'The Bloody Chamber' is an adult telling of the children's' tale 'Bluebeard'. Using the traditional Gothic conventions (which are often subverted) Carter tells the story of a young french girl (who remains nameless throughout the narrative, which I believe gives the reader a sense of oneness with her) who is persuaded through the means of riches and luxury to marry a much older Marquis. In the opening Carter straight away introduces the reader to her subverted tone through the means of the traditional Gothic femme-fatal figure in the victim-like, virginal narrator. The use of Freudian phallic imagery such as the '...ceaselessly thrusting pistons' and her 'teasing nightdress' is the readers first glimpse into the re-occurring theme of the ever-growing female sexuality which is also a subversion of the traditional Gothic heroine figure. The narrator goes against the Gothic conventions by being exited and interested about exploring her sexuality, this is not the traditional naive victim often presented in Gothic texts.The narrator also introduces us to her Mother within this opening section, a woman who had '...gladly, scandalously, defiantly beggared herself for love.' In this quote we see that she and the narrator are polar opposites. The Mother, who in a sense made herself a beggar for marrying the man she loved (in Marxist terms she was 'given place by her husband) whereas the daughter was 'bought for a handful of jewels.' She knows she doesn't love the Marquis, yet she doesn't want to do anything about it, this shows the more passive side of her personality, conforming the the traditional rules of the Gothic victim or virgin.
Also, the more Gothic convention of the supernatural is introduced to us through the Mother. At the end of the story, it seems that the Mother comes from nowhere to save her daughter from the monstrous Marquis following a phone call from her. This idea of fantastical, maternal telepathy shows how the Mother embodies the traditional Gothic qualities of a hero, she is masculine and strong; 'Without a moments hesitation... she took aim and put a bullet through my husbands head.' Yet, also, she represents the traditional Gothic female, maternal role; "I never heard you cry before' she said by way pf explanation.'
Carter also subverts the Gothic convention of setting the atmosphere, for example when stepping of the train to find the platform deserted the narrator describes the 'bare' trees and the 'lonely halt' using a romantic and unafraid tone this also twists the Gothic convention of isolation instead of being described as negative, in this story the narrator sees it as romantic.
The isolation of the Marquis' castle is also described using the same tone as the deserted platform this is again, a subversion of the Gothic convention of isolation with it's; 'Faery solitude.' And here phallic imagery is used to express the dangers of male sexuality. The description of the 'spikes gate' links to the scene later on where the narrator loses her virginity, she describes it as being 'impaled' and she also describes her husband as 'dropping his mask' through the act of blaspheming, this is an example of him revealing his true nature, another example would be his mocking her after the act by stating that he wishes to 'display the bloody bed sheet from the balcony' this is also an example of his flippant view of marriage and how he views her as a commodity.
The Marquis the next morning then uses the Gothic and Fairy Tale convention of temptation by giving the narrator a set of keys and telling her that she may go into every room in castle but one. He also tells her that 'Every man must have one secret.' Here, we see that the male Marquis is given the female, femme-fatal quality by tempting her. This quote also shows the bias nature of marriage- he is allowed to have secrets, but she is not.
The convention of transgression is also present at the climax of this tale. The discovery of the corpses of her husband's dead wives and the loss of her virginity comes a sexual awareness and an open femme-fatal like quality, when the Marquis returns and asks for the keys she attempts to distract him by; 'forcing myself to be seductive.' This is also another from of entrapment which links to the convention of arcane knowledge, upon this grotesque discovery she frees herself from her own naivety but traps herself in her own knowledge.
At the close of the story we see that Carter even subverts the traditional fairy tale convention of the happy ending and ties it in with conventions of the Gothic. We learn that the purity and morality of the narrator is restored in the end; 'I inherited wealth but had given most of it away to charities.' However, she does not live unscathed as she bares the bloody mark which the key left when her husband pressed it to her forehead, this links to the idea of the stained and impure woman.
We also she that she finds love that empowers her this time in the blind piano tuner who helped her through her ordeal. His blindness is significant, because he cannot see her, her cannot objectify, watch or trap her as her other husband did, but most importantly, he cannot see her mark of shame.
Throughout he is the voice of Moriarty when she turns to him for advice after the Marquis has told her that he will kill her, the piano tuner responds with the statement; 'You disobeyed him... that is sufficient enough reason.' This, in a sense also makes him seem heroic, he has a sense of morality a typical quality in a Gothic hero. However, the idea of the 'fairy tale prince' is subverted as he is constantly referred to as being a 'boy'.
