The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno Bettelheim 1977 Fairy Tales and the Existential Predicament (Review/Questions)

1. How might Bettelheim's ideas help us to understand the purposes of fairy-tales?

"A child needs to understand what is going on within his conscious self so that he can also cope with that which goes on his unconscious...daydreams - ruminating , rearranging , and fantasising about suitable story elements in response to unconscious pressures... By doing this , the child fits unconscious content into conscious fantasies , which then enable him to deal with that content. It is here that fairy tales have unequaled value ...they offer new dimensions to the child's imagination... they can structure their daydreams and with them giver better direction to their life".

Bettleheim is attempting to say that fairy-tales offer new ways and methods of thinking  to the child's imagination ... giving better or more appropriate direction to their lives. He suggests here that traditional fairy tales, with the darkness of abandonment, death, witches, and injuries, allowed children to grapple with their fears in remote, symbolic terms. If they could read and interpret these fairy tales in their own way, he believed, they would get a greater sense of meaning and purpose. Bettelheim thought that by engaging with these socially evolved stories, children would go through emotional growth that would better prepare them for their own futures.

However Bettelheim's is also trying to provide a perspective opposed to Freud's prescription that struggling courageously against overwhelming odds and severe difficulties finds success. Fairy-tales show a struggle against the ascendancy of evil which is an intrinsic part of human existence; steadfastly meeting obstacles head on provides victory at the end in all cases of the traditional fairy-tale. It is meant to oppose the 'safe stories' facing death and aging but also demonstrate crime doesn't pay. The virtues of the victorious struggling hero 'imprint morality' on the child. Natural human desires may not be fully unpunished , but it's a close shave for the girl in TBC a she comes so close to suffering for seeking forbidden knowledge against the ascendancy of the Marquis. 



2. How do Bettelheim's ideas help us to understand the purposes of gothic?

Nourishing a child's mind with only one sided affairs creates the idea that life is all sunny. Consistent pleasant thoughts and wishful thinking doesn't expose the darker , more sinister aspects of our daily lives. Parents attempt to divert their child away from this , but that is perhaps why the Gothic is important; it provides an escape or opportunity to reach the unconscious perhaps. Dominant culture does not want the dark side of man to be exposed and professes a belief in optimistic meliorism.

However fairy-tales provide propensities for both good and evil and which they are present in all. It is this duality which poses the moral problem and requires struggle to solve it as a convention to the genre of the gothic. The gothic will expose the omnipresent good and evil virtue. The gothic illustrates an acceptance of the marring , accepting human nature as it is to allow evil elements.

3. Why do you think Angela Carter mixes the fairy-tale and gothic genres in 'The Bloody Chamber'?

The bloody chamber doesn't juxtapose opposite characters for the purpose of stressing right behaviour as it is not a cautionary tale. The characters are drawn more true to life which carries more complexities including elements of the gothic and the exponential  lows that life brings. Carter mixes the 2 together to ensure polarizations of the fairy-tale are not so obvious and the boundaries are not drawn so clearly. To enter the chamber for example provides a realisation and would help a person 'make choices about who one wants to be', but the evil , and sadistic brutality of the Marquis however grim provides the enlightenment for the girl to make a choice.

Analysis : Courtship of Mr Lyon and The Tiger's Bride- Angela Carter and the Gothic

Task 1

Write a list of questions relating to the article which you need to find the answer to.

1. What various similarities do the two texts bear in terms of Feminist critical readings?

2. In what ways does the main male figure use the protagonist to meet his needs?

3. How could the father's behaviour be interpreted in a Feminist reading?

4. What is female subordination?

5. How does Carter make psychic transformations for her protagonists and remove them from conventional gender roles?

6. What do the following terms mean?

Oedipus Complex:The point at which a Boy feels a Desire for his Mother as a replacement to his Father. Defloration: The taking of a woman's virginity. Voyeurism: The Pleasure/ Gratification a Person gets through viewing another's Sexual Acts.

Task 2

Reduce the article to 5 key sentences

Carter exploits female desire for sexual liberation in order to play with the reader's minds who understand only the masculine and feminine roles of normal  in a patriarchal society, exposing traditional construction of femininity and masculinity.

Feminist research influenced the destruction of polarisation between man and beast as well as the active/passive roles for example  as her characters present both sides using fantasy as a representation of a metamorphosis between man and women. 

Carter uses intertextuality to reveal ideological content in which fairy-tales are designed with fear and enchantment to install codes of female behaviour In relation to consumption and annihilation.

