Angela Carter Re-inventor of folk tales a close literary analysis of "The Bloody Chamber" The Bloody Chamber is the one of Carter's most prominent tales and is the core of the collection being the
Angela Carter Re-inventor of folk tales a close literary analysis of "The Bloody Chamber"
The Bloody Chamber is the one of Carter's most prominent tales and is the core of the collection being the title story. The longest of the collection and the most well know of her reworking. It is typical Carter a reworking of original folk talk combining modern ideas into timeless folktales, to create a story which is a cornerstone of magic realism (in which a story uses magical elements in an otherwise realistic setting) as a genre. It is a story that challenges the way woman are represented in fairytales although this does depend on individual interpretations. Some may read into The Blood Chamber that the female protagonist is a passive character. Whereas other readers may see the main female character as sexually proactive using her sexuality as a device to gain marriage to bluebeard and in turn wealth. Furthermore she appears in the text to enjoy the sexual activity and take pleasure in it- "I flung my arms around him, for on my seeming acquiescence depended my salvation" This quote from The Bloody Chamber illustrates the main female protagonist's enjoyment and pleasure at the situation. The world salvation is significance because she seems it as a sexual and spiritual experience. Such eloquence words about a sexual act a word of religious connotations shows her almost overwhelming enjoyment which may illustrate her apparent sexual pleasure.
This sexual content appears to be an illustration of Carter's use of folktales to incorporate as Freud would put it "the hopes and dreams of a culture" in direct connotation with the heightening feminism and sexual liberation of the 70's. This is description of the act is typical Carter and would come under the term used to describe her descriptive style. Many describe Carter's style as voluptuously descriptive prose. This separate from the sexual nature of her writing is focused on sensuality. It describes how certain aspects appeal to the main female characters senses. One scene in which Angela Carter describes the bluebeard character is a prime example of this "This ring, the bloody bandage of rubies, the wardrobe of clothes from Poiret and Worth, his scent of Russian Leather". This description gives the male character an almost regal presence around him emphasising his wealth. The whole idea of this description further shows Carter subversion of the folktale genre as a lot of the content of folktales is of ambiguous vague descriptions to suit children. Contrary to this, The Bloody Chamber a reinvention of the genre changes the stories to appeal to a more adult audience.
The Bloody Chamber is the one of Carter's most prominent tales and is the core of the collection being the title story. The longest of the collection and the most well know of her reworking. It is typical Carter a reworking of original folk talk combining modern ideas into timeless folktales, to create a story which is a cornerstone of magic realism (in which a story uses magical elements in an otherwise realistic setting) as a genre. It is a story that challenges the way woman are represented in fairytales although this does depend on individual interpretations. Some may read into The Blood Chamber that the female protagonist is a passive character. Whereas other readers may see the main female character as sexually proactive using her sexuality as a device to gain marriage to bluebeard and in turn wealth. Furthermore she appears in the text to enjoy the sexual activity and take pleasure in it- "I flung my arms around him, for on my seeming acquiescence depended my salvation" This quote from The Bloody Chamber illustrates the main female protagonist's enjoyment and pleasure at the situation. The world salvation is significance because she seems it as a sexual and spiritual experience. Such eloquence words about a sexual act a word of religious connotations shows her almost overwhelming enjoyment which may illustrate her apparent sexual pleasure.
This sexual content appears to be an illustration of Carter's use of folktales to incorporate as Freud would put it "the hopes and dreams of a culture" in direct connotation with the heightening feminism and sexual liberation of the 70's. This is description of the act is typical Carter and would come under the term used to describe her descriptive style. Many describe Carter's style as voluptuously descriptive prose. This separate from the sexual nature of her writing is focused on sensuality. It describes how certain aspects appeal to the main female characters senses. One scene in which Angela Carter describes the bluebeard character is a prime example of this "This ring, the bloody bandage of rubies, the wardrobe of clothes from Poiret and Worth, his scent of Russian Leather". This description gives the male character an almost regal presence around him emphasising his wealth. The whole idea of this description further shows Carter subversion of the folktale genre as a lot of the content of folktales is of ambiguous vague descriptions to suit children. Contrary to this, The Bloody Chamber a reinvention of the genre changes the stories to appeal to a more adult audience.
