Angela Carter: The Fairy Tale

Author(s): Lorna Sage

Source: Marvels & Tales, Vol. 12, No. 1, Angela Carter and the Literary Mrchen (1998), pp. 52-69
Published by: Wayne State University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41388481
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Lorna

Sage

Carter:
Angela
The Fairy Tale
andpeopleimmediately
assume
Youmention
folkculture
you're
...
totalkaboutporridge
andclog-dancing.
going
- AngelaCarter,
1991

Nineteenseventy-nine
wasAngelaCarter's
annusmirabilis
as a writer,
thehingemoment
orturning
forherself
a newauthorial
pointwhensheinvented
persona,
and beganforthefirsttimeto be readwidelyand collusively,
readers
who
by
identified
withher as a readerand re-writer.New wine in old bottleswas
but
alreadyone ofhermostserviceable
slogansforherpracticeas a novelist,
now she gaverootsand a rationaleto herhabitualveinoffantasy,
parodyand
pastiche.In thetwoslimbooksshe publishedthatyear,TheBloodyChamber
and TheSadeianWoman,
she explainedherself,
unpackedhergifts,
playedher
own fairygodmother.
She had alreadypublishedsevennovelsand a book of
stories.In fact,shewouldproduceonlytwomorenovels,one morecollection
of shortfictionand anotherofjournalismbeforeshe died in 1992. Butthe
reallymagicalthingaboutthebooksof 1979 was this:theynotonlyheralded
her carnivaltransformation
in Nights
at theCircus(1984) and WiseChildren
(1991), but theygaveback her earlierworkto herselfand her readers,the
re-writer
re-readand canonised.Shehad started
outas a memberofthe1960s
- "thesavagesideshow"as shewryly
counterculture
calledit- buttwenty
years
on sheno longerlookedmarginal
at all.1The presentessaysetsoutto explore
someoftheimplications
ofthisstory,
and therolefairy
talesplayedin it.
MarinaWarner,herselfmuchaffected
and influenced
by thepost-1979
- WarnerdescribedFromtheBeasttotheBlonde
Carter
: OnFairyTalesandTheir
Tellers
ofAngelaCarter"(in Sage,Fleshand
(1994) as "inspired
bythewriting
theMirror344) saw Carter's
relationto thisgenreas an affair
of theheart:
of love.. . . AngelaCarter's
"Fairytalesexplorethemysteries
questforEros,
Marvels
& Tales:
Vol.12,No.1 (1998),
1998by
Studies,
Journal
ofFairy-Tale
pp.52-68.
Copyright
State
MI48201.
Press,
Detroit,
Wayne
University
52

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THEFAIRYTALE
ANGELACARTER:
. . . drewherto fairy
talesas a
herattempt
to ensnareitsnaturein herimagery
ofthehead,motivated
form..." (Warner243). Butitwasjustas muchan affair
oftheKhazars
by whatCartercalled in a 1989 reviewof Pavic'sDictionary
afforded
ofpatterning
"thecerebralpleasureoftherecognition
by formalism"
In
she
valued
and
her
Deleted
9).
work,
(Carter,
soughtabstraction
Expletives
as an antidoteto theclimateoffoggyrealismin whichshe'dgrownup. And
as ItaloCalvino,whose
in thisshe resembled,
as she herself
saw,suchwriters
offairy
tales
effects
ofhisrediscovery
thetransformative
storyalso highlighted
2
Lorna
Carter
Interviewed
and folktales
187-88).
(Carter,
by
Sage"
"Angela
ofeveryyoungwriter
thecategorical
"WhenI beganmycareer,
imperative
hisowntime,..." Calvinowrote,lookinginsteadtotimepast
was torepresent
in SixMemos
and tothefuture,
(3). The 1956 collection
fortheNextMillennium
out of theirvariousdialectsinto
he edited(and re-wrote
of Italianfolktales
and texture
ofhis ownwork,and given
Italian)had seepedintothestructure
himtheclue to a different
dialogicrelationto readers(mostobviouslyin the
Invisible
Citiesin 1972 and in IfonA Winter's
Nighta
permutable
fragmentary,
was
this
and
folktales
in 1979). "If... I was attracted
Traveller
fairytales,
by
the
result
of
. . . nor
not theresultofloyaltyto an ethnictradition
nostalgia
virtue
forthingsI readas a child,"he explainedin hislectureon thenarrative
in styleand structure"
of "Quickness":"Itwas ratherbecauseof myinterest
which
(35). He was in rebellion
orthodoxy,
againstthepostwarsocialist-realist
preachedthatthe artistcould onlyconnecthimselfwith"thepeople"ifhe
about
a different
The folktale
wrotenaturalistically.
wayofthinking
suggested
once
had
been
themselves
as practised
this:thecraftofstorytelling
bypeople
to
evade
and
recursive
Choosing
patterns.
upon a timeon theside offantasy
theopacityoftheworld"(Calvino4) wasn'tescapistor
theinertia,
"theweight,
decadent,and quitetheoppositeofan addictiontoArtforArt'ssake:
as a searchforknowledge. . .
I am accustomedto considerliterature
Faced
and mythology.
and ethnology
as extendedto anthropology
- drought,sickness,evil
withthe precariousexistenceof triballife
- theshamanrespondedbyriddinghisbodyofweightand
influence
closerto us, in
and civilizations
to anotherworld.In centuries
flying
villageswherethewomenboremostof theweightof a constricted
vehicles
orevenon lighter
life,witchesflewbynighton broomsticks,
such as ears of wheator pieces of straw.Beforebeingcodifiedby
...
theseimageswerepartof thefolkimagination.
theInquisition,
(Calvino26-27)
oftales,
a taleaboutthepretexts
Thistaleabouttheoriginof"Lightness,"
ofthe
in thePrefaceto thefirst
ownpositionon thematter;
Carter's
resembles
talesand
talessheeditedforVirago,shewrotethatfairy
offairy
twocollections
53

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LORNASAGE
"themostvitalconnection
we havewiththeimaginations
folktales
represent
oftheordinary
menand womenwhoselabourcreatedourworld..." (Carter,
she said: "Ifnobody,
, moreperemptorily,
Viragoix). In TheSadeianWoman
the
art
as
a
of
means
theworld,then
artist,
including
acknowledges
knowing
artis relegated
toa kindofrumpusroomofthemind"(13). Likepornography,
in thisview,and it workedby narrative
the fairytalewas practicalfantasy,
- abstraction,
lvitation
aboveyourself.
...
patterning,
getting
a
to
and
on
who
were.