Carter presents the mechanical maid , presenting the female as a creation of the patriarchal society (a simulacrum) but also presents the beast as a social construction that is in empowered to do acts of 'voyeurism' in relation to the male gaze which eventually leads to a mutual consummation.

Sexual realisation and self worth is a product of removing artificial gender construction and maturing beyond this with freedom as a revelation to alternative models , as Carter proposes the model of androgyny.

Reduce each sentence to 1 key word

Expose

Metamorphosis

Intertexuality

Simulacrum

Androgyny 

Reduce all 5 words to 1 phrase

Carter exposes constructions and polarities brought by intertextuality, whilst using simulacrums to lead to a proposed model of androgyny.

Task 3

Write a 100 word summary on the article

Da Silva's article provides a commentary on how Carter has exposed the traditional roles between masculinity and femininity in order to propose new models with psychic transformation and deconstruction of polarities. Learning of how the tiger is indeed a social construction himself along with the doll for example exemplifies how society manipulates the behaviours of femininity and masculinity in order to appear in line with the conventions with which they are materialised by, as exemplars of simulacrums. However when men are socially constructed with experience, intellectuality and culture they have empowerment as controllers. Carter perhaps is attempting to indicate androgyny is the answer to the problems proposed.

Tiger's Bride Research and Questions

Task 1 – Facts

Research the following people and include examples of their work.

Andrea Mantegna: 1431-1506, Italian painter and student of Roman archaeology son in law to Jacopo Bellini. His most famous pieces of art are; the agony of the garden painted 1455, the Madonna of the cherubim painted in 1485 and the San Zeno altarpiece painted in 1457-1460. Andrea often experimented with perspective, e.g., by lowering the horizon in order to create a sense of greater monumentality. His flinty, metallic landscapes and somewhat stony figures give evidence of a fundamentally sculptural approach to painting. 

Guilio Romana: 1499-1546. An Italian painter and architect, as well as a student of Raphael. He's most well-known for five of his paintings: The stoning of St Stephen,the Adoration of Magi, the fire in the Borgo,the battle of Milivian bridge, and the triumph of Titus and Vespeasian. An Italian painter and architect. His stylistic deviations from high Renaissance classicism help define the 16th-century style known as Mannerism. Giulio's drawings have long been treasured by collectors; contemporary prints of them engraved by Marc Antonio Raimondi were a significant contribution to the spread of 16th-century Italian style throughout Europe.

Benvenuto Cellini: 1500-1571. An Italian goldsmith, sculptor, draftsman, soldier and musician. Some of his most famous works are: the statue perseus with the head of medusa,a life sized silver statue of jupiter and finally a gold enamelled sculpture called saliera. He was one of the most important artists of Mannerism. His first works in Rome were a silver casket, silver candlesticks, and a vase for the bishop of Salamanca, which won him the approval of Pope Clement VII.

Task 2; Definitions

Assuage: make (an unpleasant feeling) less intense or to comfort
Awry: away from the usual or expected course or out of the normal or correct position.
Axiom: a statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true.
Capsico:Understand? (Questioning whether someone understands)
Ciliate:a single-celled animal of a large and diverse phylum.
Civet: a slender nocturnal carnivorous mammal (feline) with a barred and spotted coat
Desnuda:Naked, Bare, unclad, nude
excoriating: too damage or remove part of the surface of (the skin).

expostulating: too express strong disapproval or disagreement.

eyrie: a large nest of an eagle or other bird of prey, built high in a tree or on a cliff.

gavotte: a medium-paced French dance, popular in the 18th century.

gracile:attractively slender or thin

megalomaniac: a person who has an obsessive desire for power.

metaphysical: a traditional branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world that encompasses it

minuet: a slow, stately ballroom dance for two in triple time, popular especially in the 18th century.

molto agitato:very agitated

Nascent:  just coming into existence and beginning to display signs of future potential.

obsequiousness: marked by or exhibiting a fawning attentiveness

ostler:  a man employed to look after the horses of people staying at an inn.

Patina: a green or brown film on the surface of bronze or similar metals, produced by oxidation over a long period.

preternatural: beyond what is normal or natural.

Profligate: recklessly extravagant or wasteful in the use of resources.

settecento:seven hundred

shagreen:sharkskin used as a decorative material or, due to its natural rough surface of pointed scales, as an abrasive.

Simian: relating to or affecting apes or monkeys.

simulacra: an image or representation of someone or something.

soubrette:a minor female role in a comedy, typically that of a pert maidservant.

spar: to fight (in practice) or a thick, strong pole such as is used for a mast or yard on a ship.

spurious: not being what it purports to be; false or fake.

tantivy:a rapid gallop or ride

tintinnabulation: a ringing or tinkling sound.

viscera: the internal organs in the main cavities of the body, especially those in the abdomen, e.g. the intestines.

