Angela Carter's "The Bloody Chamber" and the Decolonization of Feminine Sexuality

Escaping to the present nostalgia and the uncanny pleasures of reinventing childhood

“…The most central fictional works of this type were those of Donald Barthelme (particularly his 1967 retelling of Snow White), Angela Carter (The Bloody Chamber, 1979), andRobert Coover ("The Dead Queen," 1973;Pinocchio in Venice, 1991;Briar Rose, 1996). These three authors have been analyzed thoroughly by scholars for their feminist and postmodern takes on the traditional tale (Bacchilega, 1988;Bond, 2004;Deszcz, 2002;Herrero-Olaizola, 1998;Kaiser, 1994;Lokke, 1988;Makinen, 1992;Nealon, 2005;Pizer, 1990;Redies, 2004;Wilde, 1976). In addition, famous works such as the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, the fictions of Margaret Atwood, and the early twentieth century literature of Vladimir Nabokov, have been analyzed by scholars for their reliance on fairy tale structures, devices and motifs (Kim, 1996;Wilson, 1993;Sweeney, 1999).…”

“…Three studies of Carter's stories in The Bloody Chamber discuss how her stories break down and expose the cultural norms of the traditional fairy tale genre (Bacchilega, 1988;Lokke, 1988;Makinen, 1992). So much so, as Merja Makinen (1992) points out in her analysis of The Bloody Chamber, that many readers find "the savagery with which she can attack cultural stereotypes disturbing, even alienating" (p. 2). However, it can also be exhilarating for readers, as they never know what to expect from "the avant-garde literary terrorist of feminism" (Makinen, 1992, p. 2).…”

“…Much of the secondary literature examines the ways in which authors of fairy tale retellings use the familiarities of the genre against itself to expose underlying and fundamental problems, producing a form of pleasure derived from subverting stereotypes and resisting the status quo. There are other studies, however, that examine the temporal nature of these retellings and the effects of displacing the stories in time and space, stimulating the sheer cerebral pleasure described by Makinen (1992) (Deszcz, 2004;Moore, 2000;Novoa, 2005). Similarly to the way Nabokov applied the fairy tale structure to a present-day setting, the use of the fairy tale in modern contexts can also emphasize its unsuitability for certain contemporary situations, further destabilizing the fantasy of the fairy tale genre (Moore, 2000).…”

“…The academic literature presents some clear strengths in the way scholars approached these fictional texts. Makinen (1992) and Novoa's (2005) studies of feminist and postmodern retellings both emphasize the importance of boundaries in creating or limiting pleasure for feminist reader, particularly in balancing the familiar with the unfamiliar, the inversion of conventional fairy tale tropes, and the political pleasure derived from the attack on stereotypes. The feminist and postmodern texts were discussed in the academic literature as rich sites of exploration of social commentary by contemporary writers of fiction.…”

“…Some scholars identified the use of parody as a device to make the reader think of how the fairy tale is constructed, making it easier for readers to become potential critics of the traditional fairy tale (Bacchilega, 1988;Makinen, 1992). Many rewritings mocked and criticized stereotypical gender roles and sexual relations, but many postmodern retellings played with the narrative structure itself.…”