Well,up
Calvino,who
point,
depending
you
had spenttheboomyearsofstructuralist
us to Propp's
theoryin Paris,refers
the
Folktale
folktales
a
to
another
worldis a
(1968):
"[I]n
of
Morphology
flight
commonoccurrence.
the
'functions'
Vladimir
Among
cataloguedby
Propp. . .
itis oneofthemethodsof'transference
ofthehero,'definedas follows:'Usually
theobjectsoughtis in "another"
or "different"
realmthatmaybe situatedfar
"
or
else
at
a
vertical
awayhorizontally,
great
depthor height' (27). You can
see how thisschemawould have appealedto Calvino,sincehe has already
describedhiscastofmindin the1940s- "theadventurous,
picaresquerhythm
- atthetimehe setouton hisownanti-realist
thatprompted
metowrite"
quest
foridentity
as a writer
(Calvino3). Butforthefemalereader/writer,
surelythe
case is altered?Mostof Propp'sexamples,as JackZipes pointsout in Don't
Beton thePrince(1986), containa verydifferent
for
patternof signification
in males... is rejectedin females;
girlsand women:"Whatis praiseworthy
the counterpart
of the energetic,
aspiringboy is the scheming,ambitious
woman.. . . Womenwhoarepowerful
and goodareneverhuman..." (187).
fanofCarter's
tale,is alsoa self-confessed
work;and
Zipes,a scholarofthefairy
indeedthecheerful
confidence
ofhistonehereowesa lottoherarguments
and
example.Carter,ofcourse,hadn'tputhermoneyon theprince.The heroof
transference
almostneverI thinkappearsinherownfairy
tales,exceptpossibly
in theguiseofPuss-in-Boots,
an agile,resourceful
tomwho scalesrococoand
neoclassicalfacadeswithgreatpanache;andjustpossiblyas thecyclist
heroof
"TheLadyoftheHouse ofLove,"whosebicyclereplacesseven-league
boots.
In thenovels,he'srepresented
in
Desiderio
The
Desire
Machines
by
Infernal
of
Dr.Hoffman
at theCircus
(1972) and byWalser(in Nights
, 1984)- especially
thelatter,
whois apprenticed
to a shamanon hisfumbling
waytobecominga
fitmateforthewingedheroineFewers,whois indeedpowerful
and goodand
notexactlyhuman.3
Duringthe 1970s, Carterhad been re-reading
fairytales and Sade in
thefateofgood,powerlessgirls,theRed
tandem,and bleaklycontemplating
RidingHoods and SleepingBeautiesoftheworld.She practiceda deliberate
and reductionist
habitofinterpretation.
In TheSadeianWoman,
therearemany
occasionswhensherefers
to"bankrupt
enchantments"
and"fraudulent
magic":
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THEFAIRYTALE
ANGELACARTER:
To be theobjectofdesireis to be definedin thepassivecase.
To existin thepassivecase is to die in thepassivecase- thatis, tobe
killed.
woman.(77)
Thisis themoralofthefairy
taleabouttheperfect
tale"initscolloquial
Youcouldarguethatshe'sheremerely
usingtheterm"fairy
more
a
a
sense: a sugar-coated
or
lie;
grandly, "myth," culturalconstruct
truth.
Buttheprofile
ofthepassiveheroineis tooclose
naturalised
as a timeless
to sustainthedistinction.
to toomanyfairy
talecharacters
Sade,Carterargues,
heroine
has thisto be said forhim:thatin thepersonof his long-suffering
woman.
to isolatethedilemmaof an emergent
Justinehe "contrived
typeof
ofwomen
oftwocenturies
becomestheprototype
ofa banker,
Justine,
daughter
madeforthem.. . .
who findtheworldwas not,as theyhad been promised,
untilitbecomessecond
andsuffer
blamelessonessuffer
Theseself-consciously
4
nature..." ( TheSadeianWoman57). You can findthiswomanin conduct
Andthe
andsuburbiaas wellas inpornography.
books,novels,psychoanalysis,
is
modern
culture
that
to
serve
this
tale
too
has
come
post-romantic-agony
fairy
- the
at once. Carterhad alwaysplayedwithother"genres"
and masochistic
Womenwriters
Gothic,sciencefiction whichbelongtothisSadeianmoment.
in these
inventive
are
Ann
Radcliffe
and
(forexample,
MaryShelley) hugely
has a
which
theformaldistanceofthefairytale,
genres,buttheydon'tafford
longerand largerhistory.
- thestoriesare
character.
Itspromiscuity
talehasherea two-faced
So fairy
as drawninto
it
understand
do
have
to
that
historically,
you
anybody's means
strandina realist
ofthetimes,moreoftenthannotas a supporting
thesensibility
sub-text;and in
out
the
can
tease
But
narrative.
or sentimental
you
bourgeois
in the
and
alternative
case
older,sparertales,
ghettoised
surviving
tellings,
any
contrive
collections
orin folklore
versions,
alongsidetheirassimilated
nursery
forcruelly
toisolatetheirelements
andobscenenarratives)
(likeSade'srepetitive
The one thingyou mustn'tdo is mistakethe endless
lucid contemplation.
and theseplotsforevidenceof theuniversal
of thesecharacters
recurrence
talesonceupona timepeople
ofwomenin thepast.5In fairy
culturalpassivity
withgrim
couldsee thewood forthetrees.And so Carter,whileregistering
abouttheperfect
theawfullegacyof"thefairytale
humourandclarity
woman,"
take
woman
stillsees in the genrea meansby whicha writing
flight.
may
do
of
the
the
formal
undo
don't
tale,
they
though
fairy
appeal
Gender-politics
meanyou have to takea longerdetourthroughculturalhistoryto arriveat
lightness.
In 1978,in herradioplayComeuntoTheseYellow
Sands,Carterhas one of
Oberon(as characterised
theproductsofVictorian
byShakespearefairyland,
lecture(to an
revisionist
an
Dadd), give indignant
as-seen-by-painter-Richard
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LORNASAGE
audienceofgoblins,
aboutthehistory
elves,andotherdisenfranchised
figments)
of"fairy
Oberon's
line
is
a
one:
the
ascendant
middlesubjects."
post-Marxist
classeslivedofftheimaginative
labourofthepoor,just as theylivedofftheir
physicallabour:
Theprimitive
ofthecountryside,
theancientlorebornon
superstitions
thewrongsideoftheblankettoreligious
couldnotsurvive
inthe
faith,
... ofthegreatcities.. . .
smoke,thestench,thehumandegradation
Here thepoor werestrippedof everything,
even of theirirrational
and
the
external
of
their
dreams
and fears. . . were
dreads,
symbols
utilizedto providetheirmasterswitha decorativemarginof the
and the"charming."