Task 3 Questions

1.      What are ‘the devil’s picture books’?

'The Devils Picture Books' refers to a deck of cards held by the payers during their game. They are made to be objects of evil, as they often lead to people gambling and losing their money, which is referred to in the bible as 'The root of all evil,'.

2.      What type of language is Carter using when the narrator calls The Beast ‘Milord’?

The language Carter is using when calling The Beast 'Milord' is sarcastic as it shows the narrators feelings towards him showing no love or enchantment when addressing him, suggesting her repulsion and bitterness. By calling him 'Milord' it presents a powers of sorts over the girl, as the term links to a patriarchal society; saying it sarcastically may suggest she a lacking respect for him. This signifies the pride and wit of this female protagonist, as it is uncommon for women to mock men of such high status

3.      When The Beast gives the girl a white rose. What do white roses symbolise in this collection and why are they used more than once (also in ‘The Courtship of Mr Lyon’)?

In this collection white roses symbolise romance as the Beast gives the girl a single white rose when first meeting her and then a bunch of them later on in the story. This to the girl is a romantic cliché and therefore she is unappreciative of his gift along with a lack of feelings for him and bitterness involved in her character. Purity may also be suggested by white roses however in this collection the girl 'gets his rose all smeared in blood' which could show how she is not pure as the colour changes from white to red, referring to danger and passion and of course the potential for corruption may have already been exploited. White roses are often associated with romance, and also purity and virginity due to the colour. It is first mentioned in the previous story, 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon,' as is here shown to be a gift for the Fathers 'girl child,' signifying his love for her. Within this story, the roses are used more than once. Firstly, they are given as a gift to the narrator form the Beast, seemingly as some sort of gift, to 'reconcile' any hurt emotions she may feel at being lost to the Beast by her Father. They are then used shortly afterwards as a symbol of a forgiveness from the narrator to her own father, to say that she has forgiven his misdeeds. However, when she hands over the rose which has been bloodied from her pricked finger, this symbolises the brokenness of the apology, and will act as a reminder to the father of his actions as the rose is now stained and tainted, never to be the same, much like the narrators feelings for her father.     

4.      What might be significant about the verb choice ‘fleeced’?

The verb 'fleeced' is significant as it allows the reader to understand how awful the girls life was before meeting the Beast, due to her having nothing as her father gambled it all away which makes the reader feel sympathy because they are able to gain insight and background instead of making judgement. They were 'swindled' out of a great deal of money, as they were overcharged and taken advantage of by the people of their new town. However, 'fleeced' also suggests that they were covered with a material, perhaps made blind to the open world and were not allowed to see the on goings of their surrounding ‘true’ world.

5.      Which fairy tale does ‘gobble you up’ come from and why is it referred to?

'Gobble you up' comes from the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood and is referred to because it links to the Beast and the idea that all this man/lion wants is sex from the young girl, which repulses her as he is an animal figure. Yet as we learn later all the Beast wants to do is to look at the 'pretty lady unclothed nude', suggesting the reader may have judged him from this reference to the fairy tale. 'Gobble you up' is a line from another common fairy tale 'Three Billy Goats gruff' where a troll is trying to eat 3 billy goats as they cross the bridge trying to escape with their lives, they trick the troll, and in the end the troll is killed. Within this story, it could be said to have connotations of rape or assault, and is used as a threat to the narrator, suggesting that something sinister awaits her.

6.      What tells the reader that the inhabitants are not driven by appearances or luxuries?

The reader is told the inhabitants are not driven by luxuries or appearances as the Beast is seen as unhappy even though he has wealth because of him wanting more than just materialistic objects or looks. This is suggested in the introduction of the girl as it is her love he strives for throughout the story and therefore shows he is not driven by luxuries or appearances but romance.

We are told that the Beast 'bought solitude, not luxury,' which tells us that the Beast thinks little of material possessions and appearances, and we can also see that the inhabitants of his home seem happy enough without the luxury, as the horse 'trotted' into the great hall. This suggests that the Beast is searching for something more than wealth to bring him happiness, perhaps a woman like he has summoned.

