“The Bloody Chamber” by Angela Carter Essay Example

line with this analogy, it is noted that his household mirrors his sinister personality, characterized by an imposing and secretive castle.

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The spot embodies a feeling of melancholy, akin to that of a Medmadian perched on her rock, waiting ceaselessly.

"That sad place" refers to a location that boasted numerous rooms, each exceeding the previous in grandeur.

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Described as the finest and most opulent furniture, the French Marquis' wealth and lifestyle lures in a young, innocent girl soon to become a woman. The girl, referred to as the "damsel" in traditional fairy tale fashion, is portrayed by a 17-year-old who is easily taken in by the Marquis' charm and the lavish world he presents her with. She admits to her own naivety, stating "I was seventeen, and knew nothing of the world," highlighting her willingness to believe in his persona and fall for his extravagant lifestyle.

Carter's tale does not follow the traditional fairy tale conventions, where a naive girl typically plays the role of a helpless female. Rather, the protagonist, a damsel, turns out to be more cunning and crafty than initially perceived. She soon realizes that she is treading dangerous ground with her emotionally strong-willed husband. Driven by curiosity and boredom, she ventures into the forbidden room in hopes of uncovering her husband's secrets. Perhaps she wonders if she might find traces of his heart and soul hidden in his files marked "Personal" within his subterranean chamber.

Just like a child in a candy store, she can't resist her intense curiosity. Carter amplifies our emotions with her use of imagery and

the word "blood", reminiscent of the Bluebeard tale where a woman discovers her husband's ex-wives' corpses in the "bloody" chamber covered in "clotted blood".

Carter's story has progressed to the point where the sexual themes have been established.

Carter employs subtle and powerful imagery in her Gothic narrative that intensifies emotions and leaves readers intrigued. The author successfully implements her formula of domination and submission throughout, using imagery that relates to the situations presented in the book. The color red frequently symbolizes death and the loss of virginity, which leads to a loss of innocence experienced by the young girl in the story. Her regret is expressed through the words, "I had bled...".

In this chapter, the loss of virginity has left a great dishevelment in the narrator. However, the Marquis uses blood imagery to boast about his achievement of corrupting a woman's innocence. He hangs the blood-stained sheets outside as a means of flaunting his triumph. In contrast to the original Bluebeard, Carter's Marquis is described as charming and classy, with the ability to attract many women. Music holds a significant role in representing innocence in the young woman who narrates the story.

In the story, the narrator turns to her piano for comfort and salvation. To her, it's a "magic tool" that can create a musical pentacle to protect her from harm. The significance of music in Carter's work is akin to religion- the girl believes it can cleanse her of guilt and sin, and this theme is more prominent in "Bluebeard" than "Bloody Chamber."

Both "Bluebeard" and Carter's story feature the blue-bearded villain. In the former, the young girl begs God to spare her from

her murderous husband until "two horsemen [are] coming," who turn out to be her brothers, a dragoon and a musqueteer. They kill the villainous husband and the girl thanks God. Similarly, in Carter's story, the Marquis also has a blue beard.

Carter's version of the Bluebeard story deviates from tradition by imbuing symbolic significance to the blue beard, which symbolizes the coldness of the two male characters. The color blue is often associated with a heart that is as cold as winter. Additionally, Carter subverts customary gender roles by empowering her female protagonist with greater strength and agency. This recurring theme can be seen throughout Carter's oeuvre, where she challenges the notion that women are helpless and require rescue from men.

In fact, in this particular tale, it is the protagonist's mother who displays remarkable bravery by rescuing her daughter from being beheaded - an act that was not out of character considering she had previously killed a man-eating tiger using only her bare hands when she was younger. These actions set her apart from traditionally passive female characters found in earlier versions of "Bluebeard".

As soon as two horsemen arrived, they drew their swords and headed straight towards Blue Beard, who recognized them to be his wife's brothers.

Despite varying perspectives on symbolism and metaphors in fairy tales, one who interprets them literally lacks comprehension of their true meaning. This is analogous to how the protagonist in a story was fatally stabbed with swords.

The purpose of the Bloody Chamber was to convey a message to a mature audience, but questions about the key may cause confusion. Although children may not comprehend the symbolism, the moral of the

story remains clear - one must not betray their spouse, as the consequences will be severe. This theme is present in both tales.