. . . This realmof faery
"quaint,"the "fanciful"
servedas a kitschrepository
forfanciestoo savage,too dark,too
fancies
thatwereforbidden
thelightofcommonVictorian
voluptuous,
Sands23-24)
dayas such.(Yellow
The phrase"kitschrepository"
TheSadeianWoman's
anticipates
"rumpusroom
of themind."Butthatis indeedwhereyou haveto rummageifyou wantto
retrieve
artas "a wayofknowing
theworld."Thisdidacticradio-play
Oberon
is a veryapposite(and funny)exponentoftherevisionist
of
tale
analysis fairy
as a meansofknowledgeand ofself-knowledge.
Whenhe describesVictorian
as "a kindofpornography
oftheimagination,"
he is pointingto its
fairyland
lastlinkwithreality,
itssavinggracelessness.
In thissense,"genre"retainsits own separatepower:like pornography,
talerelieson repeatedmotifs,
versions
andinversions,
theholein
fairy
multiple
thetextwherethereadersinsertthemselves.
Itsavailability
tointerpretation,
its
the
of
the
bareness,
potential
poverty,
lightness,
represent possibility rendering
obsessivematterofcruelty,
desireand suffering
fiction's
(whichis mainstream
fantastical
and Gothicunderside)profaneand provisional.
In his 1979 book
theMagicSpell,JackZipeswrotethat"thebestoffolkand fairytales
Breaking
chartwaysforus to becomemastersofhistory
. . . theytransform
timeinto
relativeelements"(18-19). Theyare an antidoteto eternity,
in otherwords,
"bornon thewrongside oftheblanketfromreligiousfaith."
Andin thisas in
otherways,re-reading
themis an Enlightenment
project.In a 1978 interview,
Cartersaid, about Sade, "He'ssentme back to the Enlightenment,
whereI
am veryhappy.Theymuttertheage ofreasonis over,but I don'tsee how it
everbeganso one mightas well startagain,now.I also revereand emulate
Sade'srigorousatheism..." (Interview
associatedthe
1-2). Carterhabitually
and glamourofpassivity
withthecultofChristianity
and FatherGods
prestige
in general,andwas also deeplyunsympathetic
to theidea oftheirreplacement
withMothers:"Ifwomenallowthemselves
to be consoledfortheirculturally
determined
lack of access to the modes of intellectual
productionby the
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THEFAIRYTALE
ANGELACARTER:
invocation
ofhypothetical
themselves
greatgoddesses,theyaresimplyflattering
intosubmission.. . . Mothergoddessesarejustas sillya notionas father
gods"
( TheSadeianWoman5).
One ofthereasonsshe so valuedfairytale- and one thatis obscuredby
- is thatsheassociateditwitha world
a too-exclusive
focuson gender-politics
in beingsthatwerenot-human
whereourdreadsand desireswerepersonified
used to makethesamepointin his oftwithoutbeingdivine.KurtVonnegut
dissertation
forhis
vaudevilleroutineaboutwriting
an anthropology
delivered
western
MA (rejected),drawinggraphsof the story-lines
of our
mythsand
favourite
legends.He discoversthattheBiblestoryproducesthesamepattern
as "Cinderella,"
withtherisenChristas PrinceCharming:
The steps... are all thepresentsthe fairygodmother
gave to CinThesudden
the
and
so
on.
ball
the
the
derella,
gown, slippers, carriage,
Allthepresents
havebeenrepossessed.
dropis thestrokeofmidnight.
Butthentheprincefindsherand marriesher,and she is infinitely
happyeverafter.She getsall the stuffback and thensome. A lot
ofpeople thinkthisstoryis trash,and, on graphpaper,it certainly
looksliketrash.. . . But. . . thenI saw thattherisetoblissat theend
. . . The taleswere
ofredemption.
was identicalwiththeexpectation
identical.(Vonnegut
315)6
Sade and TheBloodyChambercombinedprovidedCarterwitha potted
and alsowitha newvantagepointon herownmarginality,
of"fantasy";
history
ordecadent.
victim
itas notthepositionofa literary
a newwayofunderstanding
was theyearof Gilbertand Gubar'shugelyinfluential
Nineteenseventy-nine
and the specificissue of
in theAttic,we shouldnot forget,
TheMadwoman
The
critic
most
feminists.
was
opposedto
diametrically
pornography dividing
ofthe
toherironic,"light"
use ofSade- and,byimplication,
Carter's
re-reading
in
The
woman was SusanneKappeler
taleabouttheperfect
Pornography
fairy
ofRepresentation:
intotheliterary
critic,has withdrawn
Carter,thepotentialfeminist
Like
.
.
.
critic.
has
become
good modernliterary
literary
sanctuary,
whichby
the
oeuvre/text
to
author/writer
from
the
we
move
critics,
assault
.
bearshis name.. . Sade'spornographic
convention
literary
ofwoman theMother
on oneparticular
representation
patriarchal
ofa servicetowomen.. . .
a provider
renders
him,intheeyesofCarter,
the mothering
nor
sanctified
neither
of
Women, course,
produced
whether
but it is doubtful
representation,
aspectoftheirpatriarchal
themythoftheMotherwiththat
theywouldthankSade forreplacing
sadist.. . . (134)
ofthevictimor theinverted
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LORNASAGE
inherownspirit;and
rather
readingCarterreductively,
Kappeleris deliberately
Sade replaces
Motherwithhersuffering
she is wrongto suggestthatCarter's
All three,Carterargues,belongto
and sadistdaughters
Justineand Juliette.
rather
thaninvents):it'sMother
thesamemythology
(whichSade extrapolates,
ofwomenis of
who makesherdaughters
thisway,thoughthiswholefamily
the
coursealso formed
What
is
at
stake
is
bypatriarchal
society
meaningofthe
forCartergenreslikepornography,
romance,fairytaleand science
"literary":
fictionare not at all hedgedwithpietyin theway Kappelerassumes.They
are alreadydesecrating
"theliterary
Thisdoes notmeanthatthey
sanctuary."
are to be claimedautomatically
as "transgressive"
or "subversive,"
onlythat
theircurrency
and theircraft(as opposedto highart,exceptinsofaras they
contaminate
it,whichtheymostoftendo) lendsitselfto bothor all parties.
