'The Bloody Chamber' by Angela Carter (The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter)

Member Name: jensattaur

Product:	The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter
Date:	20/08/09 (34 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent - Carter at her Best

Disadvantages: Warning: Sexually Explicit and Occasionally Gruesome

Vintage have a reputation for publishing cutting edge fiction, and Angela Carter's 1979 'The Bloody Chamber' was no exception. Continuing the feminist themes found in the earlier 'Magic Toyshop' and 'Passion of New Eve' novels, Carter uses the uncanny atmosphere inherent in most familiar fairy tales to expose deep-lying patriarchal assumptions and exploitations built into the stories. At the same time, the stories have been restored to the graphic nastiness which would have been more common in the oral traditions from which the later cleaned-up children's classics were derived.

One thing these stories definitely achieve in rewritting the tales in this way is that one if forced to reconsider the purposes to which the stories are put when presented to children in their more traditional guise. Carter makes clear the manipulative way in which the original stories write women into histories that are limiting and inscribed; she also makes clear the often brutal primal impulses that lie beneath stories which on the surface seem innocent.

'The Bloody Chamber' is the title piece in the collection; in this rewrite of 'Bluebeard' it is feminine strength and maternal affection which eventually save the heroine from the grusome fate of the original story. Carter exposes the exploration of sexual awakening which lies inherent in the original tale, but by rewriting the ending she also refutes the implication that, for women, sexual awareness leads to violent death.

'The Courtship of Mr Lyon' is based on Beauty and the Beast, and Carter's main motivation here seems to have been the reveersal of the roles of the two main characters: in Carter's rewrite it is Beauty who is essentially selfish and shallow, while the Beast is long-suffering and faithful. It is a story about the toll a broken promise can take on the breaker. In contrast, 'The Tiger Bride', which is also a rewrite of Beauty and the Beast, glories in the bestial nature of sexual relations by having Beauty transform herself into a Beast in order to live a happy life with her lover.

'The Erlking' is perhaps my favorite adaptation in the collection; herea young girl falls in love with a wood-spirit she finds when wandering in the woods; when she learns he intends to imprison her, however, she murders him and sets his other captives free. This tale reads like a dreamscape, and the evocations of the woodspirit are both sexual and magical. Here, the motive is obscure, but the neding leaves one with a sense of empowerment - for whom is unclear.

'Puss in Boots' is the most light-hearted story in the collection, and the only real deviation from the original is that Puss is aided by an equally cunning female cat, with whom he eventually forms a 'relationship'. The best part about this story is that cat-nature is wonderfully evoked - anyone who is fond of cats cannot help but enjoy this adaptation of an old favorite about cats who are cleverer than their masters.

'The Lady of the House of Love' is less intruiging than the other stories, bieng little more than a vividly painted picture of the classic femme fatale vampire. 'The Snow Child', likewise, is a crystal-clear condemnation of rape and female idolatry, but although brautifully written, it lacks the originality of some of the other stories.

Finally, 'The Werewolf', 'The Company of Wolves' and 'Wolf-Alice' are all adaptations of Little Red Riding Hood, and they examine in painful detail the underlying anxieties about sexuality, desire, and rebelliousness.All three are interesting in their own ways, and all are beautifully crafted.

Over all, this is a book well worth reading, both for those interested in the genesis and influence of folk and fairytales, and for those with an interest in feminism, and especially for those who just like a wonderful horror story.

Summary: One of my favorite Angela Carter collections