'The Tiger's Bride'

Angela Carter's 'The Tiger's Bride' is the subverted tale of 'Beauty and the Beast'. It tells the story of a girl who is gambled away by her Father to a Tiger, or 'The Beast' as he is referred to by the narrator. Here, already we have a subversion of typical Gothic characters. For example, the traditional characteristics of a Father or Father-figure in Gothic texts, is meant to be paternal and protective over his daughter, in this story he is not, in fact, the opening line of this story is; 'My Father lost me to the Beast at cards.' This links to one of the key themes throughout Carter's stories of the dangers of not giving-in to one's desires, this is a key theme that runs within this story also. Here, the Father ignores the call to stop gambling and it leads to the loss of his money and his child.

This character is juxtaposed with the Tiger. In the opening line he is referred to as 'The Beast' this instantaneously objectifies his character and makes him seem inhuman, this idea is ironic as it is the Father is the more inhuman of the do because of the deed of gambling away his own daughter.

The stereotypical characteristics of beast, or animal are entirely subverted within the story, for example, he is described as having a 'sculptured calm', this quote is ironic as the Beast is described using the stereotypical features of a Gothic beast, yet, he does not behave as such by being so 'calm'. On the other hand, one could say that it is the Narrator who is the villain of the piece as she denies the Tiger of his one desire, to see her disrobed, which causes him to cry.

The character of the Tiger is further subverted by the fact this, is described as being inhuman like a typical Gothic monster, however, he also possesses the typical personality traits of a victim. An example of this would be his forced entrapment; 'The Beast bought solitude not luxury with his wealth.' This is again, the opposite to the Father as he gambles away his money and in contrast the Tiger uses it to hide himself from the world and in this sense he has victimized himself, because as we can see of his request from the Narrator, he is lonely.

In the story's conclusion we see Carter subverting the idea of a traditional fairy tale ending as it is the Narrator who becomes an animal in order to be with the Tiger. This leads me back to Carter's theme of giving-in to ones desires. 'My beautiful fur.' This quote leads us to believe that, in becoming an animal the Narrator has reached a higher state of being. Here, Carter is saying that by releasing your inner animal you can become your true self.

'The Lady of the House of Love'

'The Lady of the House of Love' is Angela Carter's re-told version of 'Sleeping Beauty'.

In the story's opening we are introduced to the story's protagonist. The Vampire Countess. Although this character is described with the physical attributes of a typical Gothic femme-fatal or monster, she actually has the personality traits of a victim.

She is described as being 'so beautiful she is unnatural. Her beauty is a deformity.' In this sense she is a victim within her own body. The only company she keeps his a caged bird, this is symbolic of her. She is forever locked within her castle and unable to escape, and she takes delight in torturing the creature in order to make herself feel wanted.

Another way in which the Countess is trapped is through her vampirism. This is also described using the typical Gothic animalistic elements of a monster. Carter described how, as a child the Countess would 'crawl on all fours' for her prey, however this animalistic nature is subverted as Carter then goes on to describe how the Countess would have 'loved to have taken the rabbits home.' This evokes sympathy from the audience, which is ironic as Carter has described her her as having the typical features of a Gothic monster and femme-fatal.

Carter also brings in elements of the supernatural into the story through the Countess' use of Tarot Cards which she spends her days reading. This has links to Paganism/ Wicca as the Countess is using a form of magic to predict, or try to predict, her future.When the cards finally reveal the lovers ('Les Amoureux') Carter intertexulises this fairy story with that of 'Jack and the Beanstalk' through the quote of; 'Fee, fie, foe, thumb I smell the blood of an Englishman.' This creates a sense of foreboding as the audience knows what the Countess intends to do with the Englishman. Also, in taking these fairy stories and combining them with elements of the Gothic, Carter is removing the innocence away from them and stripping them back to their bases which were originally documented by the Brothers Grimm, however, she has added her own twist to them through the use of the theme of sexuality. Thus making these stories transgress into more complex and adult-like, sort off fairy stories for adults.

We are then introduced to the Englishman, who has arrived in France to take-part in World War I. Here, we see Carter intertwining her re-worked fairy stories with actual historic events. This gives more weight to the story and blurs the lines between fantasy and reality. In doing this Carter brings the story into reality and a reader is able to believe in it more.

The character of the Englishman, like the Countess, is subverted. He is described using all of the physical attributes of a stereotypical, Gothic, female victim. He is described as having 'blond hair' and 'blue eyes' and there is a lot of emphasis on the fact that he is a 'virgin'. But as we see later on, he is not your typical Gothic victim.

Upon his arrival in the deserted town of the Countess, Carter uses Biblical references in order to hint at the Englishman's heroism. 'He gratefully washes his feet in the fountain.' This quote has dual meaning. Firstly, there are links to Baptism, which, supposedly gives someone protection from Hell. This is significant as later, we see that the Englishman walks away from the Countess, unharmed and thus protected. Another link could be to the Last Supper where Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, Jesus was the savior, therefore, we can assume that perhaps the Englishman is the savior of the Countess.

Another Biblical link would be; 'He hopes to find a friendly inn...' This has links to the Nativity story where Mary and Joseph try to find an inn, in which to rest upon reaching Bethlehem. This quote shows the contrast between good and evil, Christ, a force of good was born in an inn and the Countess lives in a castle, which has become her prison, again, all this points to the Englishman being the savior of the Countess.

In the final scene of the story we witness the death of the Countess after she becomes human. This is ironic as it is, in becoming the thing she wants to be most, she dies. Her death clearly echoes 'Sleeping Beauty' as she pricks her finger on a rose, this is a clear subversion of the ending of the fairy tale as the Englishman, permanently puts Sleeping Beauty to sleep as appose to waking her up. In this sense, the Englishman could be considered the villain of the piece, as appose to the savior, as he causes the death of the Countess, then goes off as planned to fight the war in France.

'The Bloody Chamber

'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'.