For Carterdoes not agreewithKappelerthat"Women. . . neitherproduced
nor sanctified
themothering
her
aspectof theirpatriarchal
representation";
readingof Sade, and of fairytales,is preciselyan attackon thisversionof
womenas blameless,as havingno partin the construction
of theirworld,
and ofthemselves:
marks
the
start
of
a
kind
of
female
"Justine
self-regarding
in
a
woman
with
no
the
no
the
core
of
whose
masochism,
world, status,
place
has beeneatenawaybyself-pity"
resistence
( TheSadeianWoman57).
in itselfis powerfully
Kappelerthinksthat"representation"
impureand
and
therefore
cannot
be
from
voyeuristic,
safelydistinguished
pornography.
Carteragrees.Butthisis wheretheirpathsdiverge,
forKappeleris a fundamentalistand an iconoclast,
whowantsto do awaywithliterariness,
to destroy
the
and
to
have
for
themselves
in
without
artifice
the
name
images,
peoplespeak
of truth.In contrast,
Carterwantsto turnout themind'srumpusroomand
vindicate
women'screative
role,pastand present.Theblamelesswomanis for
Carteralsotheunimaginative
woman.So TheSadeianWoman
andthefairy
tales
werea wayofasserting
thevalueofhervocationas a writer
inthefaceofradical
puritanism
(compare,again,Calvinoand thepostwarpressurefromtheParty
Not
because
artis autonomous:"genre"is a sitewheretheliterary
and
left).
theextra-literary
confront
each otherand converse.Still,Carterwas givinga
fictive
and "untruthful"
answerto a politicalquestion,and thatmeant
formal,
convictedofheresy.
that,at thetime,shewas frequently
In theyearssince,thedevelopment
ofdifferent
emphasesingenderstudies
hasproduceda theoretical
frame
thatfitsCarterso muchbetter
thatitseemsset
tocanoniseher.I'mthinking,
forexample,ofJudith
withherdescription
Butler,
- "thebodyis a fieldofinterpretive
ofbodiesthat"wear"our"cultural
history"
the
locus
of
a
dialectical
anewa historical
set
possibilities,
processofinterpreting
ofinterpretations
whichhavebecomeimprinted
ontheflesh"
("SexandGender"
- likeCarter,
45). Butler
theactof
thoughfroma different
angle- is spreading
creationaroundthecultureat large,highlighting
thesymbolicimportance
of
58

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THEFAIRYTALE
ANGELACARTER:
variousperverse"carnival"
tactics,as imagesof the
disguise,cross-dressing,
not especiallydecadentor bohemian,but actuallyoftenhomely
, practiceof
and
Butler's
on
the
theoretical
1993 gloss
makingup genderas yougo along.
of Carter's
is a good description
creativepositionimpliedin "performativity''
relation
of
describes
this
in
Woman:
The
Sadeian
"Performativity
procedures
itself
in
which
one
this
that
turning
poweragainst
opposes,
beingimplicated
modalitiesof power"(Bodies241). Fairytalestoo use
to producealternative
thistactic.
Densityof allusion,quotation,and bricolagewerealreadyhallmarksof
in 1979. Someoftheearliernovelsare,as ElaineJordansays,
Carter's
writing
"storiesof a crucialchangein some youngperson"slife. . . closerto realist
and development"
fictions
ofexperience
(196-97). Othersaremoreobviously
and bythe1970s thissecondkindhad takenover.
and speculative,
fantastical
tendtodivideintothecabinetButtheyshareda repertoire.
Plots,forinstance,
or mausoleumshape, not quite alwaysdeath-bound(Several
of-curiosities
in
1968
is an open-endedexception)butessentially
static;and into
Perceptions
Thegirl
overtones.
withGothicandscience-fiction
themorepicaresqueframe,
of
or
in retrospect
as theJustine Sleeping-Beauty
we canrecognise
type heroine
novelShadowDance
recursagainand again murderedGhislainein herfirst
between
in 1965 and suicidalAnnabelin the 1971 Love,but thedistinction
thanitmightseem,forthisheroine
and murderis less significant
self-murder
worktherealist"riteofpassage"plotabout
livesin thepassivecase. In Carter's
backon itself:this
theyoungperson'sentryintotheworldis turnedironically
heroine'srefusalto growup is clearlyforCarterthemosthonestand telling
thingabouther.
theHollywoodicon of ThePassionofNewEve, is theperfection
Tristessa,
was
had beensuffering.
"Tristessa's
ofthiswoman-as-idea:
Suffering
speciality
we're
name
Her
hervocation.She suffered
told,
8).
itself,
(Passion
exquisitely"
sibilants
ofinexpressible
rumours
sadness;thelingering
whispered
"whispered
ofa younggirlwho is dying"(122). Thats/heis a
likethedoomedpetticoats
heroinesare
makesperfect
transvestite
sense;indeedseveralofthemartyred
" 'Youknow
instance:
for
in
Shadow
Ghislaine
creatures.
his
Dance,
daddy'sgirls,
defloration
. . . Shewroteto methatitwas a spiritual
a clergyman?
herfather's
Machines
Desire
in
The
her'"(124). AndAlbertine
whenI knifed
ofDoctor
Infernal
is theagentofhermadscientist
father,
thoughshehasmanydisguises,
Hoffman,
All
these
of
in
castle.
his
embalmed
whokeepsherdead mother's
figures
body
in "TheLadyoftheHouse of
Chamber
and morearesummedup in TheBloody
who sleepsall dayin her
her
Love,"herstrings
vampireancestors,
pulledby
hercarnivorous
so reluctantly
and sleep-walks
coffin
nights.Likeher
through
exilefromthehistoricworld,in itshistoric
she is "involuntary
predecessors,
timethatis countedout minuteby minute"(TheSadeianWoman106).7 And
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LORNASAGE
thatis whytheprincewillkillherwhenhe wakesherup: death,though,is
theone thingshe'srightabout.The stinking
redroseourherotakesfromher
to
remember
herbywillbloomall theway
Sleeping-Beauty's
overgrown
garden
fromherTransylvanian
fastness
to thetrenches
oftheWarin France,historic
time'sbloodbath.
