Although Beauty lived a life of luxury, she could not stop the urge to go and look for her host who bombarded her with silver and gold, peaches and cream. She was enveloped in the finest silk and lace. This was more than she had ever imagined in her whole being, she wanted it to never end.
She thought of what “he” would look like and began to float in a river of thoughts of a handsome, strong, wealthy man with broad shoulders, golden hair and sun kissed skin.
“Show yourself my Adonis, I long to see your handsome face.” She thought out loud.
❖
Coming down for supper one evening, beauty was stopped in her tracks by a giant creature that held out his hand to welcome her into the dinning room. Its head was covered with heavy dark mane, devilish eyes that could bore in its prey without the help from its four-inch fangs protruding from his mouth with paws that appeared to posses claws of a frightful nature.
With a banshee like screech, she yelled, “what are you?”
Where was the handsome prince, which she was dreaming of?
“HELP!” she cried wishing that her fantasy would come and rid the castle of this monster.
The creature grabbed her rendering her speechless, he whispered with a deep wholesome voice, “ You are mine”
“ No…not you?” she gasped
“I am beast,” he continued
Beauty could not believe her eyes. She was choking to say the words she longed yell but decided against it in fear off her life.
She had to get out somehow; she couldn’t bear to glance upon his grotesque face.
Now that you are comfortable in my abode you shall marry me and stay in this opulent palace and be waited on, hand and foot.
Now, Beauty loved the thought of being mistress of this wonderful manor, but could not bring herself to the thought of the husband and his ugliness. She decided that she had had enough luxury to last her a lifetime.
“ If you wish to marry me you must allow me to see my father.”
“Never!” beast exclaimed
“ Then you shall marry me but will never keep me, for I will kill myself the moment I can”
The Beast had no choice but to grant her the wish. With a shattered look in his eye he said, “You will stay but a fortnight, here is a locket to remind you of your deadline.”
As he pulled it out beauty could almost hear the breaking of his heart and the weakening heartbeat, she had no intension to return.
“ You are most kind, I promise to return” she l
❖
As she glided through the golden wheat crop she glanced at her father working tirelessly in the field.
“FATHER!” she cried
“Beauty is that really you?” her father pronounced, “have you really come or are you a mere mirage produced from my aching heart?”
“ No father, it is I, your beauty.” She reported.
Tears filled her fathers eyes while Beauty told the tale of the elegant life she had at the castle. She also informed him of the meeting she had with Beast, “ why did you not say how hideous he was?” she conjectured.
Beauty returned to her original state, she milked the cows, fed the swine, cooked the food and cleaned the house. On the eve of her last night at home something extraordinary had happened. The locket that had been forgotten around her neck began to scorch her skin. She woke up and jerked it off. It then began to rise and a hollow voice came from the lustrous object.
“Beauty, you are to return to the castle by sunset tomorrow.”
She recognised the voice to be beast, “ I shall not!” she spoke “ there is nothing you can do to me!”
The object burst into a laminating ball that had an image in it. Edging closer to see, she made out the moving picture of beast. To her astonishment the image began to speak.
“ I know you do not intend to return to me, so I will say this before it is too late. I love you beauty.”
Beauty almost laughed at this, “ How can you love me when you don’t even know me?” she questioned.
“ Did your heart not warm when you found the rose at your side each morning? Did you not love whoever sent you those love poems each meal? Did you not hope that those feelings were reciprocated?
Beast enquired
“Leave me be!” demanded Beauty, “ You cannot simply have whatever takes your fancy.”
“I bid you farewell,” and with that the ball dispersed into tiny specs.
❖
The dialogue with beast rung in her mind, “did you love whoever sent you love poems at the mealtimes, did you not wish the feeling be reciprocated?”
Yes, yes she did but her mind told her to stay. She wanted Beast to suffer for making her fall so deeply in love with him. That hideous ogre!
On a grey evening when it seemed as though it would rain, Beauty sat in her bedchamber gazing at the gloomy atmosphere. She stood at the spot where the ball of light had diluted and relived the moment once more.
She caught a shimmering in the corner of her eye and bent down to find the emerald stone left from the locket.
In it she could see the moving image again, “ My Beast “ she muttered.
He looked shrivelled and worn out. The poor creature looked as though he’d been drained of life and love.
She new he had suffered enough; she smiled and sped out without hesitation, she ran in the rain all the way to the castle. She was drenched but her spirits were nowhere near dampened.
“Beauty, you came back!” beast exclaimed with all the strength he could muster.
