Angela Carter “The Bloody Chamber”
Fairy tales usually are set at an indefinite time and place. Where and when does “The Bloody Chamber” take place and why did the author choose this particular setting?
Apart from tethering it to a time and place, what are the main differences between Carter’s and Perrault’s version? How do they influence our reading of this story?
The story contains a huge array of allusions to other literary texts and works of art. For instance, who is the Marques’ favourite poet? How do they interact with the main plot and what do they bring into it?
What are the Gothic elements in the story?
How are the themes of innocence and experience used in the story?
What is the meaning of the red mark on the narrator’s forehead?
What is the influence of magic realism on the story?
“Black Venus”
Throughout the story the image of the moon with its accompanying star recurs. How relevant is it as a metaphor to the contents of the story?
Plot-wise, not much happens in the story. If you were to summarize it, what would you say the story is about?
“She was like a piano in a country where everybody has had their hands cut off.” What does this sentence about Jeanne Duval mean?
What do Baudelaire, possibly the greatest poet of the French language and the illiterate and inarticulate Jeanne have in common?
Jeanne and Baudelaire are compared to the albatross from Baudelaire’s famous poem. Why are they similar to this bird?
What is Jeanne’s attitude towards her lover?
Why does Carter give her version of Jeanne’s story a kind of a happy end?
Explain the irony of the last line