Masculinity In The Bloody Chamber

Angela Carter’s “The Bloody Chamber”, a re-writing of Charles Perrault’s fairy tale “Bluebeard”, deals with male authority and female obedience with a focus on the sexual relations between male and female. The masculinity the two husbands express, however, are quite different. The Marquis, the first husband, looks at the unnamed narrator as an object, whereas Jean-Yves, the second husband, cannot illustrate any sort of male gaze. He is blind. We can see the crucial connection between sightedness and blindness, and male erotic identity throughout the story. However, according to a critic Patricia Duncker, materially removing signs of physical attraction is not the key to creating a new male erotic identity. To a considerable extent, Duncker’s

The Marquis is the first man the nameless narrator marries. The narrator constantly characterizes him as an alpha male by giving special attention not only to great wealth but to his “dark mane” like masculine appearance and “the opulent male scent” (3). Detailed description of the Marquis suggests that she is somewhat attracted to the stereotypical masculine qualities. Therefore, even though the narrator fears the nasty sadomasochism pictures, she does not refuse her first sexual experience. Yet, their sexual relationship is odd. The sexual relation between the two draws the power relation between genders through a one-sided gazing. The Marquis is watching her all the time. Even before marriage, the night at the opera, he was “watching [her] in the glided mirrors with the assessing eye of a connoisseur inspecting horseflesh” (6). After the marriage, he did not stop “gazing … [with] his eyes, dark and motionless” (8). The gazing stands out more in an intercourse. The Marquis did not hesitate to do it on “broad daylight” because it was “better to see [her]” (14). The Marquis’s

He does not show any difficulty living as a blind and does his job as a piano tuner perfectly. If he wanted to rape her, he could have done it. But instead, he embraces the victim by offering her “some comfort” (40). Although he thinks opening the window will not do much, the narrator was able to “cleanse everything”, and was very touched by his caring action (40). Jean-Yves is the safe house for only emotional support. In other words, he is completely useless in saving her life. Therefore, contrary to the powerful Medusa-like mother who saves her daughter from the Marquis, the lover is helpless in defending his bride-to-be (43). Mutilation of Jean-Yves left him crippled. Does a woman have no choice but to choose between a dangerous but in good condition or a safe but out of commission? Neither can be the alternative, the possible choice for each other. If Jean-Yves were not maimed, his loving, considerate, and warm-hearted traits would have suggested a form of new, redesigned masculinity. Additionally, his infirmity and inability to guard the protagonist from harm could have been seen as a destruction of the traditional gender roles and expectations, thus, not fulfilling the stereotypical masculine