- theHouse of Love as brothel
The otherimplication
of thisstory's
title
it
reminds
its
chaste
hero
of
a
tableauin a brothelin
(indeed
necrophiliac
to the bargaininvolvedin marriageand/or
Paris) alludesshorthand-style
The
title
"The
prostitution.
story
BloodyChamber"refersto this,and so do
theBeauty-and-the
Beaststories.TheSadeianWoman
has a savageaphorismon
thesubject:u[T]hefreeexpression
ofdesireis as aliento pornography
as it is
to marriage"
(13). Thishelpsto explainwhytheheroineswho survivetheir
riteofpassagearecruellycalculating,
likeMelaniein HeroesandVillains,
who
- "'I'llbe
findshertruevocationas a widow,takingoverthemaster's
mantle
thetigerladyand rulethemwitha rodofiron'" (Heroes150). The LittleRed
in TheBloodyChamber,
who arrangesforher
RidingHood of"TheWerewolf"
Grandmother's
murderand inherits
hercottage,is in a similarmould,and so
- whereit'sMotherwho does thedirtywork.In
is thebrideofthetitlestory
arenowrevealedas imperfect
avatarsofJustine's
Sade's
fact,thesefigures
sister,
Juliette:
a modelforwomen,in someways.She is rationality
and
personified
leavesno singlecell of her brainunused.She will neverobey the
fallaciouspromptings
of herheart.Her mindfunctions
likea com- financial
toproducetworesultsforherself
puterprogrammed
profit
and libidinalgratification.
the
use
of
her
an
intellectual
reason,
By
arestillinclinedtoundervalue,
sherids
apparatuswomenthemselves
herself
ofthemorecrippling
of
butsheis theNew
aspects femininity;
Womanin themodeofirony.
(TheSadeianWoman79)
NewWomenhad beenon themargins
ofCarter's
picturesincethebeginning:
there's
a minorcharacter,
who
walks
unscathed
from
themurderous
Emily,
away
messattheendofShadowDance,andshedoesitbecauseshe'salreadyan adept;
she knowsthestoryin advance:
"I foundthiskeyin one ofhistrouser
pockets,see,and I thought,
you
know,ofBluebeard."
"Bluebeard?"
"Bluebeard.
Andthelockedroom.I don'tknowhimverywell,you
know.And SisterAnne,SisterAnne,whatdo you see ..." (Shadow
Dance 103-04)
Butthisearlycharacter
was halfwayout of thebook,just lookingin. Carter
wouldlaterin 1979 be unlocking
Bluebeard's
chamberfromtheinside.
~
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THEFAIRYTALE
ANGELACARTER:
on eachother,and theirindividual
Fairytales,in theirmultiplereflections
andinternal
of
ofthe
andunravel
layerings interpretations,
exemplify
something
written
the
decorative
which
on
bodies.
You
can
see
processby
meaningsget
- thevampiretalewritten
itselfeasily
overtheSleepingBeautystory,
patina
pareddowntoa taleas bleakandbriefas "TheSnowChild"wherethedaughter
in a moment,"nothing
is dreamedup and destroyed
leftofherbut a feather
a birdmighthave dropped;a bloodstain,likethetraceof a fox'skillon the
snow;and therose..." ( TheBloodyChamber92). And in thesame process,
oftheweightoffinality.
see thefigures
andmovesstripped
youcansee through,
There'sno core,orpointoforigin,orur-story
"underneath,"
justa continuous
Youcansee
at
work.
texts.
there's
a
sense
of
of
Still,
simplification
interweaving
havea good deal in common;just as in Sade's
thatmothersand stepmothers
likea
one another,
reflect
and complement
andJuliette
textJustine
"mutually
Woman
of
mirrors"
The
Sadeian
119).
(
pair
Carterarrives,
thesedaughters,
thesemothers,
Doublingand redoubling
at thevirtuoso1987 Cinderellastory
on thefarside of TheBloodyChamber,
three
versionsforthepriceofone.Thefirst,
or
The
Mother's
Ghost,"
"Ashputtle
on
how
"TheMutilatedGirls,"reflects
easyit is, ifyou thinkaboutthe
dryly
offtotheprince,tomakethis
tomarry
herdaughters
cruelurgency
stepmother's
Ghosts
bitsoffwomen,so thattheywillfitin"(American
a tale"aboutcutting
110), but that'sto misstheagencyof the (good) dead mother.Then again,
narrator
Carter's
toyswiththeidea ofgoingbackintothepast,whereperhaps
was alreadyinvolvedwiththestepmother.
thefather
Perhapsherdaughters,
thewaythatthesteptoo,arehis?Thatwouldexplainhis speedyremarriage,
refusal
dead mother's
and
the
the
first
on
are
dead
set
family,
replacing
family
from
tolie down.Butsucha soap-operaplot"wouldtransform
'Ashputtle' the
'and then,'
of fairytale,withitscharacteristic
barenecessity
copula formula,
of bourgeoisrealism"(American
to the emotionaland technicalcomplexity
theghostcomingbackto sendher
Ghosts113). Insteadthemothers
converge:
feettogettheminto
the
to
the
ball, stepmother
hackingherdaughters'
daughter
theslipper,whichafterall willonlyfit"Ashputtle's
foot,thesize ofthebound
footofa Chinesewoman,a stump.Almostan amputeealready.. . ."Theghostly
" 'See how
mother(who'stakentheformofa turtledove) coos triumphantly,
"
numbertwo,
Ghosts
wellI lookafter
116). Version
you,mydarling!'(American
and
no
no
"TheBurnedChild,"is brief:here,there's prince
onlya
stepsisters,
barepeasantdrama.The ghostpossessesin turna cow,a cat,and a birdand,
andgroomsanddressesherso that
them,feedsherorphaneddaughter,
through
wants:"He gavehera houseand money.
she can takethemanthestepmother
Ghosts119). Andmotherrestsin peace.The third
She did all right"(American
burns
ofall. The cruelstepmother
Clothes,"is theshortest
version,"Travelling
thechild'sface;thedead motherkissesherbetter,
giveshera reddress- "'I
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LORNASAGE
had itwhenI wasyourage'"- andwormsfromhereyesockets
thatturnintoa
diamondring(" 'I had itwhenI was yourage'"); themotherinviteshertostep
intohercoffin.
The girlat first
is set,theformula
from
recoils,butthepattern
thepastis sprunglikea trap(" 'I steppedintomymother's
coffin
when1 was
itwouldbe
yourage'"): "Thegirlsteppedintothecoffin
althoughshethought
thedeathofher.It turnedintoa coachand horses.The horsesstamped,eager
"
to be gone.'Go and seekyourfortune,
Ghosts119-20).
darling' (American
Thebarerandmoreelliptical
thesestoriesbecome,however,
themorethey
We
don't
back
into
the
to
imply
go
pastrealist-stylesupplydepthand motive;
but we do go back to linkthemotherto hermother,
theclothesand jewels
and coach-and-horses
to puberty,
and earlydeath,and to linkhappy
marriage
on theflesh,here
endingsto sad ones,all of theseinterpretations
imprinted
unwoundlikea shroud.The LadyoftheHouse ofLovewears"a hoop-skirted
dressofwhitesatindrapedhereand therewithlace. . . . [She is] a girlwith
thefragility
oftheskeletonofa moth,so thin,so frailthatherdressseemedto
himto hangsuspended,as ifuntenanted
in thedarkair,a fabulouslending,
a self-articulated
in
which
she
lived
likea ghostin a machine"( The
garment
Chamber
Carter's
heroines
in
the
earlierfiction
hadrepeatedly
tried
100).