7.      What is the significance of the fresco ‘where fruit and blossom grew on the bough together’?

The significance of the fresco ‘where fruit and blossom grew on the bough together' is it shows unity and how the house brings people together, which is foreshadowed at the end of the story as the girl finally accepts the Beast allowing them to develop their relationship as she is able to feel close to him.It suggests the Beasts strong belief of nature and humans coinciding peacefully. It also suggests he feels as though animals should be treated as equals, showing that he has clearly been mistreated due to his animalistic nature and wishes he would be treated similarly to other humans even though he is not one.

8.      What is the description of the soubrette supposed to suggest to the reader?

The description of the soubrette suggests to the reader that she is there to show the girl depth into her life as she is described as a 'clockwork twin' due to her features being exactly the same as the girls, who allows her to see when she first arrived at the Beast's house and her and her father’s actions. This means the girl is able to change the way she acts so that the soubrette is no longer a resemblance of her.The description of the soubrette machine suggests to the reader that the Beast does not like to have many human servants around, similarly to Mr Lyon from the previous tale, as it reminds him of his inhuman self. The Soubrette seems also to be a perfect image of femininity, and also is described to look the same as the narrator, which could tell of the Beasts pleasure of the female which may be why he wishes to see the heroine naked.

9.      How does the girl compare herself to animals?

The narrator compares herself to animals as she states that she 'wished she had rolled in ray' so that she could be alike to animals in the way that they do not have to endure humiliating rituals such as this one. She also later goes on to say that she 'larruped and harrumphed' on her way to the stables, likening herself to a horse, perhaps suggesting her desire to be free and wild instead of confined to the Beasts home.

10.  In light of the end of this story, analyse the phrase, ‘The tiger will never lie down with the lamb; he acknowledges no pact that is not reciprocal’.

The phrase 'The tiger will never lie down with the lamb; he acknowledges no pact that is not reciprocal’ suggests that even though this being is a Beast, he would not bring harm to her as it was never his or her wish.

Essay Titles – select one of the tasks below (optional)

1.      Compare and contrast the male characters in ‘The Bloody Chamber’ and ‘The Tiger’s Bride’.

2.      How does Carter present virginity in ‘The Tiger’s Bride’ and one other story from this collection?

The Courtship of Mr.Lyon Questions

1. Look at the title of the story. 'Courtship' is an old fashioned word for the dating period before engagement and marriage. Why do you think Carter chose this word , and do you find it appropriate?

Courtship is period in a couple's relationship which precedes their engagement and marriage, or establishment of an agreed relationship of a more enduring kind. During courtship, a couple get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement or other such agreement. There were formally particular rules to be followed with no direct contact to each other. The male is often depicted as 'soft'... A kiss or sexual behaviour would often be seen to ruin a relationship. Carter uses this 'antiquated' term as it seems to deem that their relationship is more courtly. Courtly love is often described by several key elements one including a ritualistic output.The young girl is the constant recipetent of  a 'white rose' for instance. Using 'courtship' provides an alternative method of pre-marriage love , a different way of behaving.

One particular reading on this 'courtship' idea is that  her story by 'courtship is  to indicate irony as the young girl is made 'a circulating object of exchange':

By Roxie Drayson, Year 3, Goldsmiths College, University of London

"However in truth, when Beaumont's Beauty first considers the possibility of marrying the Beast, her motivations are primarily those of practicality and gratitude for the generous gifts lavished on her: ‘“Am I not very wicked,” said she, “to act so unkindly to Beast, that has studied, so much to please me in everything? [...] It is true, I do not feel the tenderness of affection for him, but I find I have the highest gratitude, esteem and friendship; I will not make him miserable, were I to be so ungrateful I should never forgive myself”’.  She is not a woman in love, but someone calmly calculating her prospects and economic obligations. She can therefore be read as a representation of female collusion within the patriarchal exchange system of women.

Mimicking Sade by adopting the role of ‘moral pornographer’ who ‘through the infinite modulations of the sexual act’ reveals ‘the historical fact of the economic dependence of women upon men’,  Carter uses her first revision of Beamont's 'Beauty and the Beast' to illustrate the system of material exchange upon which the original's romantic concept of marriage is in fact founded. In the ironically titled 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon', she highlights the construction of the female as a circulating object of exchange by allowing, in a sentence concerning the white rose that Beauty's father had promised to buy her, a fleeting syntactic ambiguity about what is being bought, Beauty or the rose: ‘not even enough money left over to buy his Beauty, his-girl-child, his pet, the one white rose she said she wanted’.  The white rose, signifying Beauty's status as a commodity, later becomes a token of exchange in a system of private ownership between the male Beast and Beauty's father".

