The Bloody Chamber Essay

Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber is a very graphic and disturbing short story. As most of her work suggests, she is a feminist preaching her feminist views throughout the bulk of her stories. The Bloody Chamber is just one example of her feminism, but throughout the story, we see this theme present. As the reader, we see both the woman fight for and prove her inequality, and we also see the Marquis fight to maintain his dominance over his fiancée as well as over all women of the time. Feminism, being a large part of the story, is depicted in several different ways. From the age gap to the Marquis’ dominance over his wife, the man is shown as the prominent figure all the way until the end. Toward the middle of the short story, the Marquis

“He stripped me, gourmand that he was, as if he were stripping the leaves off an artichoke—but do not imagine much finesse about it; this artichoke was no particular treat for the diner nor was he yet in any greedy haste.” (Page 12) Once again, we see this notion of women being an object, in this case as an artichoke. These examples are used to prove the theme of the story that women are just as powerful and important as men. Another example of the man as a sexual predator is on page 17. “Then I realized, with a shock of surprise, how it must have been my innocence that captivated him—the silent music, he said, of my unknowingness, like La Terrasse des audiences au clair de lune played upon a piano with keys or either.” This statement explains the helplessness of women, and how easy it is to take advantage of them. Her lack of knowledge and experience made it easy for the Marquis to be attracted to her and lead her to love him as well. By the end of the book, it is shown to the reader that women are just as strong and important as men. The prominent example of this is when the mother comes to rescue the narrator. “And—a great battering and pounding at the gate, the jangling of the bell, the frenzied neighing of a horse! The unholy silence of the place shattered in an instant. The blade did not descend, the necklace did not sever, my head did not roll.” (Page 44) At this