Passage from "The Bloody Chamber" by Angela Carter: From "He was rich as Croesus" pg. 10 to "The next day, we were married" pg.11.

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Carmen Kabel Gonzalez

Yr. 12

English Literature

ASSIGNMENT 1

Passage  from “The Bloody Chamber” by Angela Carter:

From “He was rich as Croesus” pg. 10 to “The next day, we were married” pg.11

After having read the passage several times, it is comprehensible that the evident meaning of it is what she (the young woman about to marry) feels, thinks and experiences in this new phase of her life. The themes are the ones of apparent love, which suggests that the proceedings in this passage are only superficial and the feelings (for example hers) will be disturbed later on. The theme of communication reflecting the fact that there is no contact between the couple since there is no dialogue in this passage; also it mirrors her doubtfulness, for example when she says “… I thought I must truly love him”, this implies the idea of the lack of knowledge she has got about her future husband, hence the doubts.

Along the text, the feelings that have been transmitted to the reader are the ones of uncertainty (referring back to one of the themes), inferiority, desire and bareness. These echo the relationship and wills of the couple.

In this passage, the title of the fairy tale doesn’t hint much, yet, but it will later on. The only thing it may refer to is blood.

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The passage is divided into four main parts. The first part is at the opera, from “He was as rich as Croesus” to “And his wedding gift”. The second, where the author describes the antecedents of the choker of rubies; the third part when they are at their room, probably after the opera. And the fourth consists of only one line, but since it is an significant event it is considered as one of the four allotments:  marriage.

“My cup runneth over. And I had on a Poiret dress”, “ I saw him watching me (…) with an assessing eye” ...

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