“Of course I did silly, I love you” she replied
He got to his feet to capture her in an embrace and felt as though he would not let her go.
The end
Commentary
Angela Carter is said to be a woman writer who “fantasises a violent attack upon the symbolic order” by Rosemary Jackson and that, she “employed the fantastic to subvert patriarchal society- the symbolic order of modern culture”. This statement is a result of how Angela Carter manages to subvert fairytales once thought of innocent tales used to inspire and give hope to children. She challenges patriarchy by completely overturning the fairytale in such a way that it makes one think. Her manipulations are of a dark, psychological, seductive and sensual nature. The late 1960s brought with it a women’s movement aimed at the scrutiny of gender-based inequalities and for the arguments for re-empowerment of women was popular. Carter can be thought to have the same values, belief and behaviour similar to that of the women’s movement although she did not call herself a feminist.
I have chosen Beauty and the Beast as the fairytale I was going to manipulate. In the original tale Beauty is thought of as a selfless woman who is willing to sacrifice for both her father and the Beast. She complies with the expectation of a patriarchal society she was written for. The same way our mother and their mothers before them have done. In the subverted tale patriarchy is inverted by making the female protagonist (Beauty) in control of her destiny. She is the complete opposite to the female character in the original tale in that she only cares about her pleasures and subsequently how to increase them. When her father informs her of what has befallen him, she implores, “I will not go!” This is contrary to the emphasised caring and protective nature of women in society. In much the same way, Carter’s female character is in charge of her sexuality so too is this female in control of her life. Although she does go to the Beast, she does not do so out of fear but rather out of curiosity. She wanted to know who this man was and what deluded ideas he had of owning her “the creature may own her body but could never own her mind.” Upon her arrival at the castle, she demands to speak to the Beast in a sarcastic way that implies that she finds it highly amusing that he thinks he can own her “ Whatever you are, come and behold what you have been given.” She finds that she enjoys staying in the Beast’s luxurious castle. “She was enveloped in the finest silk and lace.” Here I have exploited an overt fetishist representation of the female feminity because due to Beauty’s love for the exquisite lifestyle she contemplated enduring the Beast’s appalling features. This again is similar to that of Carter’s protagonist in the bloody chamber. When asked if she was sure she loved the man she was to marry a her reply was “ I’m sure I want to marry him,” this could be a result of the status she enjoyed when she was with him “And everyone started at me.” “His wedding gift, clasped round my throat. A choker of rubies of two inches wide…”
When she does eventually sees the Beast she cannot bare to stay with him due to his beastliness. She tricks him into letting her go. The Beast who has fallen in love with her finds that he cannot live without her and so puts countless efforts into letting her come back to him. Although Beauty herself has fallen in love with him she makes him suffer for she blames him for the way she feels. Eventually Beauty returns to Beast because of her love for him but also because she could no longer stand doing the house hold chores she was subjected to while living with her father “she milked the cows, fed the swine, cooked the food and cleaned the house.”
I have emulated Carter in my writing stile with the use of verbose language. The story consists of mostly dialogue the similar that of Carter’s “Puss-in-Boots”. The most significant language feature of the story is the use of Standard English. The sentences are well structured and understandable emulating fairytale structure. This is due to the prepared dialogue in the text. There are a couple of ellipsis present to try and create spontaneous speech. “ I was only picking a rose for you my dear, I… I” They also act as a filler. “The colossal walls were laden with exquisite gold and an enormous pellucid chandelier…” this is used to give the reader an idea of what Beauty is seeing the same way Carter describes to us what her female character in “The Bloody Chamber” is seeing “with its turrets of misty blue, its courtyard, its spiked gates…” The Beast who has the description of a wolf “four-inch fangs protruding from his mouth with paws that appeared to possess claws of a frightful nature.” Is once again similar to that of Carter’s “The Company of Wolves” “Those slavering jaws; the lolling tongue; the rime of saliva on the grizzled chops”. Although Beast has the features of a wolf he has the qualities and behaviour of a man“ I know you do not intend to return to me, so I will say this before it is too late. I love you beauty.” The same way as Carter’s beast in “The Courtship of Mr Lyon” “Since you left me, I have been sick”
The target audience of this story are young girls. Children are affected by what they read and since this story’s female character is one that does not sacrifice herself for any male so to will they be inspired to do the same. Female authors like Angela Carter help to subvert the patriarchy found in many young children’s literature mainly because they are authored by males. Although Carter’s writing is for adults it is still a step forward for women of our time.