Beth Delahaye also makes a good point:

From the story, we can see that Mr Lyon does act as a male figure in an old fashioned courtship , by expressing his love by only 'kissing her hands,' he retains a gentlemanly aspect to his character. My Lyons behavior is arguably more appropriate of the title Courtship than it would be of any other word, such as 'affair' or 'dating' as these words bring with them an implication of sexual behavior, which is not true of the story.

2. Look at the spelling of 'Lyon'. How well do you think it anticipates the ending of the story? Discuss why Carter chose to spell the word in this way.

There is the clear link that Lyon indicates the eventual change . It provides the link of human nature , to him and the title of his address. The spelling does anticipate the ending particularly well as a clever way of indicating it .It is such a subtle remark to the eventual transformation . However it provides the thought that the lion/man biological forms are mixed and marred in the story , by their spirit and appearance. 

3. Read the description of the girl in the opening paragraph of the story. How is she described? What is the implication of the description and how is it developed in the plot?

"This lovely girl who skin possesses that same , inner light so you would have thought she , too , was made all of snow , pauses in her chores in the mean kitchen to look out at the country road. Nothing has passed that way all day".

The link to the 'bridal satin' provides in itself an obvious link to the eventual hinted resolution as indicated by Carter saying 'Mr & Mrs Lyon'... on the last sentence of this story. The abstract adjective of 'lovely' given provides reference to her appearance , 'made of all snow' perhaps indicates the lightness of her skin , but on the other hand may represent her character as faint weak and feeble to her changing surroundings between poverty and extreme wealth gained in the experience of the Beast and her father,  or her characteristics as a virgin and therefore the connotations of purity can obviously be remarked. 'The inner light' an indication of her secured morals at this point , which are later disturbed by the riches of her father having passed through his troubles when she moves away from the Beast to London , to leave him in solitude.The descriptions later on in the story indicate her change as her nature is no longer transparent- she is now described as 'petulant' as her earlier 'freshness was fading'. Her skin, described earlier as possessing 'light,' is now described as 'pearly', suggesting a tone of opacity ,  meaning she may be trying to cover hide her nature as it is no longer transparent to reveal her obvious pleasantness , indicating she is no longer as pure or kind as she was when she lived in poverty. The implication of this whole description is that she is extremely pure and very beautiful, the 'perfect' wife. This is developed by the girl almost losing her purity once her father becomes rich and she becomes corrupt and 'less' beautiful. This is also developed by her later marriage to the beast once she seems to realise what she was losing and remembers her promise. 

4. How is the girl's father described? Look at his physical appearance and behavior?

"He cursed the useless car , the last straw that broke his spirit ; then , nothing for but to fasten his old sheepskin coat around him , abandon the heap of metal and set off down the snow-filled lane to look for help".

The father is a broken man with only emotion dictating his actions ; cursing the car was the last straw and so the taking of the rose is merely an act of giving up on his once respected wealth and self values , as he pushes away his morals to one side for his family's sake. His poverty is indicated by his sheepskin being a poor quality coat. This can be seen when we are told of his 'old sheepskin coat,' which is later described as ‘squirearchal’ which refers to the class of the landed gentry, in aristocratic times suggesting that once he was a fairly wealthy man. This relates to the court case we later learn that the father has been waging for many years to try and regain his wealth, though never directly told, it is suggested that he lost the money in either risky ventures or by gambling.

"In too much need to allow himself to be intimated , he squared up to the mahogany door".

It seems here that the father has sunk so far down the ladders of capitalism that he is no longer physically able to be fearful when approaching this grand building. Perhaps formerly he would like to have been seen as a man close to fulfilling something similar , to reach the point where he could own such a house , and perhaps would be more tentative to mark a contact or friendship with this Mr.Lyon. However as a man on poverty perhaps he just seeks refuge and aid in this encounter , he seeks merely sympathy , which involves being looked down on to a degree in comparison to perhaps remarking similarities between the two of them.

"It gave him further comforting proof of his unseen host's wealth and eccentricity to see the dog wore , in place of a collar , a diamond necklace".

Finding comfort in a dog wearing a diamond necklace is not the usual way in which someone is relieved or found at ease in such a grand house. However perhaps it's the extent to which this man is powerful but does not restrict his fellow being by using a collar , someone used to manipulate and move a dog , the diamond necklace recognizes and represents the role of independence and self -worth arguably. However perhaps it is just the symbolization of how far Mr.Lyon will go to express his wealth and desires without showing his face , something he attempts to hide through his mask.

