Form, structure, context & critics THE BLOODY CHAMBER
FORM The Bloody Chamber is made up of short stories, which maximise the impact of the stories’ messages. The Bloody Chamber is a novelette, the slow pace of which mirrors the laconic lifestyle of the heroine in her new life. The Snow Child is a vignette, the shortness of which makes it poignant and increases the impact. The stories are re-worked fairy tales, though Carter herself claimed they were not “versions” but “new stories”.
STRUCTURE The Bloody Chamber and many of the other stories are made up of long, descriptive paragraphs punctuated by short, exclamatory sentences. The Erl-King switches between tenses and points of view in order to disorient the reader, creating a Gothic sense of uncertainty, and reflecting the feelings of the protagonist. The Lady of the House of Love is broken up by inset couplets of thoughts, either recitations of fairy tale villains’ famous lines, or menacing French phrases, which suggest this is the inner voice of her predatory nature and increase ambiguity. The Company of Wolves does not use speech marks to indicate speech, which increases the otherness of the story.
CONTEXT Many of the stories can be linked to wider feminist messages; the image of the bloody chamber in the story of that name could be seen as a representation of the spiritual or physical death of the woman through childbirth and marriage. Angela Carter was herself a feminist. The metamorphoses in the stories also seem to be criticising society’s imposition of gender roles, for example in The Tiger’s Bride or The Courtship of Mr Lyon. However in Wolf-Alice the reflection in the mirror could be seen to represent the idea that only through becoming aware of society’s perception of us can we gain a sense of identity.
CRITICS’ OPINIONS “an archaeological investigation of gender representation” J. Morrisson “a critique of the idea of adult womanhood sanctioned by patriarchy, and a suggested alternative to it” E. C. Rose The stories are “fired by the conviction that human nature is not immutable, that human beings are capable of change” H. Simpson
CRITICS’ OPINIONS “Carter challenges the notion that there is such a thing as an unchanging human nature” S. Roberts “Carter flirts with elements of the Gothic in many of the tales” S. Roberts “to be beast-like is to be virtuous; to become ‘manly’ is to be vicious. ” S. Roberts
LANGUAGE – THE BLOODY CHAMBER Carter’s choice of lexis: opulent, exotic “chatelaine”. Opulent and unknowable, mirroring the narrator’s feelings about her marriage: “liminal” “deliquescent” A concern with materialism: “Romeo y Julieta” “Poiret” “Turnbull and Asser” Juxtaposition “tender look” “lascivious tenderness” – oxymoron – compares the male characters Metaphor – the Marquis as a beast, as God “his dark mane” “the eye of God – his eye” Long sentences, long detailed paragraphs and short, exclamatory sentences, or isolated similes “Dead as his wives. ”
LANGUAGE – THE COURTSHIP OF MR LYON The house is personified, to create a sense of magic in making it a character of its own; the chandeliers “chuckle”, the garden “seemed to hold its breath”. The simile of the Beast’s eyes “green as agate” emphasise the materialistic nature of Beauty and her father, while Beauty using his eyes as a mirror to see “her own image reflected there” emphasises this. The extensive imagery of snow symbolises Beauty’s purity, “white and unmarked as a spilled bolt of bridal satin”. The lack of speech marks emphasises the otherness of the world of the Beast, particularly in the unacknowledged voice of the spaniel: “Fast as you can” which likens the dog to Beauty, who also lacks a voice: “I hope he’ll be safe. ” It is not the Beast who must change in this story but Beauty, who refuses to acknowledge her love because “he was so different from herself”. A comment on society’s influence.
LANGUAGE – THE TIGER’S BRIDE It is written in past tense, but changes occasionally to the present “for hours I hear those paws” to suggest continuity; the future tense is also used, “I will dress her in my own clothes” to suggest the tenuousness of her former life and her disregard for it now, as we never know if she does this. The story is written in first person, giving the female protagonist the voice, a feminist move – unlike Beauty in CML. The tone of the narrator is very cynical and critical, using words such as “my tear-beslobbered father” and “self-deluding fool. ” The description of “glossy, nut-brown curls” and “rosy cheeks” is repeated to highlight the similarities between the narrator and her “clockwork twin”. The earrings are used as symbols; only a man who is beast-like can truly feel sorry for objectifying a woman.
