‘In The Bloody Chamber Angela Carter reverses gothic
traditions so that the males become the victims instead of the females’.
Consider at least two of the stories in The Bloody Chamber in the light of this
view.
In conjunction
with Meyre Ivone Santana da Silva ‘one side is always
empowered through the other’ and this is characteristically true of the female
character Beauty in the tale ‘The Courtship of Mr Lyon’ in ‘The Bloody Chamber’.
Beauty’s atypical fairytale inspired character delineates from the tale Beauty
and the Beast, yet the Courtship or Mr Lyon see’s a gender reversal in which
the male character, initially, conforms to the paradigmatic social expectations
of a male character, as he ‘rears on his hind legs like an angry lion’. Thus, Beauty, like the Beast,
primarily follows her gender and typically gothic orientated expectations as an
‘obviously’ feminine character through her aesthetically pleasing ‘pearly skin’
and ‘sweetness’. It is when Carter reverses the dichotomy that the typical gothic
gender specific roles are subverted; the Beast’s conventionally ‘gothic’
metamorphosis into a fairy tale ‘princess’ challenges his previous position of
masculinity into that of something feminine and vulnerable. The emblematic
portrayal of the Beast’s transformation from the ‘prince charming’ into the ‘fairy
tale princess’ illustrates how the Beast becomes a victim in his own castle- ‘I’m
dying’, requiring the aid of a female. Carter portrays a crucial confrontation
to gender roles in the gothic- as she explores the use of males as the victim
and creates a brave heroine. This role reversal, is a direct challenge to
female characters typically distressed portrayal, as it allows Beauty to
contest the role delegated to her by gothic conventions; as Carter transfers
typical masculine traits to Beauty.
In a reflection of the second wave of feminism in
which the book was published, Carter vividly re-imagines fairytales, as a means
to gradually empower women through their ability to embrace their desires and
passions. The unnamed female narrator in the tale ‘The Bloody Chamber’
establishes the corruption of women through men, most obviously apparent
through the temptation insinuated by the male character, the Marquis. Initially,
the female narrator is ‘tempted’ into the marriage, yet ‘I know I want to marry
him’ alludes to the female characters’ awareness that the marriage is not for
love; depicting a certain corruption of morals. The narrator is further tempted
into his ‘subterranean privacy’ as she ‘felt no fear’ entering the room in which
she was forbidden to enter, with her move away from childhood innocence with a
stain that ‘transferred itself to my forehead’ to her prohibited access of
knowledge into womanhood. The temptation for the narrator to fulfil her desire
to explore the forbidden room results in her access knowledge withheld from
her, by the male character. In this respect, the female narrator finds herself
in an ‘empowered’ position, having achieved the same knowledge as her husband, ensuing
the Marquis’ compromised situation. Yet despite this, the corruption of the
female narrator’s morals through her fall to temptation due to the actions of
the Marquis almost victimise the female further, through her macabre discovery.
Whilst Angela Carter has created reworks of fairytales
that reverse the gothic traditions so that the males become the victims instead
of the females, it is also appropriate to suggest that the male in the ‘Courtship
of Mr Lyon’ is not completely portrayed as a ‘victim’. The initial portrayal of
the Beast conforms to the stereotypical gothic male, who is strong, masculine
and powerful, as Beauty also conforms to the gothic portrayal of a weak and
vulnerable female. However, it is the metamorphosis of the Beast from a
powerful male, into that of a victim that eventually allows his character
transform into ‘a man with an unkempt mane of hair’. The very transformation of
the Beast into a ‘man’ foresees his character as somewhat triumphant in his
efforts to gain the Beauty’s affection. Yet, in order for his triumph to
succumb, the typical female victimization was transferred to the Beast, with
the unforeseen outcome as a Beast with returned power.