Bloody
on dead women'sweddingdresses,steppedintomother's
shoes.Theywereat
thesametime,thesestoriessuggest,
outsomething
aboutthenatureof
finding
theirskins,thatthosetoocouldcomeoff.8
Theghost's
valediction
(" 'Go and seekyourfortune'
") has a doublemeanor "go and don'trepeatthestory"
ing,then.Either"go and repeatthestory,"
thanksto thestory).Lookingback
(ifyou'veseentheshapeofmother's
legacy,
to hernovelLovein 1987 (itselfa rewriting
ofherfirstbook), Cartercalled
it in a jokey revisionist
Afterword
"Annabel's
coffin"
(Love 114); she herself
would not repeatthatstructure
would
again,thoughsome ofhercharacters
stillact out (in freakshows,formoney)thefairytaleoftheperfect,
suffering
woman.The youngperson'srite-of-passage
story(whichfairytaleand realist
fiction
haveconspired
totellsincetheeighteenth
is tobe shed
together
century)
and discardedlikean old skin.Or,in a different
butrelatedimage- "hegave
- thehouse is burned,ruined,abandoned.Carter's
hera house and money"
characters
had beenburningdownhousesalmostsincethestartofherwriting
and
career, nowshehadworkedoutmoreexactly
is dead,
why:"Whenmother
all thelifegoesoutoftheoldhouse.Theshopin TheMagicToyshop
getsburned
down,theold darkhouse,and adultlifebegins. . ." (Carter,"AngelaCarter
Interviewed
byLornaSage"190).
This is her farewell
to "realistfictions
of experienceand development,"
whichin anycase had onlyeverbeen containers
forhercharacters'
vagrant
lives.She'djettisoneda whole"greattradition,"
To measurethesenseof
gladly.
andfreedom
had
involved,
vertigo
youneedtothinkbacktowhatthattradition
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THEFAIRYTALE
ANGELACARTER:
- by
a contemporary
who wants
meant,especiallyforwomen.AntoniaByatt,
contrast tosalvagecontinuity,
inImagining
hasdescribed
Characveryexactly,
ters
: SixConversations
aboutWomen
Writers
structures
and
, howrealistfictional
habitsofreading
worktodomesticate
theworld: "[T]heotherthingthathappens
in all novelsis thatbecauseyoureada novelbyyourself
in a room,innerspace
inyourmindandouterspaceinnovelsbecomesomehowequivalent,
imagesof
eachother.. . . There'sa wayinwhichthewholelandscapeis insidein a novel,
evenifit'ssaidtobe outside"(37).9Thequicknessandlightness
ofthefairy
tale
as travelling
clothesall serveto
and the"performative"
senseofcultural
history
that
to
the
novel"proper."
undothissenseofaccommodating
interiority belongs
she
For Carter,
outsidestaysout.Whenshe movedon, post-Bloody
Chamber,
lookedtoradio,film,
thestage,oraland/or
media,taking
performance-oriented
in theroleofre-teller
oftales.
herclue fromthefairy
talesthatcastthewriter
in these
Butwhatis "outside"?
"Notetheabsenceofthehusband/father"
father
is
of "Ashputtle":
Cinderellastories,saysthe didacticnarrator
"[T]he
butall thesameis predicated
bybothtextualand biological
unacknowledged
in oppositiontoeachother
In
female
families
the
drama
between
two
necessity.
themenseem
overmen(husband/father,
becauseoftheirrivalry
husband/son),
is absolute
no morethanpassivevictimsof theirfancy,
yettheirsignificance
Ghosts110becauseit is Ca richman,''a king'sson') economic"(American
11). Carter'sfictional
(parks,gardens,
landscapeshad alwaysbeen artificial
the "wilderness"
itselQso thatnatureforher was always"secondnature,"
thedecaying
domain.Viewedromantically,
Thiswas father's
landscapehistory.
to
be
eaten
of
her
novels
seem
and
castles
houses,cottages
up bynature
being
and
is
if
this
nature
but, youlook moreclosely,
ready-dishevelled stylised(by
The rose fromthevampireLady's
romantics
and theirVictorianfollowers).
timeand
bowercan travelto Francein 1914 and bloomtherebecausehistoric
Machines
In
Desire
Time.
The
Father
are
linked
time
of
Infernal
by
fairy-tale
who manipulates
DoctorHoffman
(1972), thelastnovelwitha father-magus
theworld,thereis a minorepisodewith
and uncreating
creating
appearances,
this
doomed
another
SleepingBeauty, timea waifin thelandscape:
yet
thegardenand formed
theroseshad quiteoverrun
dense,forbidding
.
out
whips.Thosewithinthe
hedges. . sprayed fanged,blossoming
housewerealreadyat thecapriciousmercyofnature.... As I drew
nearer... I heard,overthepoundingoftheblood in myears,notes
The
of musicfalling.. . . She playedwithextraordinary
sensitivity.
dress
hair
and
.
.
.
her
roomwas fullofa poignant,
nostalgicanguish
werestuckall overwithtwigsand petalsfromthegarden.Shelooked
so immediately,
likedrowning
thoughI couldnot
Ophelia.I thought
and
knowhow soon she wouldreallydrown,forshe was so forlorn
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LORNASAGE
A chilling
andrestrained
madeherdesperation
all
desperate.
passivity
themorepathetic.(Infernal
Desire50-53)
Fornature,readShakespeare.
Whenit comesto theworldofoutside,Carter
tracksShakespeareeverywhere,
forin literary
and
terms,he is the father,
is
his
kitsch
contribution
to
the
of
drowning
Ophelia
great
pantheon passive
heroines.10
This reachedits apogee withVictorianSirJohnEverettMillais's
ofOpheliadrifting
onthewater,
borneup byherclothes,
wreathed
with
painting
flowers
and weeds.Carter's
character
Oberonin ComeuntoTheseYellow
Sands
is meanttobe lecturing
on RichardDadd'spaintings
inspiredbyA Midsummer
Dream
but
cannot
resist
an
allusion
to
,
Night's
Ophelia,forshe so exactlyfits
histheme:
The richlysexualsymbolism
ofaspectsofthemythology
ofthe"wee
folk"was buriedso deeplybeneaththemuffling
of
layers repression
and the oppressionof women.... It mightbe said of thesefairy
as HamletsaysofOphelia:
painters,
Deathand affliction,
evenhellitself,
She turnsto favourand to prettiness.