"Time for another whisky as he tried , unsuccessfully to call Beauty and tell her he would be later"

By making that phone call it affects the rest of the plot. The drinking of the whisker is to provide the casual message of depression and desperation in a way drowning his sorrows with the bitterness of his alcohol to match the bitter plot of his recent downhill journey with money.

"it was for my daughter , said Beauty's father. All she wanted in the whole world , was one white , perfect rose"

To take the white rose and then start calling the Beast a 'good fellow' seems a bit like he is sucking up to someone he hasn't met before... However he perhaps does respect the manor of the house for providing the opportunity for a phone call and view of this huge house. Taking the white rose may on the one hand bear little significance as he was simply taking something of his property for his daughter and the binary opposites of thieving and keeping your family provides an overlapse of morals crossings , Beauty's father does not have the strongest morals, as despite recognizing the act stealing and its consequences he steals the flower for Beauty. This provides more clues as to how he may have lost his wealth. The rose however is a representation however of how this man will take an opportunity when made available which is evident after  Mr.Lyon says he can can take the rose as long as he brings back his daughter and shall have his wealth return.

The way the father talks about his daughter shows patriarchal and possessive themes, for example, he calls her 'his girl-child, his pet.' Both terms could be seen as somewhat derogatory, but the repetition of the word 'his' shows his ownership and property of his daughter. Her father is also described as having 'no fear', when he first enters into the Beasts domain, this could be as he is brave and is showing strength by trying to find a way to contact his daughter, or it could be because he secretly knows that he will not be the one the Beast seeks thus he will not be in any direct danger.

5. Which characters and themes is the father associated with? How is he connected with them?

Family: His actions in this story seem bound by his daughter , but he still does what is best for his wealth , it turns out not too bad for his daughter on the other hand either mind , and therefore it seems to initiate the message that wealth can provide temporary contentedness but not in the same way that love brings back Mr.Lyon and Beauty.  The father of the girl in the Tiger's Bride- By losing his wealth and to a degree his family the father bears resemblance to this character but appears to have less of an edge to his character in comparison.

The Objectification of Women:Beauty becomes an object when her father uses her as payment for his debt to the Beast. Even though Beauty lives luxuriously both at the Beast's and in London, like the heroine in "The Bloody Chamber" she is seen as property.

Roses: The white roses represent a "mythologized" idea of a woman. Beauty's rose grows unnaturally in the middle of winter, yet it is still perfect; it represents her unspoiled, gentle, virgin self. Beauty and her father both want the rose, so they both subscribe to an idealized idea of who she is. She is objectified into a rose. When Beauty's father steals the rose, expressing his desire to keep her virginal and perfect, the result is that Beauty becomes a literal object - the payment of her father's debt. When she sends the Beast roses, she is sending him reminders of her idealized self, which he cherishes. At the story's end, Beauty takes charge of her own desires and returns to the Beast. The roses have wilted, as has her identity as the perfect object of a woman. She is aware that she is part of a trade-off which will see her father’s financial problems solved.

6. How is the father represented by Carter? What values does he stand for and how far do they contribute to the development of the plot.

• Family above the law (stealing of the rose)
• Pleasing those you love
• Self-Righteousness (does not seek death not that depressed , overt prestige with the Beast)
• Example of capitalism (nothing without his finance)

7. Use your own words to describe Mr.Lyons' property. Look carefully at the way it is described , and particularly the adjectives used. Why is it described in this way? What is the overall impression made on the reader?

“Sweet, retiring melancholy grace, would have seemed deserted but for a light that flickered in an upstairs window"”

Someone summing up a foreshadowing of the ending in the opening phrase: "sweet , retiring melancholy grace" . If the house and it's atmosphere is meant to be a reflection of a character , then this setting is matching. The father entering the house is perhaps still suspectful of other goings on in the house.

Mr Lyon's property is described in a heavily Gothic manner "a miniature, perfect Palladian house that seemed to hide itself shyly behind snow-laden skirts", with many conventions being met such as a seemingly abandoned Manor house, yet it has the crystals containing flowers, the Gold clean knocker and the single light in an upper room of the Manor house. It's described in this way as a direct comparison to where Beauty lives a small house where she, a tenant and daughter of the owner, is the servant and maid doing chores. Whereas Beast lives in a Manor that appears to belong in age past, (16th century).

