Explore Carter's use of metamorphosis in The Bloody Chamber and comment on how it contributes to the gothic element of the tale
Explore Carter’s use of metamorphosis in The Bloody Chamber and comment on how it contributes to the Gothic element of the tale
In The Tiger’s Bride and The Courtship of Mr Lyon Carter uses transformation from human to animal and vice versa, exploring how two natures can exist in one person, and how transformation can reveal some idea of truth. Metamorphosis is essential in these tales and the idea of blurring reality and fantasy is traditional in the gothic genre. However, these stories can also be linked to a wider feminist ideology. The metamorphoses in the stories also could be said to be criticizing society’s patriarchal, stereotypical gender roles, and for the heroine’s in the tales, the metamorphosis into adulthood is sexual.
Carter begins both tales by introducing the idea of innocence. In The Tiger’s Bride Carter uses the ‘white roses’ to convey the idea of virginity. For example, when the heroine says “When I break off a stem, I prick my finger and so he gets his rose all smeared with blood.” This illustrates the idea of the girl’s transformation of virginity, and the ‘blood smeared’ could represent her being almost stained by her sexual awakening, which is a taboo for the gothic. Similarly, at the beginning of The Courtship of Mr Lyon the heroine’s complexion is described “whose skin possesses that same, inner light so you would have thought she, too, was made all of snow” this really highlights her as being pure and almost angelic. The use of words like ‘light’ and ‘snow’ portray the heroine as being innocent and virtuous. Carter’s use of pure and virginal heroines is a common element of the gothic and in this way contributes to the gothic element of the tale. However, both tales have elements which do not fall into the gothic genre. In The Tiger’s Bride the roles of the ‘virginal’ heroine and the ‘powerful’ beast are reversed by the heroines reaction to the beasts sexual desire to see her naked “I could scarcely believe my ears. I let out a
In The Tiger’s Bride and The Courtship of Mr Lyon Carter uses transformation from human to animal and vice versa, exploring how two natures can exist in one person, and how transformation can reveal some idea of truth. Metamorphosis is essential in these tales and the idea of blurring reality and fantasy is traditional in the gothic genre. However, these stories can also be linked to a wider feminist ideology. The metamorphoses in the stories also could be said to be criticizing society’s patriarchal, stereotypical gender roles, and for the heroine’s in the tales, the metamorphosis into adulthood is sexual.
Carter begins both tales by introducing the idea of innocence. In The Tiger’s Bride Carter uses the ‘white roses’ to convey the idea of virginity. For example, when the heroine says “When I break off a stem, I prick my finger and so he gets his rose all smeared with blood.” This illustrates the idea of the girl’s transformation of virginity, and the ‘blood smeared’ could represent her being almost stained by her sexual awakening, which is a taboo for the gothic. Similarly, at the beginning of The Courtship of Mr Lyon the heroine’s complexion is described “whose skin possesses that same, inner light so you would have thought she, too, was made all of snow” this really highlights her as being pure and almost angelic. The use of words like ‘light’ and ‘snow’ portray the heroine as being innocent and virtuous. Carter’s use of pure and virginal heroines is a common element of the gothic and in this way contributes to the gothic element of the tale. However, both tales have elements which do not fall into the gothic genre. In The Tiger’s Bride the roles of the ‘virginal’ heroine and the ‘powerful’ beast are reversed by the heroines reaction to the beasts sexual desire to see her naked “I could scarcely believe my ears. I let out a