Analysis Of The Bloody Chamber

As a radical libertarian feminist Angela Carter presents the ideals of second wave feminism; consequently a common theme throughout ‘The Bloody Chamber’ collective is the notion that in order for society to progress, women must cast away the restraints placed upon them by society and reclaim authoritative qualities that had been deemed masculine and unsightly for a woman to possess. Carter’s highly feminist anthology of short stories ‘The Bloody Chamber’ 1979 challenges a patriarchal society’s view on women. Traditional fairy tale canon usually presents females as timid and “cute but essentially helpless”( find citation). Carter addresses this by offering the eponymous doomed “Snow Child”, portrayed as the epitome of femininity, who adopts …show more content…
Typically this anonymity would serve to make the character relatable to the reader. Alternatively this could be a conscious decision by Carter to leave the characterisation of the child to the discretion of the reader. The omniscient narration and lack of voice deprives the child of the opportunity to defend herself, speak against other characters or even tell her own side of the story. More conservative audiences may perceive the child’s silence as implied consent and her nakedness as an indication of poor moral character and a display of sexuality despite the fact that she is only a child without anyone to help her or the means to help herself; leaving her utterly “helpless”; a possible attempt by Carter to draw attention the the destructive effects of rape culture and victim blaming within society and criticise women’s disinclination to help one another. The vignette structure serves to mirror the child’s short lived existence and and heightens the poignancy and impact of the text to disturb and shock the reader into revolutionise the way in which they respond to the patriarchy. The child’s description is based solely on physical aspects determined by the Count’s wishes: her “white skin. red lips, black hair and stark naked” give no indication of personality ; implying that she is an object to be seen, not heard.. She is the “child of his desire”; shaped by the Count’s libido and “melt[s]” away once he has been sexually gratified, rendering her entire existence phallogocentric.This is a microcosmic representation of the way that a society dominated by masculinity moulds women to become the personification of their