Mr Lyons property is described luxuriously, giving an obvious indication of excessive wealth and power. When it is first seen by Beauty's father, it is called a 'perfect, Palladian house,' and the language in the descriptive passage concerning the property seems to be quite feminine, with words such as 'skirts, 'flourish,' 'grace,' and 'sweet,' suggesting that perhaps the Beast made it this way as he yearns for partnership from a woman and wishes to make his home inviting for them. However, the description is also very Gothic, as it has key characteristics of Gothic architecture such as the 'wrought iron gates,' and its 'melancholy grace,' and also the 'light that flickered,' giving the reader a feel of tension and mystery, as it becomes obvious from the way that the house seems to 'hide itself,' foreshadows that the owner of the house may not be all he seems.

Others To Do

9. Look closely at the description of the Beast , and analyse the linguistic techniques used. These should include: the use of repetition , adjectives , nouns , verbs and imagery. What effect does the description have on the reader? How do you feel about the Beast , and what has made you feel like this?

10. On page 45 , Beauty arrives at the house of Mr.Lyon , the Beast. How does she feel about this , and how do her feelings change? Track the changes and development of her feelings from page 45 to the end of the tale. Give specific examples of language used to describe this developing relationship.

12. There are two sections (pages 44-45 and 50-51) which contain direct speech. Why do you think there is a change in narrative style? Why is the change at these points of the story? Does it have any impact on the reader's feelings towards the characters? If so , which character does if affect and how? How is language used to manipulate the readers' reactions to characters and events?

13. Beauty is described before she meets the Beast , when she is living in the 'mean' household which is all her father can provide. After meeting the Beast she lives in luxurious surroundings in London. Compare the two descriptions and decide whether her personality changes as well as her financial; circumstances. Select quotations to support your opinions.

14. When Beauty returns to the Beast's house , there are many changes/ What are they , and what has caused them? Return to the traditional fairy story (refer to your answer to question 8) and compare the description of the Beast's house when Beauty returns , the house found by the 3 bears after Goldilocks has visited it , or the gingerbread house after the children have left it . How does Carter draw on traditional means of a story-telling to depict change? How do her descriptions differ from the traditional story you are using?

Marxism applied to the Bloody Chamber

What Marxist critics do:

1. Make a division between the 'overt' (manifest or surface) and 'covert' (latent or hidden) content of a literary text relating the covert subject of the work to Marxist themes (class struggle, progression of society, historical stages).

Angela Carter in varying degrees provides a particular division between the appearance of the text and the content which is not in view for us. Carter herself claimed that her stories were not the retelling of stories or a collection of adult fairy-tales, they are written "to extract the latent content". Carter's "Bloody Chamber" was published in 1979, a time of course at the beginning of 'Thatcherism' a time of class straggles with economic reform heavily inducing the mechanisms of capitalism further. One simple way of understanding the narrator's position is the way in which she arrives at the Marquis' castle. The industrialisation of the train can be seen a economic symbolism, but also as a demonstration of split classes. The train represents merely a gate-way to finance the richer (hidden content) rather than provide a more convenient way of travelling (overt).Carter's use of the train within the text symbolises a 'Man-Made' society. The train is in reality used to get to somewhere quicker- it speeds up the Marquis’ marriage, the Marquis’ plans for a girl with no inkling of inheritance or financial power…

When we move towards the climax of the story, the girl is given all the keys to the castle, but cannot open one door. "All is yours; everything is open to you-except the lock that this single key fits". It seems to only be a façade to disguise the hidden content, she clearly doesn't maintain such power; wearing the ‘ruby chocker' given by the Marquis is a sign of control in itself.

On the surface it seems that the Marquis is attempting to hide his sadistic, barbaric murders of brutality. 

However, the keys provide a representation the opportunities of society to the lower classes. Giving such a person power in this sense to unlock any forbidden knowledge she may seek has its consequences. Having walked into that chamber, the girl has to accept death is approaching. The Marquis made it essential that she should not enter and she didn't maintain her role in society to keep herself locked out from the darkness behind ‘truth’, to stay in the realm of fabricated lifestyles. By understanding the darkness behind the rich-man, she must murdered in order for the Marquis to maintain his powers and keep the latent content 'hidden' as it were. This further links to the conflict that the people of the lower classes are given a false sense of power and control within their life when given the opportunity to do something or spend money - but they are never truly in a dominating position due to the Capitalist mechanism maintaining its control as a construction which disables the working people’s lives.

However the resolution finds the girl lucky, as her mother shoots down the Marquis. The actions hereafter by the girl however can be read as a representation of a victory for the struggling classes. Living with the blind piano turner Jean-Vyes and her rescuing mother, the girl finds herself spending a significant sum of her money inherited through the Marquis and his castle on charity. Perhaps a comparison on the behaviours of the Marquis and the girl can be contrasted in order to see the latent content. The Marquis merely slaughters those who see into the darkness of his chamber-room, where all have gone in none have left the castle and the Marquis only shares his wealth in order to continue his sadistic acts. The girl in comparison shares her realisation of the events and shares her wealth. By doing so its arguable the girl is less concealed by the gains of self-based riches which is the driver of capitalism.  

