The Sexual Content in Angela Carter´S the Bloody Chamber Essay Example
The Sexual Content in Angela Carter´s “The Bloody Chamber”
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories, is a selection of fairytales which have been re-written by Angela Carter to place them in the modern day. Carter has taken seven fairytales whose “latent content” she says were “violently sexual”, (qtd by Robin Sheets, “Pornography Fairy Tales and Feminism” 642). The stories include a variation of classics fairytales such as “Bluebeard”, “Beauty and the Beast” and “Little Red Riding Hood” with sometimes more than one version of the same original tale, for example “Wolf-Alice” and “The Company of Wolves”. In re-writing these fairy tales Carter has given the new versions a specifically sexual content and focuses on the female protagonist, which as a result, has become the issue of much debate and criticism. In particular, the sometimes explicit sexual content of the stories has raised questions among some feminist writers regarding Carter´s stance on the issue of the role of women and pornography. Focusing mainly on the main story of the collection, “The Bloody Chamber”, this essay will aim to highlight Carter´s intentions for the sexual content of her stories. In doing so, whilst commenting from some critical essays regarding Carter´s stance on pornography, this essay will also address “Lovely Linda”, a review of Inside Linda Lovelace, by Linda Lovelace a porn actress, which was written by Angela Carter. In her essay, Robin Sheets compares “The Bloody Chamber” to another of Carter´s books The Sadiean Woman and the Ideology of Pornography. Sheets takes one of ten short stories in the collection and using only this story tries to define Carter as either one of “Sade´s new Juliettes” or a “new Justine”, (qtd. by Sheets pp636-637). These titles, which make reference to characters from works by the Marquis de Sade, were created by Robin Morgan in her criticism of feminist activists who opposed or supported the antipornography movement, those who support pornography
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories, is a selection of fairytales which have been re-written by Angela Carter to place them in the modern day. Carter has taken seven fairytales whose “latent content” she says were “violently sexual”, (qtd by Robin Sheets, “Pornography Fairy Tales and Feminism” 642). The stories include a variation of classics fairytales such as “Bluebeard”, “Beauty and the Beast” and “Little Red Riding Hood” with sometimes more than one version of the same original tale, for example “Wolf-Alice” and “The Company of Wolves”. In re-writing these fairy tales Carter has given the new versions a specifically sexual content and focuses on the female protagonist, which as a result, has become the issue of much debate and criticism. In particular, the sometimes explicit sexual content of the stories has raised questions among some feminist writers regarding Carter´s stance on the issue of the role of women and pornography. Focusing mainly on the main story of the collection, “The Bloody Chamber”, this essay will aim to highlight Carter´s intentions for the sexual content of her stories. In doing so, whilst commenting from some critical essays regarding Carter´s stance on pornography, this essay will also address “Lovely Linda”, a review of Inside Linda Lovelace, by Linda Lovelace a porn actress, which was written by Angela Carter. In her essay, Robin Sheets compares “The Bloody Chamber” to another of Carter´s books The Sadiean Woman and the Ideology of Pornography. Sheets takes one of ten short stories in the collection and using only this story tries to define Carter as either one of “Sade´s new Juliettes” or a “new Justine”, (qtd. by Sheets pp636-637). These titles, which make reference to characters from works by the Marquis de Sade, were created by Robin Morgan in her criticism of feminist activists who opposed or supported the antipornography movement, those who support pornography