Sands24)11
('Yellow
Dadd'spaintings
hecuthisfather's
(doneinmentalhospitalafter
throat)
caught,
forCarter,
theparalysing
effects
of"burying"
Titania
symbolism.
stepsout of
oneofthemtodescribe"Dew,deweverywhere
... thedewdripsliketearsthat
havedroppedfroma crystaleye,heavy,solid,mineral,glittering,
unnatural"
Sands42). 12
(Yellow
Theselandscapesofpsychohistory
are forCarter,
likethe"bankrupt
enchantments"
offairy
talesaboutwomen'spassivity,
truelies.Thatis,theycanbe
oftimelessness
aremadeanddisseminated.
Her
persuadedtorevealhowmyths
1982story"Overture
andIncidental
MusicforA Midsummer
first
Dream,"
Night's
, goesbehindthescenesofShakespeare's
publishedin themagazineInterzone
textinordertodrawitandhimintoa present-tense
revisionist
"This
perspective:
wood is, ofcourse,nowherenearAthens;thescriptis a positivemazeoffalse
leads.Thewood is reallylocatedsomewhere
in theEnglishmidlands,possibly
nearBletchley,
wherethegreatdecodingmachinewassited.Correction
. . . oak,
ash and thornwerechoppeddownto makeroomfora motorway
a fewyears
sincethewoodexistedonlyas a structure
oftheimagination,
in
ago. However,
thefirst
it
will
remain"(BlackVenus67). Dense layersofinterpretation
place,
overtimeconstitute
thislandscape,andbeyonditstretch
realmsofpre-literary
thatservealsotoputitinitsplace- "nothing
likethedarknecromantic
history
in whichtheNorthern
forest
Europeanimagination
beginsand ends,whereits
dead and witcheslive,and Baba-yagastalksaboutin herhousewithchicken's
feetlookingforchildrenin orderto eatthem"(BlackVenus67). In theprocess
of thisnarrative,
wood, "theEnglishwood,"is strippedof its
Shakespeare's
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THEFAIRYTALE
ANGELACARTER:
becomesreadableand rewritable:
"thereis
nostalgicweightand universality,
A
...
and
a
out
of
a
maze.
maze
is
a
construct
of
the
human
mind,
always way
not unlikeit. . . . But to be lostin the forestis to be lost to thisworld..."
(BlackVenus68). Shakespeare,forCarter,looks two ways;his stagewas a
betweenworlds,wherefolkculturewas madeoverintohighculture,
threshold
In a lateinterview
... are
Carterobserves,"intellectuals
butnevercompletely.
stillreluctant
to treathim as popularculture.. . . Shakespeare... is one of
thatsum up thepast- one of thegreatJanus-figures
thegreathinge-figures
... I like
thatsumup thepastas wellas openingall thedoorsto thefuture.
and
because
it
is
beautiful
A Midsummer
almost
Dream
beyondreason,
Night's
.
.
."
Carter
Interviewed
and
andcamp andglamorous cynical.
("Angela
funny
by LornaSage" 186-87). Here she addressesin passingthisquestionof the
hisconnections
withthepre-literary
"outside."Shakespeare,
pastand
through
theatre
world
his
outside
the
withpopularculturepastand future,
very
points
"
reason.
helpedconstruct "almostbeyond
and demythologising
deconstructive
Itis timetoadmitthat,forall Carter's
MarinaWarneris afterall rightto saythatherrelationto fairy
inventiveness,
It'sno accidentthatthemostpopularofhertales- "The
talesis a love-affair.
- are thosewhich
Alice"
Tiger'sBride,""TheCompanyofWolves"and "Wolfshe
Dreamstory,
Night's
stepbeyondtheknowablemaze. In theMidsummer
will
is "tobe committed
writesthatto be lostin theforest
or,
againstyour
an
existential
from
absence
to
a
desire
of
own
worse, your
humanity,
perpetual
boundlessas thehumanheart"(Black
is as infinitely
fortheforest
catastrophe,
of
Venus68). The girlsin thestorieswho abandontheirhumanseparateness,
theirown desire(or who, likeWolfit), are
Alice,are onlynow discovering
Carterendswitha praise
loversof thismutantkind.In TheSadeianWoman,
to perfect,
oflove could awakenthelibertine
oflove: "[0]nlythepossibility
oflovethatwe find,in bothmenand
terror.
Itis in thisholyterror
immaculate
ofwomen"
totheemancipation
thesourceofall opposition
womenthemselves,
alludes
Chamber
title
The
I
that
the
itself,
(150). One couldargue, think,
Bloody
noreventothewomb/tomb,
in thelastanalysisnottoBluebeard's
meat-locker,
butto thehumanheart.
still
andabstraction
talesas a meansofsimplification
forfairy
Myargument
so
finds
Carter
is
soul
that
I
it
marvellously
stands,however,though suppose
andinstructively
missinginthem,notheart.Calvinoinhisessayon "Lightness"
hasa phrasethatapplieshere- "anthropocentric
(Calvino22)parochialism"
betweenourselvesand thesubstanceoftheworld.This
the"holy"difference
us
returns
"ancientlorebornon thewrongside oftheblanketfromreligion"
to a worldstillunknown,ourprofane
interiority.
Carterto thepicaresque,timeherfairytalesreturned
Less portentously,
withtheirhistorical
two
her
last
of
travesties,
exuberance
novels,
large
travelling
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LORNASAGE
tableausand confidencetrickswhichare bothstagedand debunked:"The
notionofa universality
ofhumanexperience
is a confidence
trickandthenotion
ofa universality
offemaleexperience
is a cleverconfidence
trick"(TheSadeian
Woman12). ElaineJordanhas describedthedoublemoveinvolvedheremost
of [Carter's]
workhaveoftenbeenmadefromlimited
accurately:
"Judgements
which
the
extent
to whichshe entwinesthelocalwiththe
perspectives
ignore
and
sees
as something
to be challengedwhenit'sassumed
global,
universality
as given,and constructively
forwhenit'snot.. . ." (Jordan
210). The
struggled
tale
enabled
Carter
to
locate
and
the
of
fairy
explore processes interpretation
thatmakeus seemineluctably
continuous
withourselves.It suppliedherwith
an (anti-)mythoforigins,
a recipefortransformations,
a trunkful
oftravelling
clothesand a happyending.Exceptthat,as she wouldhavebeen thefirstto
no suchthing,
talesareexercises
in the
object,there's
unalloyed.Herownfairy
of
but a glanceat thesnapshotof ourfinde siclecultural
suspension belief,
momentpresented
in Hystories
(1997), will
by,forexample,ElaineShowalter
serveto revealthatSleepingBeautyliveson in herdreamofblamelessness.13
ofCarter's
Indeed,itmaywellbe thatsomeofthestrength
presentreputation
is due to credulousmisreading.