LANGUAGE – PUSS-IN-BOOTS Carter uses deliberately obscure lexis in the story to highlight the otherness and sophisticated human nature of the cat; for example, “recapitulate” or “rococo” “saraband”. Words in foreign languages are also inserted into the narrative, such as “grande peur des rats” or “occupé”, “agitato”. To highlight Puss’ exaggerated personality, exclamations such as “Oh, such a masterpiece he penned!” and rhetorical questions such as “But has my master witnessed my triumph? ” are used. Long, convoluted sentences that last whole paragraphs demonstrate Puss’ thought process, jumping from one thing to another. Puss addresses the reader: “I tell you!” highlighting his otherness.
LANGUAGE – THE ERL-KING The narrative changes continually between tenses and points of view. Second person places the reader alternately in the position of the narrator and later the Erl-King; the third person, future tense ending is ambiguous and leaves it on a cliff-hanger, as the reader never discovers if she does accomplish it. Oxymorons such as “the tender butcher” and “appalling succulence” highlight the narrator’s conflict. The fractured narrative and tense changes give the impression that this is a continuous, ongoing cycle, supported by the lack of name for the narrator, and also hint at what might perhaps be seen as her mental instability. Intertextuality is extensively used: with Red Riding Hood; “What big eyes you have” and Goblin Market; “eat me, drink me, thirsty, cankered, goblin -ridden”. Isolated similes such as “green as dead sea fruit” add emphasis to the comparisons.
LANGUAGE – THE SNOW CHILD The story begins in a typical fairy tale fashion by setting the scene by locating it in time: “midwinter”. The alliteration of “invincible, immaculate” exaggerates the extremity of the weather. Three colours characterise the story: red, white and black, typical of Gothic imagery. They epitomise the girl as a single entity as well as aligning the Countess, with her “scarlet” heels and “black” fox pelts, with the “white” setting. Symbolism is extensively used. The white snow represents purity and virginity; the raven, a symbol of Gothic literature, while the red blood represents deep carnal desires and a conflicting desire to love and mutilate. The rose could symbolise the darker side of love. The entire story can be seen as an allegory for the transitory nature of male desire, with the short-lived girl representing the male fantasy, while the Countess’ victory represents the triumph of feminism.
LANGUAGE – THE LADY OF THE HOUSE OF LOVE Foreign words are slipped into the narrative such as “chinoiserie escritoire” to bring the reader into the Countess’ mind as she is bilingual; it also adds to the sense of exoticism. The story is divided neatly in two, with the first half telling of the vampire’s life as she sees it, and the second half, with the arrival of the officer, offers a new perspective on her. Repetition is used, particularly with the phrase “Now you are at the place of annihilation” which could be a representation of the Countess’ nagging hunger and the repetition of her life. Certain phrases are inset in smaller letters, i. e. “I’ll grind his bones to make my bread” – the voice of her true nature? Intertextuality of Jack and the Beanstalk places the vampire in the role of villain while that of Sleeping Beauty shows her as a victim.
LANGUAGE – THE WEREWOLF Pathetic fallacy links the inhabitants with their surroundings, the “cold weather” identified with their “cold hearts”. Intertextuality is used in Carter’s often-used phrase, “Winter and cold weather” to Shakespeare’s As You Like It, which also takes place in a forest and refers to “winter and rough weather”. Tricolons emphasise the simplicity and repetition of their lives: “A bed, a stool, a table. Harsh, brief, poor lives. ” An extensive description of the superstitions of the area highlights their importance in everyday life. The tone of the narrative is sceptical, mocking and even bored: “oh, sinister!” and in some places is frighteningly unemotional: “Then they stone her to death” “she prospered”.
LANGUAGE – THE COMPANY OF WOLVES The narrator addresses the reader, from the perspective of someone involved in the story: “you will suffer” “we try and try but sometimes we cannot keep the wolves out”. It is written in such a way that it appears to follow the oral tradition of folk tales, as if it were being told rather than written: “all alive-oh” “quack, quack! went the duck”. The story is structured with a lengthy introduction to set the scene in which various folk tales relating to wolves from “this region” are told. The importance of virginity is emphasised through metaphor and simile; her shawl looks like “blood on snow” while she is “an unbroken egg”.
LANGUAGE – WOLF-ALICE The story is split between the Duke and Wolf-Alice, perhaps representing a need for gender equality. The mirror is a symbol for appearance and for society’s perception of us. There is also intertextuality with Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll, in both the title name and when the Duke “passed through the mirror”. The narrator is quick to separate “her” from “us” – “her pace is not our pace” – thereby separating the reader from an alignment with the feral child and allying his/herself with the reader. Wolf-Alice is not named in the story until she sees her reflection, perhaps suggesting that we cannot gain a sense of personal identity until we are aware of how society views us.
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