The Courtship Of Mr Lyon

Set in a typical fairytale setting, based upon Beauty and the Beast. Shows the typical fairytale setting through use of ‘eat me’ and ‘drink me’, reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, also told in third person, another traditional feature of beauty and the beast. However differs from the original Beauty and the Beast as the beauty is more harsh as she forgets about the beast and does not return until she is summoned by his faithful spaniel.
Has a subtle connection to The Bloody Chamber as Beauty’s father lacks fear when he goes to Beast’s house just as the main protagonist in The Bloody Chamber has no fear when she goes to the bloody chamber.
Has a gothic element such as the beast’s isolation from society connecting to other gothic texts such as Frankenstein where his creature is marginalised from society and so is the cottager’s lover Saife. This isolation of the beast is mirrored by the weather –pathetic fallacy- ‘might have been the reflection of the stars if any star could have penetrated the snow’.

LADY OF THE HOUSE OF LOVE,WHAT A LONG TITLE!

She has a child like appearance and is wearing a bridal dress, making it more perverse as she is a child, yet so old. The hero is a young male victim, his innocence is also a prominent theme, similar to the main protagonist in the Bloody Chamber , ‘special quality of virginity’ similar to bloody chamber ‘in my innocence…a rare talent for corruption’ And also seen in The Tiger’s Bride ‘I was unaccustomed to nakedness’. A running theme throughout, which is usually associated with the main character, usually a reason for their strength, in their naivety they are not afraid like how she is not afraid of dying or going into the bloody chamber he is not afraid of her ‘he cannot feel terror’, their innocence is what saves them in the end, e.g. the lady of the house of love the vampires is shocked by how he does not want to immediately sleep with her, yet he sees for something more than just a sexual object, ‘would like to take her into his arms and protect her’. He is strong in this sense, that he is brave enough to accept her even though she is a mystery to him, just as the main protagonist in the bloody chamber accepts her fate, ‘I would always be lonely’ even before marrying him she has accepted that he will not be the passionate husband yet accepts her fate.
Also Carter uses a subtle aspect of nature through use of roses and flowers ‘red roses blew into his face’

Wolf Alice

This tale, has a strong theme of transformation, however it differs from the other tales which have this prominent theme. This is because, in the other tales the main characters know of their true nature, and long to be the opposite for example in the courtship of Mr. Lyon, the beast longed to be human and in the tigers bride she desired liberation and ended up transforming into a tiger, gaining the liberation from her former life. However in Wolf-Alice, she is unknowing of her true nature; however she is content being a wolf. Although society does not accept her way of living, she refuses to change, showing marginalisation from society as she does not conform to their roles, of being a normal human girl, she chooses to live in this manner and is happy to do so. However she is then rejected and sent to the duke, who is a werewolf, and it is seen how they are both forced out from society. Although she then learns to accept her true nature, and gradually from the discovery of a mirror which shows her, her true nature as a human, and the impact of her period, she learns to accept her human side and how to act human. This conveys a theme that is also significant and frequent in Carter’s tales which is acceptance. In Wold-Alice she learns to accept her nature as a human, and because of her former identity as a wolf she can also accept the duke’s nature as a werewolf.

The Erl King YEAH BABY

This tale focuses essentially on nature. The Erl King seems to be the essence of nature ‘he came alive from the desires of the wood’. This tale shows nature in a negative light, ‘the wood swallows you up’ here the wood is being used as a weapon by the Erl King, a means for him to gain his victims. Furthermore he then turns his victims into birds, and if he is indeed the essence of nature then this is conveying nature to be negative, as he is seducing and then trapping these girls against their wills.

There is constant personification of nature ‘the wood swallows you up’ and ‘the stark elders have an anorexic look’ Using the forest in a negative sense, like it is being used a means of trapping people, a weapon of sorts by the Erl King ‘stay there until it lets you out again’ the forest has all of the power, in a feminist context, the women are powerful yet the Erl King, male is dominant ‘trees stir with a noise like...skirts of women who have lost themselves..’ showing how weak women are...

