The Bloody Chamber: Context (OCR A Level English Literature)

The Bloody Chamber: Context

Context should inform, but should never dominate, your reading of the text. Any comments on context must consider the significance and influence of the contexts in which the text was written and received. When exploring context for the short stories in The Bloody Chamber, you should consider primarily the literary context, and then include any other relevant contexts as appropriate to the question. Each of the topics below link directly to the key themes and ideas in The Bloody Chamber:

• Literary context

• Social context

• Historical context

Literary context

When considering a novel’s literary context, it is important to explore the form and genre it is written in, as well as anything the novel might do that defies the expectations of a particular genre. While Angela Carter uses elements of Gothic fiction in The Bloody Chamber, she uses them, at times, differently to how they are traditionally used. There are examples where she uses them to subvert gender roles and ideas. The section below will explore Gothic fiction in relation to the collection in more detail.

Gothic fiction

Gothic literature is a genre of fiction that emerged in the late 18th century and has continued to be a popular genre over the years. It is a distinctive style of writing that, many argue, started with the publication of The Castle of Otrantro by Horace Walpole in 1764. This novel is considered the first Gothic novel, as it introduced many of the genre’s key elements. 

Some of the Gothic genre’s key elements include:

• Gloomy settings, such as ruins and religious buildings like churches and abbeys

• Mysterious and supernatural occurrences

• Omens and curses

• Emotional distress, such as nightmares and feverish dreams

• Death and decay

• Madness/possession

• A villain or a supernatural being that is unknown

• Good vs evil

The Bloody Chamber

• The Bloody Chamber’s main setting is the Marquis’s castle:

  • It is a remote, isolated castle that is surrounded by water

  • The castle has long, winding corridors, creating a feeling of entrapment and adding to the protagonist’s sense of isolation

  • It is clear that the narrator cannot escape this castle easily

• The chamber itself is described as terrifying:

  • The narrator highlights the “absolute darkness” in the chamber, which suggests that she is stepping into the unknown 

  • “...the naked rock; they gleamed as if they were sweating from fright” – the personification of the rocks add to the horror of the chamber

  • “Like the door of hell” leaves a significant impression on the reader as it emphasises how evil the Marquis's acts of murder were

• The narrator of The Bloody Chamber is isolated and vulnerable in the castle while being overpowered and objectified by the Marquis

  • The Marquis is the Gothic “villain” in this story

• The reference to lilies is an important Gothic element as it foreshadows death and the narrator’s fate:

  • The Marquis filled the bedroom with lilies “until it looked like an embalming parlour”

  • Lilies are traditionally associated with death and funerals

  • This links the theme of sex with death, but could also symbolise the “death” of the narrator’s innocence and virginity

• Eroticism and the corruption of the female body is also evident in The Bloody Chamber:

  • The narrator is objectified and made to be submissive

  • She initially conforms to her role as wife and performs her duties despite being afraid

  • The narrator’s sexual naivety is exploited by the Marquis and, as a result, he has control over her

  • She is further alienated by the discovery of the pornographic material in the Marquis's office

  • This portrays the narrator as a victim

• The Marquis himself is a typical Gothic villain:

  • It is clear that he has pursued the narrator because she is young and a virgin whom he wishes to corrupt

  • He has a strong desire to control and manipulate the narrator in order to exert his power and force

  • His obsession with death and torture is evident when the narrator finds the chamber

  • He lives in an isolated castle away from prying eyes

• Good vs evil is also evident in The Bloody Chamber:

  • However, the narrator’s mother is the hero of the story, rather than a male character

  • Jean-Yves, while in love with the narrator, is unable to save her from the Marquis

  • Therefore, while Carter has touched on the idea of good vs evil, she has subverted it by having a female character save another female 

The Courtship of Mr Lyon

• The story begins with a young girl, Beauty, in a kitchen wondering where her father is:

  • This is significant as it immediately sets the scene and establishes gender roles as the female character is in the kitchen waiting for the male’s return

  • She is therefore stereotyped as the woman who relies on the male in order to survive

• Beauty also feels a sense of obligation to help her father when he is in trouble

• A supernatural being, the Beast, lives in an isolated castle and overpowers Beauty’s father

  • This links to two main literary elements of the Gothic: the supernatural and an isolated setting

• Isolation and entrapment are also evident in The Courtship of Mr Lyon:

  • However, it is not the female character who is isolated or trapped, but the Beast

  • He is isolated from the rest of the world because of his form

  • He is also trapped in the body of a Beast

• Beauty’s innocence is corrupted:

  • However, it is not corrupted through violence or sexual encounters, but by becoming indulgent and spoilt

The Tiger’s Bride

• The setting of the story is conventionally Gothic:

  • The writer uses words such as “cruel”, “executions” and “malign” to describe the city and set the tone

  • It is evident, through the description of the city, that the narrator feels trapped

• The Beast’s castle is described as secluded and in ruins:

  • This could symbolise how the Beast has forsaken his humanity and allowed his animalistic side to take over

  • When the Beast and the narrator embrace their inner beast at the end of the story, the place is destroyed around them

  • This could symbolise how they have both abandoned any remnants of their humanity and have succumbed to the beastly nature of their inner selves

• Beauty is treated by her father and the Beast as a possession and something that can be traded:

  • Her father loses her in a game of cards to the Beast and she must obey

• However, unlike other traditional fairy tales and Gothic stories, the female narrator in The Tiger’s Bride has her own opinions and does not allow herself to be overpowered:

  • When the Beast asks to see her naked, her response is to laugh and humiliate him

  • She does not allow him to see her naked until she sees him naked, which shows how much control the female character has in the story

• At the end of the story, Carter adds a twist, as Beauty decides to become “wild” herself by becoming a beast:

  • In doing so, she has altered gender hierarchy and has chosen her own path

  • A traditional Gothic element has been used and subverted, as the supernatural being, which is the Beast, is embraced and not rejected

Fairy tales

Carter took inspiration for her short stories from traditional fairy tales. She used them as a starting point to deconstruct and reinterpret these stories in a feminist context. Carter’s use of fairy tales allowed her to delve into themes of female empowerment, sexuality and power to provide a fresh perspective on these themes and ideas.

The Bloody Chamber

• This story is a reimagining of the tale of Bluebeard

• However, it is worth noting that it significantly deviates from it in its themes, characters and overall message:

  • Carter transforms this story into a more complex and feminist narrative

  • The Marquis is a dark and violent man who possesses disturbing books and relics

  • The story delves into themes of sexuality, power and desire, as it explores the narrator’s sexual awakening and her growing awareness of the Marquis's evil nature

The Courtship of Mr Lyon

• This short story is a reimagining of Beauty and the Beast

• The central plot points and characters are very similar to the original fairy tale:

  • A beautiful and kind woman, Beauty, finds herself living with a beast to help save her father

  • The Beast warms to Beauty and falls in love with her

  • The Beast transforms back into a man and they marry

• However, Carter adds elements of the Gothic and feminism to her version of the story:

  • She explores themes such as desire, power and transformation

• While the story is based on a fairy tale, Carter makes it more thought provoking and layered by emphasising the idea that beauty and monstrosity can coexist within individuals:

  • For example, Beauty’s looks fade when her father becomes rich and she is spoiled with gifts

The Tiger’s Bride

• This short story is also based on Beauty and the Beast

• However, this version is written from the perspective of Beauty

  • She is more assertive and complex than the traditional version of the character

• In this version, the Beast does not transform back into a man

• Instead, Beauty transforms into a beast:

  • Carter has done this to liberate the female character from the constraints of society by allowing her to embrace her primal instincts 

  • By doing this, Carter has challenged traditional gender roles and has offered a more unconventional and empowering resolution

Social context

A novel’s social context can be thought of as the social and political environment in which it was written, and the social and political environment in which it is understood. Carter wrote the collection of short stories in The Bloody Chamber during a time where there was political unrest as well as a renewed and reinvigorated interest in the feminist movement.

Second-wave feminism

• Published in 1979, The Bloody Chamber reflects the debates and questions that were being asked at the time about feminism and the role of women:

  • Carter took traditional fairy tales and used them as inspiration to reflect the criticisms around gender stereotyping and patriarchal traditions that people were beginning to investigate at that time

• In the 1970s, women began to question and disagree over the direction that feminism was taking and focused on women’s experiences, social oppression and gender equality:

  • Carter was an active participant in this second wave of feminism

• While there are different branches of feminism, the most prominent in the collection of stories in The Bloody Chamber are liberal feminism and radical feminism

• Liberal feminism explores the idea of genders being equal and that everyone has the right to property, wealth and dignity in society, so that women are not raised to be submissive but to have their own thoughts and the freedom to make their own decisions:

  • Carter explores this type of feminism through the narrator in The Tiger’s Bride, who chooses to stay with the Beast rather than returning to her father

  • This could symbolise her rejecting the expectations of society and her confined role with her father and instead embracing her inner wilderness and freedom with the Beast

• Radical feminism explores the idea of not having any masculine or feminine traits or characteristics, but instead removing gender binary and giving women a voice to share their stories:

  • Carter has explored this by using the female characters as narrators so that the story is told from their perspective

  • It is also evident in The Bloody Chamber as the narrator’s mother takes on roles that would normally be seen as “masculine” such as carrying a gun, riding a horse and saving the damsel in distress

Political context

• In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of the UK

• By the end of the 1970s, more than half of the women had jobs outside of the home, but were still paid 60% less than men:

  • Women were given more opportunities than ever and more women applied for medical and law school

  • The Tiger’s Bride could be seen as a reflection of these changes, as the narrator chooses her own path and her own destiny

• It was also evident during this time that there was a change in the family structure as more women were working and men were not the only breadwinners in families:

  • People were also deferring marriage in favour of working

  • The Courtship of Mr Lyon could reflect the idea of men and women being seen as equal, as it is evident that the Beast needs Beauty in order to survive rather than the other way round

Historical context

Whilst background knowledge of the historical context in which a text was written and received is useful, any reference to historical context should be made judiciously and linked carefully to the themes in the novel and the focus of the exam question. Below you will find some comments about historical context relevant to the key themes and ideas in the novel.

• Angela Carter was born in Sussex on 7th May 1940 

• Carter wrote her second volume of short stories, entitled The Bloody Chamber, in 1979 after a brief break from writing:

  • This collection of short stories restored her career

  • Carter was drawn to “Gothic tales, cruel tales and tales of wonder…” 

  • She wanted to take the content of traditional stories and use it to form the beginning of new stories with a different message

• The stories brought her to the attention of the general public as well as feminists due to their controversial content