore, choose her own destiny and happy ending with the Beast, she transgresses the boundaries of conventional gender stereotypes and breaks free of her previous child-like role as she is forced to stay in the Beast's house to protect her father and when 'her trance before the mirror' breaks, representing masculine power and corruption, she returns to the Beast on her own free will to save him.
The story is set against a classic fairytale backdrop of a 'winters-landscape', while Beauty is described as a 'lovely girl' who is completing 'chores' in the kitchen, this gender stereotype suggests to the reader that she is a weak character who relies on her father, however Carter hints that we should not judge the characters and their surroundings so quickly, 'the roads are bad I hope he'll be safe', suggests that the male character could potentially be in danger.
Carter introduces Beauty's father recalling his daughters wish of receiving a 'single white rose', the rose not only represents femininity, beauty, purity and innocence but also conveys her wish for conventionality. He approaches the beasts front door which is made of 'solid gold' and the 'shape of a lion's head' with 'green eyes', Carter uses a sense of dramatic irony as the true host is actually a lion headed beast with eyes as 'green as agate'.
We are first introduced to the Beast's kind hospitality when Beauty's father arrives, as a table is set with food and drink labelled 'eat me' and 'drink me', clearly alluding the the story of 'Alice and Wonderland', and I believe that the small inclusion of this story once again suggests that all may not be as it seems, the beef is 'still bloody' perhaps suggesting that the Beasts animal nature cannot completely be replaced. However, his civility is swiftly altered when Beauty's father decides to pick a 'white rose' from the Beasts garden to give to Beauty. The Beasts animal nature is realised as his anger 'blazed with furious light' with the roar of a 'pride of lions' and as a lion is the 'king of beasts', he now represents masculine power and ferocity.
Carter uses the symbol of the city to suggest it is a place of male corruption and in contrast to her description of the more feminine, natural and delicate landscape of the countryside. She describes the country road as 'white and unmarked as a spilled bolt of bridal satin', suggesting that it is a place of untouched, virginal purity, whereas the city of London begins to corrode Beauty's innocence, 'she smiled at herself in mirrors a little too often, these days',
replacing her previous inner beauty with that of a spoilt child. In addition, the quote also links to 'The Bloody Chamber', as the heroine also begins to become corrupted from her new found wealth and riches.
When Beauty leaves and doesn't return when she promised, the Beast is unable to eat as he doesn't 'have the stomach to kill' any more, this could symbolize that both man and Beast have something in common; the need for sustenance in order to survive. The traditional and civilised order of the food at the beginning of the story is contrasted at the end, as it signifies innate animal nature, perhaps suggesting that humans too are animals.
Carter also subverts the traditional role of the fairy tale princess trapped in a tower, as the Beast is now helpless he is trapped in his attic guarded by a Beast (himself) which leads Beauty to rescue him from his own beastliness. By subverting these gender roles Carter suggests that although Beauty was initially frightened of the Beast, it is him, in fact who is frightened of her, as she mistakes the 'rough lapping of his tongue' as a threat, but in fact she realizes that he is only 'kissing [her] hands'.
When she realises that he is dying her 'tears fell on his face like snow', transforming him into a man with an 'unkempt mane', and it is revealed that his name is 'Mr Lyon'; he now has a name and is not referred to as 'Beast', however, there are still remnants of his past form which still remain as he still has a 'mane', his former self is also engrained in his very name 'Lyon', which is clearly a variation on his previous form of a 'lion'.
Carter reminds us that beauty has a 'will of her own', although she is innocent and virginal she is pure of mind and therefore, choose her own destiny and happy ending with the Beast, she transgresses the boundaries of conventional gender stereotypes and breaks free of her previous child-like role as she is forced to stay in the Beast's house to protect her father and when 'her trance before the mirror' breaks, representing masculine power and corruption, she returns to the Beast on her own free will to save him.
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