She sometimes
suspectedas much:"I become
whenpeople. . . ask me about the'mythic'qualityof work
mildlyirritated
I'vewritten
business.
lately"(she wrotein 1983): "I'min thedemythologising
I'm interested
in myths. . . just becausetheyare extraordinary
lies designed
to makepeopleunfree"
however.
("Notes"71). Fairytalesareless-than-myths,
are
I
"This
is
how
make
volatile,
They
anybody's
potatosoup"(Carter,
Virago
x). It'shardtodenyforlongthattheyarepartofthehistoric
world,and Carter's
examplehas madeitharder.
Notes
1. See "TheSavageSideshow"
fora profile
byLornaSage.In theUnitedKingdom
moregenerally)
Carter's
works
arecurrently
settexts
(andinEurope
atschooland
andthesubject
ofa great
dissertations.
In 1997shewas
university,
many
graduate
theonlycontemporary
British
writer
tobethesubject
ofa separate
seminar
atthe
annualconference
oftheEuropean
fortheStudy
ofEnglish
a
(ESSE),where
Society
ofthepapersfocused
onthefairy
tales.Carter's
first
realfairy-tale
largeproportion
bookwashertranslation,
TheFairyTalesofCharles
Perrault
; in 1982sheediteda
andOther
Favourite
collection,
BookofFairy
; TheVirago
Beauty
Sleeping
FairyTales
Tales
waspublished
in 1990;TheSecond
, whichsheedited,
BookofFairy
Virago
Talesin 1992,theyearofherdeath.
2. IfCalvino
hadnotatsomepointreadVladimir
Propphewouldnothavewritten
Invisible
Carter
ofCalvino("Angela
Carter
Interviewed
Cities,
saysthere
byLorna
Sage"187).
3. Fewers,
theheavy-weight
artiste
andWinged
ofNights
attheCircus
trapeze
Victory
combines
thecharacteristics
ofmany
and
ready-made
symbolic allegorical
figures
oftheturnofthenineteenth
andis subjectinsidethetextto endless
century,
66

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THEFAIRYTALE
ANGELACARTER:
andre-interpretation.
Carter
andherillustrator
Martin
Warehad
interpretation
sketched
heroutin1977inthe"LilacFairy"
wholooksa lotlikeMaeWest
already
withwingsinTheFairyTalesofCharles
Perrault
(155).
4. In thissamepassageCarter
refers
as "theancestress
of
toJustine
ofa generation
womeninpopular
inthesamepredicament,
fiction
whofindthemselves
suchas
theheart-struck,
tearful
heroines
ofJeanRhys,
EdnaO'Brien
andJoanDidionwho
in a fateoverwhichtheybelievetheyhaveno
remain
grumblingly
acquiescent
control"
Woman
(TheSadeian
56).
"
RedRiding
Hood'as MaleCreation
andProjection."
5. SeeJackZipes's
essay 'Little
is silly,"
she
6. Literature's
wasimportant
toCarter:
"Wethink
blasphemy
profanity
wrotein a 1979review
ofBataille
's Story
oftheEye, butwe'rewrong(Expletives
drewherdeepest
Deleted
37). SalmanRushdie's
predicament
sympathy.
ina senseshe
exile"voluntary,"
7. Itmayseema bithardtocallthisheroine's
though
itiswhensheabandons
it,joinstheworldanddies.
proves
a missing
hadfound
Carter
8. In"Donkey
Skin"(TheFairyTalesofCharles
Perrault),
who
sends
the
linkforthisstory
in thefigure
ofthefairy
daughter's
godmother
withallyourclothes
beautiful
clothes
after
her:"'Wherever
youmaybe,yourtrunk,
"
andjewelsinit,willspeedafter
youundertheground'(140).
a knowfrom
Possession
9. Byatt's
(1990),areactually
fictions,
starting
"postmodern"
in
nor
neither
intent
of
Victorian
recreation
values,demystificatory
literary
ing
effect.
: SexualPolitics
andContemporary
in Shakespeare's
10.KateChedgzoy,
QueerChildren
in Carter's
theatre"
takeover
Culture
, is impressed
by"illegitimate
bythecarnival
with
themes
the
sake
of
for
but
WiseChildren
concentrates,
,
linking
postcolonial
on
The
politics,
Tempest.
gaygender
whospeakstheselines,
ItisLaertes
from
11. Carter's
wasmisquoting
Oberon
memory.
Act
..." (Hamlet,
hellitself
andaffliction,
andthey
passion,
actually
go:"Thought
lines
scene
86-87).
IV,
5,
ofthispetrified
12.WiseChildren
scene,ontheset
(1991)stagesthecomicextremity
where"allwastwiceas largeas
ofA Midsummer
ofthe1930sfilm
Dream,
Night's
as tallas the
Daisiesbigas yourheadandwhiteas spooks,foxgloves
life.Larger.
oroutof
a
wild
rose
rolled
off
inmid-air
as ifthey'd
tower
ofPisa. . . hanging
just
And
on
threads.
that
imitation
a cowslip,
is,
suspended
bigfaux
pearls,
dewdrops,
tohave
who'sthought
clockwork
birds,as well..." (124). In thisnovelTiffany,
isa NewOphelia.
butturns
drowned
herself
up aliveandangry,
and "Multiple
on "Recovered
thesections
13.See especially
Personality
Memory"
as wellas a cultural
critic
a
who
is
of
course
where
Showalter,
literary
Syndrome,"
connections
fictional
thathaveobvious
"stories"
herself
finds
historian,
describing
thattheyare
refuse
butwhosetellers
andstrategies,
anysuggestion
absolutely
ordrugs
themonlyunderhypnosis
"recover"
themup,andindeedoften
making
orboth.
WorksCited
Writers.
Women
about
SixConversations
Characters:
A.S.,andIgnesSodre.Imagining
Byatt,
1995.
& Windus,
London:
Chatto
1993.
ThatMatter
Bodies
; NewYorkandLondon:
Butler,
Routledge,
Judith.
72
Studies
Sex."YaleFrench
Second
in Simonede Beauvoir's
. "SexandGender
(1986):35-50.
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

LORNASAGE
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68

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"TheBloodyChamber"by CorinnaSargood.Copyright
CorinnaSargood.
withpermission.
Reproduced
69

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