Page 1 of 12 ‘The Bloody Chamber’ by Angela Carter (1979)
Plot Quotes Characters
The Bluebeard’ “A choker of rubies, two inches wide, like an extraordinarily precious slit throat” Heroine: 17 year old pianist marries Marquis.
Bloody Heroine marries rich Mar- “I sensed in myself a potentiality for corruption that took my breath away” Narrates story years later escaping murder and
Chamber quis, doesn’t love him. Con- “My little nun has found the prayerbooks, has she?” remarried.
summate and he leaves on “A dozen husbands impaled a dozen brides while the mewing gulls swung on invisible trapezes in the Marquis: French nobleman pleasured from
a business trip. He forbids empty air outside” challenging wives and murdering them.
her entering one room “I was only a little girl, I did not understand” Favourite room is the Bloody Chamber keeping
Meets piano tuner “this lovely prison of which I was both the inmate and the mistress and had scarcely seen” corpses.
Calls mum but no answer. “as if to tell me the eye of God - his eye - was upon me” Jean-Yves: kind, blind piano-tuner helps hero-
Husband’s absence makes ‘The lilies I associate with him…and stain you” ine escape and marries her
her curious and she looks “Virginity so ruptured” “Subtly tainted innocence” Mother: brave woman married man poorer
through his stuff and finds “In my innocence he sensed a rare talent for corruption” than her. Died at war, penniless.
more about his previous “wild thing as my mother” Opera Singer: Marquis’ 1st wife, strangled to
wives. She enters forbidden “put a single irreproachable bullet through my husband’s head” “The beast wavered in his stroke” death. Body in coffin in Bloody Chamber.
chamber and discovers his “Aristocrat” “Richest man in France” Evening Star Walking on the Rim of Night:
torture devices. Plans to “He approached his familiar treat with a weary appetite” Marquis’’ 2nd wife, skull hangs suspended by
flee with Jean “Kneel! I knelt before him” cords in Bloody Chamber.
Marquis returns and decides “dead as his wives” “blueprint of his strangler’s fingers” Romanian Countess: Marquis’ latest wife be-
to behead heroine for dis- “‘Decapitation,’ he whispered, almost voluptuously” fore heroine murdered by Iron Maiden. Narrator
obeying him. Piano-tuner “prepare for your matyrdom” drops key to forbidden room into pool of blood.
stays by her. Mother res- “Fairy castles made of foam” “spiked gates”
cues daughter. Happy end- “anticipation is the greater part of pleasure”
ing “dolls break free of their strings”
“Now I walked as firmly as I did in my mother’s house”
The Beauty and the Beast: lion- “Spilled bolt of bridal satin” - Symbol, purity, virginity, lack of control The Beast/Mr. Lyon: Creature with lion head,
Courtshi beast French film 1946. “Miss Lamb, spotless, sacrificial” and “Mr lyon” - Gender representations/animal imagery lives isolated in gated mansion until Beauty
p of Mr Beauty’s father takes ad- “He was irradiated, as if with a kind of halo, and she thought of the first great beast of the Apocalypse…” transforms him back into man.
Lyon vantage of stranger’s hospi- - Transition from Child to Women, Religion, power “sadness in his agate eyes” - duality/beastiality, power Beauty: Young woman forced to live with
tality but he steals white “his girl-child, his pet” - Objectification/power Beast as payment for rose father stole. After
rose for daughter. Beauty “it was no longer a lion in her arms but a man” - Gothic, transformation, pastiche reference, power she transforms him back to human, she mar-
becomes the guest. Beauty (Carter writes as a feminist) ries him: Mrs. Lyon.
is allowed to join her father “I hope he’ll be safe” - Lack of speech makes makes clear Beauty’s lack of a voice. Beauty’s Father: Widower goes to Beast’s
later on. Beast heartbroken. “Mr and Mrs Lyon walk in the garden” - Beauty’s submission, equality, identity, open ending. house when stranded in snowstorm. Steals
Beauty learns he is dying “One white rose” - virginity/innocence “spoiled child” - duality.beastiality rose, forced to send only daughter to live with
and returns saying him “I am the Beast, you must call me Beast” - duality/beastiality, imperative, Beast as payment.
Happy ending. Beast hu- “Head of a lion; mane and mighty paws of a lion” - beastiality power King Charles Spaniel: Beast’s only compan-
man. Love. “Candles of a great chandelier” “mahogany door” “free standing jars” “every window blazed with furious ion, summons Beauty back to mansion when
light” - Gothic setting Beast dying.
The Beauty and the Beast. “My father lost me to The Beast at cards” - ownership and oppression The Beast: Tiger disguised as man living in re-
Tiger’s Woman moves in with Beast “Ripped petal by petal apart” - white rose (love, purity & innocence) ripped up shows empowerment and mote Italy alone with valet (ape). Wins heroine
Bride after father lost her in a rejects ‘damsel in distress’ stereotype. Deflowering, loss of purity. from father at cards promising to return her
game of cards. Beast is a “I prick my finger so he gets his rose all smeared with blood” - lack of purity, innocence symbol stained and rest of winnings if he can see her naked.
tiger. Reverse of previous by colour representing love and lust. Beauty not virginal, wanted when father gave her away. She refuses, he undresses for her instead and
story. Heroine transforms “My master’s sole desire is to see the pretty young lady unclothed, nude without her dress” - shows eventually transforms her back into a tigress.
into tiger, proper mate to without her dress she is seen as an object not person, highlights male’s desire for sex over love. Heroine: Young Russian woman who father
the beast. Beast is now in “How pleased I was to see I struck the beast to the heart” - empowered over beast, “struck” suggests loses to Beast at cards. Living wit hBeast she
true form, not disguising as physical harm but actually emotional. Role reversal. realises men treat her as an animal where she
a human. “He paced out the length and breadth of his imprisonment” - trapped inside mask of power and domina- feels closer to animals than men. At end, Beast
tion, inside sensitive. Wants to escape. licks her skin off to reveal she is really a ti-
“The lamb must learn to run with the tigers” - suggests women need to adapt themselves to men’s gress.
ideas. Or Carter suggests women should take control of sexuality in relationship and become predator Heroine’s Father: Russian man with gam-
not victim. bling addiction losing daughter and all posses-
“My rose had lost all its petals” - ref. Losing virginity and nature, reiterates sexuality is only power sions to Beast at cards.
women have over men. Valet: Beast’s servant, ape disguised as man.
