Critical Analysis of Gender-Based Issues in Angela Carter's The Magic Toyshop

A critical appreciation of gender-based issues in Angela Carter’s The Magic Toyshop.
In this essay I have chosen to look at Angela Carter’s book The Magic Toyshop, I intend to explore the book’s wealth of characters that the author appears to define to different degrees through a number of issues.
The book has a significant circle of characters who after an initial reading seen to fit into set roles within the context of the story, in essence they seem placed in order to develop and motivate the main character Melanie.
Melanie is a fifteen-year-old girl from a privileged background, at a time in her life where she is undergoing a great degree of personal discovery. This takes place on a number of levels, she is maturing both in terms of her character and personality and also in terms of sexuality that is manifesting itself in bet thoughts and in her physical appearance.
It is through Melanie’s interactions with the other characters in The Magic Toyshop that Melanie’s growth is accelerated to some degree. This is achieved by removing her from comfortable surroundings and placing her in a new and somewhat alien environment.
As a character Melanie fulfils a series of gender and age related stereotypes although to some degree they have been matured a little. She could be compared in some instances to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz as she steps into a new and often cruel world. She possesses a naivety that is associated with her age and circumstances of her upbringing.
Her virginity is often emphasised in her interactions with the men of the house with whom she goes to live and sometimes more specifically through descriptions of the way she dresses. Early in the story Melanie dresses in her mother’s wedding dress whilst later in the story Uncle Phillip dresses her in white for his staged performance in the basement. In both these scenes her virginity is of considerable emphasis, especially in the latter scene when she is “raped” by the swan.
As I mentioned earlier Melanie’s naivety seems paramount in many aspects of her character and this affects her interactions with other characters, in fact in some cases it helps reinforce the stereotypical nature of their characters as well. We see Finn, a young Irishman who ahnost immediately appears to be attracted to Melanie.
His portrayal is initially very masculine in nature, once again typifying many of the stereotypical qualities you would find in a young male. I felt as the reader that he was a character that Melanie should be guarded, almost fearful around. Here is a character that seems destined to take what he wants from Melanie without any thought for the consequence. Finn does nothing to disprove this theory when he kisses Melanie when they go for a walk taking advantage of a young woman without her consent.
However at this point I felt that the traditional balance of power that Angela Carter had set up between these characters shifted somewhat. Although Melanie has up till this point been in a position of weakness enhanced by her situation, it is here where she manages to evoke a feeling of power through her actions. Her desire to experience Finn’s kiss gives her an emerging degree of strength and confidence. She is prepared to take this step in a bid to gain valuable life experience and attain a degree of womanhood.
The fact that Finn seems unaware of this balance of power shifting only serves to accentuate the fact that Melanie is slowly moving into the dominant position in some aspects. In the entire story I didn’t find any of the other characters as well rounded or complete as Melanie with the exception of Finn who later in the story begins to display a greater degree of gentleness in his nature. This is demonstrated through a more caring attitude towards Melanie and the other members of the household.
Aunt Margaret is the long suffering wife of Uncle Phillip, she is undoubtedly a nervous character often described in delicate terminology, her physical appearance a definite reflection of her personality. The easiest way to define Margaret would be as a “caged bird” character. She is for the most part of the book incapable of speech, and undoubtedly under the will of her husband. Even down to the clothes she wears, an example of this is the piece of jewellery she wears around bet neck. A necklace in the style of a collar that could be seen symbolically as a means of restraint. There can be no doubt that Phillip exercises the maximum amount of restraint and control he can exude over his wife at all times.
Margaret’s only means of defiance against Phillip is through her incestuous relationship with her brother Francie. Occasionally she will defy her husband’s will through small acts of kindness to the children. Phillip’s role meanwhile is a simple one; although he is the head of the family his involvement within the story is limited to certain areas (albeit important ones). As a character he is simplistic, a brutal man who lacks any compassion so obsessed with his puppet and toy creations that he treat those around him as he would his mannequins.
In truth Phillip is more of a presence than a person, at all times he casts a shadow over one and all in the story. Phillip’s role it would seem is essentially to play the villain of the piece, a figure for the rest of the cast to hate and fear, this in turn shapes the other characters and the way they interact with Melanie as the primary character in this text.
Other characters within the story also have simplistic roles although once again like Phillip they serve the purpose of furthering the main character. Melanie’s younger brother Jonathon initially starts out as a relatively normal young boy, however under the influence and tutelage of Philip he becomes obsessive about the building of his models and toys, this proves to be very similar to Phillip and gives Melanie a possible insight into why Phillip became the man he did in later years. Possibly by looking at him at a younger stage in his life and observing what factors were responsible for his change.
Victoria meanwhile in my estimation offered very little in terms of character or offerings to anyone else within the story. Aunt Margaret was undoubtedly maternal in thought and action towards her. However I don’t believe she offered any kind of motivating force to Melanie’s character as the other members of the book’s cast did. I think this is essentially because she was simply too young to impart any knowledge or experience on Melanie.
Mrs Rundle initially comes across as quite a stern and strict woman during the initial part of the story. However this is essentially necessary as she is preparing to let her charges go to a new family while she herself has to move on with her own life. However later in the story this changes in the respect that she becomes very much like a beacon of hope for Melanie, almost a guardian angel. It is Mrs. Rundle’s cards that offer Melanie some normality and stability in the rapidly changing world she finds herself within.
Another “character” that deserves attention is Uncle Phillip’s swan. While not a living breathing character like the others it is undoubtedly as important even if you only view it in symbolic terms. In the scenes where Melanie is forced to interact with the swan as part of the show there are undoubtedly sexual metaphors involved, the story that Phillip recounts during the scene is to do with the character Melanie portrays having sex with Jove in the form of a swan.
However more importantly I feel is the destruction of the swan and what it represents to all the characters in the story. Finn destroys the swan and in doing so incites rebellion within the household from all including the subservient Aunt Margaret. At this point all involved stop following the rules and regulations laid down by the tyrannical Uncle and although this eventually leads to the unveiling of the affair between Francie and Margaret and the destruction of the house. The swan is the pinnacle of Phillip’s work and its removal sets in motion the freeing of the entire family and it would seem the vanquishing of Phillip. In essence during the time it exists it almost seems like the swan itself is partially responsible for keeping the members of the household prisoner.
Another of the ways in which the author manages to successfully use gender issues within the context of this story is the time frame she sets it within. Although technically the story is set in relatively modern times it is very easy for the reader to forget this, the piece has a strong leaning towards the turn of the century when it comes to the mood and feel.
The reason this is relevant to the gender issues of this story is due to the fact that at the thin of the century the characters could quite plausibly have behaved in the ways they do in the Magic Toyshop (women in traditionally weaker roles, men portrayed as controlling and some abusive). Although examples could still exist in modern times the likelihood of such extremes of behaviour would be less. The author is relying on the reader to slip into the “time frame” she weaves for them and then also use whatever common stereotypes we have on men and women of that era to reinforce the whys and wherefores of how they behave.