Furthermore the ending, also suggests that mother nature eventually kills him, although the main protagonist plans how to kill him, Carter then switches it to the third person with 'she', and this suggests a different character then takes over, 'then she will open all the cages ' 'then she will carve off his great mane' this could suggest that mother nature kills him, which is supported by 'mother, mother, you have murdered me!' which would also fit in well with story, if we are to believe that he is the essence of nature which is constantly highlighted through use of 'he came alive from the desires of the wood', then his mother would ultimately be nature.

Connections between the texts from bloody chamber

List of main themes:
Virginity and sex
society
transformation
feminism
nature.

Virginity and sex:
in some of the stories from the bloody chamber angela carter has used a prominent theme of sex, and those who are virgins and sexually experienced. For example in the bloody chamber, the Marquis seemed to enjoy the fact that she was a virgin, he had sadistic sexual pleasures, as she found through the pornographic pictures. Furthermore the use of mirrors was also directly linked to this theme as he said he wanted a 'harlem' and the use of many mirrors, seemed to be used to satisfy this particular need for a 'harlem' of women to have sex with. Furthermore sex was also used as a weapon of sorts, for example he took her virginity from her, having this hold over her as he was her first which to her, was an important thing to be taken.
The idea of virginity was also linked to the niave and innocent characters for example in the Lady of the house of love he was described as 'special quality of virginity' and because of his sexual niavety this seemed to save him from the vampiress. As he was the only male she had come across who did not have a sexual appetite, or long to use her in that manner, therefore this virginity was his saving grace.
However the idea of sex is used in a playful manner in stories such as Puss In boots, where the women who he wants seem to use him in a sexual manner, just as he does with her, furthermore puss in boots has sex with the tabby cat yet she also seems to enjoy this, showing how sex is used in its traditional sense of pleasure in this tale.
However sex is used in its most sadistic form in the snow child, where necrophilia is used. The count has sex with the snow child when she dies, this shows the purest form of objectification as she is dead, she has nothing to gain from this act, furthermore she disappears after he does this suggesting that she had fufilled her purpose and that was all she was needed for.
Society:
The theme of society is also a significant theme as the use of marganilisation from society and playing the roles that society give us is present in many of the tales. For example in The Tigers Bride he wears the beautiful mask, which could be interpreteted to convey that he is playing the role that society wants him to play, he knows that society will not accept him for his true nature and therefore conceals this. However it could also be his fear of being rejected from society that causes him to wear the mask. Furthermore the marganilisation from society is mostly conveyed in The Courtship of Mr Lyon, here the beast lives in solitude, society will not accept his appearance and therefore he lives in desertion.
Also the idea of the roles that we are given from society is also conveyed in The Bloody Chamber. The main protagnist is expected to be killed by the Marquis and she accepts this, exploiting the society at that time, as it is expected for her to play his sadistic game and to accept her death, however her mother comes in time, and the quote 'The puppet master...saw his dolls break free of their strings...and start to live for themselves...' This supports the idea that the protagnist and her mother break the expectations set by them from society, the fact that the blind piano tuner has inner strength and has courage enough to go with her to her death which would not have been expected from society.
Transformation:
The theme of transformation is prominent in many tales, such as Tigers Bride, Courtship of Mr Lyon, The Lady of the house of love, The Company of wolves etc.
For example in the Tigers bride, we see how Beauty is replused by the tiger, and hates the idea of undressing in front of him, however she is even more shocked when she sees his true nature 'i suffered a marvelous wound' the use of this oxymoron 'marvelous wound' depicts how she finds it shocking, yet also feels some admiration for him? as though she enjoys seeing him in his true nature, suggesting that as he is most liberated at this point, she longs to have the same liberation. Therefore at the end when we see her transform into a tiger, 'beautiful furs' positive terms are used to describe her transformation, conveying how her transformation is natural for her, and something that has always been inside of her, waiting to come out, setting her free of her former restraints from her father and society. Showing how transformation here is a positive concept.
A different kind of transformation is shown in The Company Of Wolves, at the beginning of the tale we see the main protagnist as an 'unbroken egg' and how she has just started her period, the use of 'egg' conveys her to be fragile and innocent, she has experienced very little of life and therefore is still naive. However when she discovers the wolf in her grandmothers house we expect her to be fearful, yet she is the opposite. 'she knew she was nobody's meat', she has now become fearless, and has transformed into a woman who knows what she wants and burns his clothing, knowing that he will stay as a wolf. We are illustrated the transformation of her becoming less niave,and taking a risk in buring his clothing, conveying how she has changed from the beginning where carter described her as an 'unbroken' egg.
Feminism:
This is a frequent theme that is also conveyed in many of Carter's tales. Feminism is strongly illustrated in The Bloody Chamber, when her mother is the main heroine, 'magnificent horsewoman', she is the one who ultimately saves her daughter, and the feminism is shown through her strong mother and how the men are depicted in a negative manner. For example the Marquis has status and power, yet is a murderer and takes sadistic pleasure in killing his wives. Moreover the only other male in the tale is a blind piano tuner, who does not help her, although he shows inner strength he is still weak and has a low status.
In addition in the snow child it can be argued that this also has a strong message of feminism. This is because the only male -the Count- is depicted in a very negative way. He desires his perfect child, and gets what he wants, and when she dies he uses her in a sexual way. This could be Carter's way in which she exploits men and how society accepts the way in which they behave, for example his wife accepts his desire for the girl, and instead of being angry at him she takes it out on the snow child. Furthermore she simply watches on as he commits necrophilia and he then turns his attention back onto his wife after the snow child has died and she does not reprimand him in any way. Here carter is illustrating the flaws of men and how woman have been accepting them, instead of having more traditional feminism elements such as a strong protagnist or a weak male, she is simply highlighting how men behave and the unacceptability of it.
Nature:
Angela Carter uses subtle elements of nature, which can be seen in many of her tales. For example in the lady of the house of love, the roses are a significant component of the story which is highlighted in many areas. 'somehow obscene in their excess' this is used to describe the roses, when the soldier comes to the vampiress' home, the use of 'obscene' has negative connotations, depicting how carter has used them in a negative way, and could be seen as a warning for the soldier, by how vibrant they are, and how that is unusual. Furthermore the rose is then the only object left after the vampiress dies, and is something that the soldier holds on to, reminding him of the vampiress, conveying how the rose is connected to the vampiress and is thus a reminder of her.
Another tale that uses nature is The Erl King, here nature is the foundation for the tale, as the erl king seems to be essence of nature 'he came alive from the desire of the woods' . Although the forest and the surrounding are positve at first, there is an underlying suspicion that it is almost too good to be true. As she discovers that when she first enters the forest there is no escape, 'the wood swallows you up' here carter has depicted the forest and other aspects of nature to be used as weapons for the Erl King to use against the girls he wishes to trap, 'a garden where all the flowers were birds and beasts;'' As she is engulfed by the forest and the birds, she knows the fate that awaits her yet she cannot turn away, and she desires the Erl King.

