Angela Carter: The bloody chamber and Other Stories - Efian

Discuss ways in which Carter explores contemporary concerns and social issues in her gothic
stories
In your answer you should select material from the whole text and make connections and
comparisons with the following passage.
Angela Carter explores contemporary concerns and social issues in her gothic series. She
explores the relationship between sex and violence, balance of power, objectification of women,
society constructed gender roles, and also the limitations of marriage for women. Similarly to this
Mary Shelley also exhibits contemporary concerns and social issues within this extract
Frankenstein where similarities can be highlighted between the two stories, and further social
issues can be presented such as how religious issues are explored, and also the elevation of male
superiority is explored by the two authors.
One social issue Carter explores is the relationship between sex and violence and also the
objectification of women. Within nearly all her stories, one way or another this issue is employed by
Carter. She portrays the idea of sex and violence simultaneously. For example, in The Bloody
Chamber the male protagonist, The Marquis, is presented as a wealthy nobleman who takes
grand pleasure in challenging his wives in disobeying him, and later proceeds to murdering them.
I saw him watching me in the gilded mirrors with the assessing eye of a connoisseur inspecting
horseflesh, or even of a housewife in the market, inspecting cuts on the slab. The correlation
between sex and violence is made viciously evident here. The female heroine describes the
moment before her virginity gets taken away in such a heinous manner, presented the idea of
violence within sex. Inspecting cuts of the slab This description demonstrates the predator like
character of the Marquis, whilst also herself identifying her as cuts on the slab highlighting the
objectification of women. She herself choosing to identify herself as nothing more than a piece of
meat evokes and demonstrates the clear social issue of the way in which females were mistreated,
and Carter makes this evident within this story.
Carters explicit use of language to present the link between pleasure and pain, further elevates the
two concepts together. his wedding gift, clasped around my throatlike an extraordinarily precious
slit throat Carter subtly presents violent undertones by utilising the wedding gift as metaphor to
present the themes. Carter skilfully selects the word clasped almost suggesting the idea of the
male character clasping his hands against the female characters throat and proceeding to choking
her. Carter then goes onto using a simile, comparing the necklace to a slit suggesting the idea of
pain within an erotic sense. The necklace further acts as a recurring motif throughout The Bloody
Chamber, as The Marquis forces the heroine to wear it for sex and also for when he plans to
behead her, again further suggesting the vivid association between violence and sex. It bit into my
neck with tenderness now. The use of the verb bit personifies the necklace to the extent that its
like a violent beast, causing her pain whilst ripping into her flesh, but then Carter paradoxs this
with tenderness implying how sex, what should be a pleasurable action, can also be perceived to
have violent relations also.

Whilst the females in Carters stories are presented to be objectified throughout, the idea of a man
having possession and complete control over someone else, is also quite similar within
Frankenstein, where the character has complete control over his creation. Infusing life into an
inanimate body. The word inanimate body, correlates with the treatment of the female characters
within Carters stories, as they are seen to be nothing more than a body. This is shown in The
Courtship of Mr Lyon, His beauty, his girl-child, his pet. The father of the female character claims
complete ownership of his daughter, without enabling her daughter to have a say. The repetition of
the word His exemplifies this idea of male dominance and complete ownership. This also
presents the idea of gender inequality as the males are the ones who have complete, almost Godlike power over females, and in Frankensteins case, his creation.
Another social issue Carter explores the way in which religion is presented and this is also a
concept challenged within this Frankenstein passage. Within most Gothic literature, religious
themes are presented, and the idea of God, sins and temptation remain a fundamental aspect with
the Bloody Chamber. The theme of transgression and temptation are presented through the
females protagonists within The Bloody Chamber, and this could be because Carter is basing her
stories on the biblical tale of Adam and Eve, and how temptation led for them to sin within the
Garden of Eden. The female Protagonists are constantly seen to go against what is socially and
morally correct. Within the story Wolf Alice the religious themes are presented through the setting,
The Graveyard. Damned Duke haunts the graveyard Through the setting, it provokes the idea of
life after death. and Damned Duke suggests how eternal hell awaits due to sin. Carter also
suggests religion as being unforgiving, like the word damned suggests, there is no forgiveness
and no going back. Similarly, religious connotations are explored within this passage of
Frankenstein. It is evident to know how the protagonist has played God in creating his own being.
I had selected his features as beautiful and..unable to endure the aspect of the being I had
created Both these quotes demonstrate how this character has acted like God The character
has elevated his power to the ranks of God, however he is not God. Unable to Endure This clearly
demonstrates the guilt the character faces after creating his own being, again demonstrating how
his transgression will lead him to eternal hell, just like in Carters story, Wold Alice.