2. Relate context to social class status of the author . An assumption is made that the author is unaware of what she is revealing in the text

Carter was a women who had married twice , and had written in several universities. Carter could largely be described as a middle class woman through the 1970's. It seems that she attempts to exploit the lower and higher classes in TBC but does not instigate her own struggle perhaps. However with all seemingly under the upper class the struggle she emulates through the murder of the Marquis as a victory against the rich man and the narrator takes the wealth for herself and his power is removed.

Angela Carter's work- 'The Bloody Chamber' was published in 1979 with these short stories written during the 1970's. This social period was shown to depict the growth of Feminism and Marxism within UK and US culture and politics, as proved by obvious example of Margaret Thatcher but also the equal rights for women movement in the US. This growth of Feminism does appear to be shown within Carter's work: The Narrator is shown to be strong willed within 'The Bloody Chamber'- and her mother is described as "indomitable" and "eagle featured"; therefore showing her to be a "new woman" that particular movements in 1960's/ 70's were attempting to promote. However, Carter too uses her work to show Women as greedy characters that do not particularly conform with Feminist idealisms of Woman- as in 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon’, Beauty is shown to become a different Woman after the re-establishment of her father’s finance , indicating that we are all social constructions that can become manipulated by what money offers. Beauty appears naïve and idiotic to this notion as is shown to renounce love in the pursuit of wealth.

Furthermore, it was within the 1970's/ 80's that Marxist critics began to structure their theories in literary texts. Carter may have been able to view these proposed political thoughts and indirectly adapt them within her texts. Throughout these ‘short stories’ she shows the various worlds to be made up of class structures and one-upmanship in wealth through gambling men , and the establishment of the rich: The Marquis is able to take the narrator hand in marriage from her mother due to his payment in the form of Dowry. The Beast/ Mr Lyon’s house is shown to portray wealth across the house, the dog’s necklace as a replacement for the collar and through the use of "solid gold"/ "great chandelier". Perhaps Carter chose to expand upon the ideologies of  Karl Marx and Engles within her work- as she had seen the corruptions within society during this period and chose to 'shine a light' on unlawful happenings whilst celebrating the power of female desire to re-imagine the world and turn it topsy-turvy. However it seems she wanted both men and women to make realisations of each other and themselves.

Historical Goings on:

In the People's Republic of China, the Maoist government undertook the Cultural Revolution from 1966 through to 1976 in order to purge capitalist elements from Chinese society and entrench socialism. However, upon Mao's death, his rivals seized political power and under the Premiership of Deng Xiaoping (1978–1992), many of Mao's Cultural Revolution era policies were revised or abandoned and much of the state sector privatised.

The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the collapse of most of those socialist states that had professed a Marxist–Leninist ideology. In the late 1970s and 1980s, the emergence of the New Right and neoliberal capitalism as the dominant ideological trends in western politics – championed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher – led the west to take a more aggressive stand against the Soviet Union and its Leninist allies. Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union, the reformist Mikhael Gorbachev (1931–) became Premier in March 1985, and began to move away from Leninist-based models of development towards social democracy. Ultimately, Gorbachev's reforms, coupled with rising levels of popular ethnic nationalism in the Soviet Union, led to the state's dissolution in late 1991 into a series of constituent nations, all of which abandoned Marxist–Leninist models for socialism, with most converting to capitalist economies.

3. Explain the nature of a genre in terms of the social period in which it was produced. The novel may speak for the social class it represents.

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Carter being middle class saw how the upper class (the bourgeoisie) and the lower class (proletariat) lived. As the Bloody Chamber was written in 1979 it reflects the struggle between the two classes. 

4. Relate the text to social assumptions of the time in which it was consumed . This is useful in the criticism of cultural materialism.

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Throughout this time social assumptions and stereotypes that define the era in which it was produced and consumed affect the way in which a text is perceived by the reader- as suggested through "Cultural Materialism". Society has changed its beliefs dependant on the Social Period. As the 1980's were times of moving equality for example growing social acceptance of women’s rights, it became the order of the day- suggesting that the readership of the late 1970's/ early 1980's would have been able to create their own distinctions to a certain extent between what Carter was able to put on the page and what latent content she had involved 'between the lines'. 

5. Politicisation of literary form (form is determined by political circumstance).

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