BLOODY CHAMBER TIMED ESSAY

'Drawing upon at least two stories from The Bloody Chamber explore the ways in which Carter might be considered to re-interpret gothic conventions.

Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber has a range of different stories, loosely based upon fairy tales that may be viewed as different compared to more ‘typical’ gothic stories such as Frankenstein or Macbeth.
One of her stories from The Bloody Chamber collection is the Tiger’s Bride. This is one of her tales that is loosely based upon Beauty and the Beast. The Tiger’s Bride has a key feature of marginalisation and acceptance. Carter conveys this through making the beast feel the need to disguise himself in human attire, and not being able to show his true nature to society, ‘he wears a mask with a man’s face painted most beautifully’. This represents how he is trapped and not just any disguise is used but ‘a beautiful face’, showing how significant appearances is in our culture and Carter uses this is a key component for her stories. This is re-interpreting gothic conventions as she is not using more common gothic features such as rejection from society or raw and powerful emotions. However Carter is showing how he has accepted his nature and conceals it. Which differs from more obvious gothic texts such as Frankenstein where the creature is continuously rejected yet does not feel the need to appear human. However another interpretation could be that the beast may not be concealing his identity for the benefit of society but for his own desires, he may not have accepted his true nature and therefore dresses humanely to ease his own pain. Furthermore in most gothic texts there is a running theme of romance which is not prominent in The Tiger’s Bride. There are subtle hints to how beauty and beast form a connection however there is not a strong romantic relationship, ‘I felt I was at liberty for the first time in my life.’ There is no physical attraction or love felt for each other, however she feels more accepted by him as a woman she has been marginalised by society also, ‘imitative life amongst men’. The use of ‘imitative’ has connotations of leading a mundane and dull life, that her life is not truly hers, but controlled by men. Here carter has again re-interpreted the gothic convention as Shakespeare’s Macbeth has a strong theme of passionate love which adds to the gothic genre; however The Tiger’s Bride focuses more on companionship.

