'In original Gothic, Woman were often presented as trembling victims pursued by predatory males.'
How far is this true of the first narrative in Angela Carter's collection, 'The Bloody Chamber'? 45 marks
Women were traditionally seen as a 'trembling victim' in the original Gothic as Isabella in 'The Castle of Ortranto.' Carter follows this tradition in her first story in The Bloody Chamber, as the woman is the 'Trembling victim and the predatory male, her husband, The Marquis.
The Woman is presented as a trembling victim though her characteristic of her personality. One element of her personality is that she is weak and passive, doing everything the Marquis says, so he can do what he wants, she just complies saying 'And I had to be content with that' as she repeatedly complies with what he want which nearly results in her death, if her mother hadn't saved her showing elements of the traditional Gothic literature. As traditional women would be weak and passive, as well as doing what they were told, Gothic literature has the obsession with the past and how we can learn from the past, along with the idea that we should live our lives like this.Carter using the element of the possible death due to the Woman weak and passiveness could end up with there death, so Carter might be criticising the ideas of the original Gothic.
Carter exaggerates the idea of the characters innocents , which the character tell it to the reader in a retrospective narrative 'I was seventeen and knew nothing of the world' her innocent unfortunately leads to her down fall of her near death, Carter uses this to highlight what women are like and how they don't understand the dark heart inside everyone.
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Friday, 5 December 2014
The Lady Of The House Of Love presentation of the male charater and interpretations
Pages 111-112
How is the young man presented ?
He is present in a very stereotypically innocent way, which through out this collection of stories has always been how the women are described.
Page 111- 112
what is the significance of the bicycle?
Page 113
What might be the significance of 'he gratefully washed his feet and hands' in the village fountain?
Page 114
'Curiouser and curiouser'
What does this suggest about the young man ? which other character/s are you reminded of ?
It suggest the man is innocent as it links to the child's tale of Alice and Wonderland showing the young nature of the man, and highlighting his innocence.
Page 116
The crone is described as bringing the young man to 'Juliet's tomb.' What is the significance of this intertextual references ?
it a reference to Romeo and Juliet, it's significant as it symbolises that their relationship as being doomed, and suggests that it will end in death for both characters.
Page 117
'What a grisly picture of a capering skeleton! He covered it up with a happier one - of two younger lovers smiling at one another ...'
How is the young man presented here? what might Cater's purpose be ?
Page 119
'Can a bird only sing the song it knows or can it learn a new song'
'One kiss, however, and only one, woke up the sleeping beauty'
Carter makes significant use of repetition in this story. Why might this be ? what is the significance of the example above, both of which are repeated in the course of the narrative?
Page 123
'And so he puts his mouth to the wound. his will kiss it better for her, as her mother, had she lived, would have done'
What is the significance of this quotation?
Page 125
'When he returned from the mess that evening, the heavy fragrance of Count Nosferatu's roses drifted down the stone corridor of the barracks to greet him, and his spartan quarters brimmed with the reeling odour of a glowing, velvet,monstrous flower whose petals had regained all their former bloom and elasticity, their corrupt, brilliant, baleful splendour.
Next day, his regiment embarked for France.'
How might we interpret this ending ?
Overall, how would you explain Carter's presentation of the Lady and the Soldier in this narrative ?
Consider the following quotation. How does it develop your own ideas about this narrative?
The heroines of these stories are struggling out of the straitjackets of history and ideology and biological essentialism. 'There's a story in the bloody chamber called The Lady Of The House Of Love' , said Carter, ' Part of which derives from a movie version the I saw of a story by Dostoevsky. And in the movie.... the woman, who is very passive person and is very much in distress, asks herself questions, 'Can a bird sing only the song it knows, or can learn a new song ?' have we got the capacity at all of singing new songs? It's very important that if we haven't, we might as well stop now.
How is the young man presented ?
He is present in a very stereotypically innocent way, which through out this collection of stories has always been how the women are described.
Page 111- 112
what is the significance of the bicycle?
Page 113
What might be the significance of 'he gratefully washed his feet and hands' in the village fountain?
Page 114
'Curiouser and curiouser'
What does this suggest about the young man ? which other character/s are you reminded of ?
It suggest the man is innocent as it links to the child's tale of Alice and Wonderland showing the young nature of the man, and highlighting his innocence.
Page 116
The crone is described as bringing the young man to 'Juliet's tomb.' What is the significance of this intertextual references ?
it a reference to Romeo and Juliet, it's significant as it symbolises that their relationship as being doomed, and suggests that it will end in death for both characters.
Page 117
'What a grisly picture of a capering skeleton! He covered it up with a happier one - of two younger lovers smiling at one another ...'
How is the young man presented here? what might Cater's purpose be ?
Page 119
'Can a bird only sing the song it knows or can it learn a new song'
'One kiss, however, and only one, woke up the sleeping beauty'
Carter makes significant use of repetition in this story. Why might this be ? what is the significance of the example above, both of which are repeated in the course of the narrative?
Page 123
'And so he puts his mouth to the wound. his will kiss it better for her, as her mother, had she lived, would have done'
What is the significance of this quotation?
Page 125
'When he returned from the mess that evening, the heavy fragrance of Count Nosferatu's roses drifted down the stone corridor of the barracks to greet him, and his spartan quarters brimmed with the reeling odour of a glowing, velvet,monstrous flower whose petals had regained all their former bloom and elasticity, their corrupt, brilliant, baleful splendour.
Next day, his regiment embarked for France.'
How might we interpret this ending ?
Overall, how would you explain Carter's presentation of the Lady and the Soldier in this narrative ?
Consider the following quotation. How does it develop your own ideas about this narrative?
The heroines of these stories are struggling out of the straitjackets of history and ideology and biological essentialism. 'There's a story in the bloody chamber called The Lady Of The House Of Love' , said Carter, ' Part of which derives from a movie version the I saw of a story by Dostoevsky. And in the movie.... the woman, who is very passive person and is very much in distress, asks herself questions, 'Can a bird sing only the song it knows, or can learn a new song ?' have we got the capacity at all of singing new songs? It's very important that if we haven't, we might as well stop now.
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