Another way in which Carter has re-interpreted the gothic convention is by having more subtle climaxes. For example in The Snow Child, the subtle climax is whether the countess will eventually kill the snow child, however in a more traditional gothic text the climax would be signalled in an obvious manner, and would usually last a short period of time. However it could be considered that in The Snow Child the climax is running throughout as part of the storyline, ‘the Countess had only one thought: how shall I be rid of her?’ and Carter then depicts her attempts, however when she finally gets her way, there is one traditional gothic feature used, raw emotions. ‘Weeping, the Count got off his horse’ Here the use of ‘weeping’ shows how Carter has subtly introduced some emotion of his sadness. Although Angela Carter re-interprets the gothic convention by not dragging this emotion out but by conveying a small snippet of his sorrow through the use of ‘got off his horse’ could suggest how he is sad yet still continues with his actions. This is then supported by ‘The Count picked up the rose…handed it to his wife;’ thus illustrating how he may not have felt much sadness as he now gives the rose to his wife, conveying that he has accepted the snow child’s fate.

Carter also keeps a key gothic feature of using the romantic to add to the storyline. Although she re-interprets this element by not using typical landscapes or scenery that is frequently used in Macbeth and Frankenstein. Carter uses small aspects of nature such as flowers. In the Bloody Chamber there are consistent references to lilies and they play a significant role, ‘undertakers’ lilies with the heavy pollen’. Here Carter is twisting a natural and beautiful flower to be associated with death with the use of ‘undertakers’ which immediately has connotations of funerals and death.
There is a constant occurrence of flowers throughout her tales, in Lady of the House of Love there is the significance of the red roses, ‘plush petals somehow obscene in their excess,’ Carter has again manipulated a beautiful flower to be seen as a warning for the young officer, the use of ‘obscene’ has connotations of the roses being disgusting in their ‘excess’. Supporting the idea that Carter has re-interpreted this gothic feature as in more traditional gothic texts nature is depicted in a positive light, for example in Frankenstein it is seen as a ‘nurse’ for both Victor and his creature. However Carter has used this element of nature in the Bloody Chamber and in Lady of the House of Love and has them usually to be associated with the negative characters.

In conclusion Angela Carter has re-interprets the gothic conventions by taking key features of the gothic such as powerful emotions, marginalisation and the romantic genre and uses them in a more subtle manner, having them underlie the overall tales. Carter has also re-interpreted certain features such as nature, by using in an opposite way, such as the flowers being associated with negative concepts and characters.

The snow child

The snow child tells of how a count desires his perfect child 'i wish i had a girl as white as snow' 'i wish i had a girl as red as blood' 'i wish i had a girl as black as that bird's feather.' Then the girl arrives, it is interesting as his wife attempts to kill the girl 'she mean't to gallop off and leave her there' however the count is always protective her, and everytime she attempts to leave or kill her a piece of her clothing goes onto the girl 'furs sprang off' 'boots leapt off' and it is interesting as those items of clothing go onto the girl, a form of punihsment maybe for her attempts? and she has also thrown her gloves and diamond brooch away in her means to get of the girl, so at the end she has no clothing on...
In addition to this, when she tries her attempts the girl will only listen to the count, as when he does say ' i can't deny you that' thats when the girl goes to pick it, he says it, yet she carries out the action, like they are the same person, connected, as she is his desire.
Furthermore when the girl does die that is when the countess gets her clothes back, like she is a mannequin for this perfect girl whom the count desires so greatly. However the count does also feel sorry for the countess, and in trying to please the countess the girl dies 'I can't deny you that' maybe that the count can only have one, not the countess and the girl...
Furthermore the countess could be the victim, not the girl. The girl could be evil as she melts at the end which links to how witches die and as she is made of snow which has connotations of the girl being cold , blood which has connotations of death, and black feathers from a hawk which is a bad omen... Therefore the countess used her own desire for a rose, to kill her husband's desire for this perfect child, and in turn the child does die as a result of the countess's wishes.