Drawing upon at least two stories from The Bloody Chamber explore the ways in which Carter might be considered to re-interpret the gothic conventions.

The gothic genre is one that has been explored for centuries, ranging from classics such as the Castle of Otranto, to the more modern interpretations from Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber. Carter has been known to challenge and manipulate some of the traditional gothic features, thus re-interpreting the gothic with a modern flair and exposing the darker side of human nature to be sadistic and sexual rather than purely grisly murders that we are so often exposed to in the gothic genre.
The Bloody Chamber, the first story in Angela Carter’s collection of short stories seems to represent all things gothic. Primarily the setting we are introduced to alludes to the typical gothic, a castle ‘on the very bosom of the sea’, with ‘spiked gates’. The setting in a gothic text is important in creating an atmosphere for the story to come; Angela Carter remains true to this aspect of the gothic. Using the castle in this story to create a sense of entrapment and claustrophobia for our unnamed heroine. Throughout the story the sounds of the sea are constantly referred to, creating the image of the castle being completely surrounded by the sea with no way to escape. ‘The play of the waves outside’ ‘the waves crashed’. This is an interesting twist on the typical fairytale as well as the gothic, as the heroine is trapped in the castle in a sense but not by a wicked villain, by nature and it’s forces (in this case the sea). Similarly in The Courtship of Mr Lyon Carter creates the idea of claustrophobia around the Beast’s castle ‘it might have been the reflection of a star, if any stars could have penetrated the snow that whirled yet more thickly’.
A typical feature of the gothic is often suspense and mystery; Carter’s stories however lack this. There is a distinct lack of fear within the stories which in this sense shows Angela Carter’s own interpretation of the gothic. In The Bloody Chamber our heroine experiences no fear, ‘still I felt no fear, no raising of the hairs’. This of course affects the way in which we as the reader receive the story, as there is no real tension or suspense to enthral the reader and maintain that tense atmosphere so often associated with gothic text or film. This could be interpreted as a means to emphasise Carter’s own interpretations of what the gothic is truly about. Her writing style demonstrates and emphasises nature and the dark force of it, for example the snow in The Courtship of Mr Lyon, shielding the castle of the Beast from the outside world. Similarly Frankenstein, a famous gothic text emphasises the importance of the destructive force that nature can hold. Moreover Carter uses her description to allude to the senses of the reader, making several references to the ‘fleshy’ feel of the lilies in The Bloody Chamber.
Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber takes several well known fairytales and delivers them in a dark, provocative way. However the fairytale aspects of her narrative are what remove that tense gothic atmosphere from the texts. Both The Bloody Chamber and The Courtship of Mr Lyon end with a typical fairytale ‘happily-ever-after’ ending, which distinguishes Carter’s gothic from the traditional gothic. ‘Mr and Mrs Lyon walk in the garden…in a drift of fallen petals’. The serene ending of The Courtship of Mr Lyon is an example of the fairytale endings that Carter uses throughout her collection. These endings may not necessarily fit with the traditional gothic genre but they do fit with Angela Carter’s version of the gothic genre.
The female role in Carter’s stories can also be interpreted as untraditional in comparison to the traditional gothic. The typical gothic female role is a damsel in distress type character, however in both stories I have explored the sexuality of the female character is exposed as well as a role reversal in who holds the power. The Bloody Chamber explores the sexual side of the gothic genre which is quite often ignored in traditional gothic texts, the young bride displays signs of frustration and desire which traditionally would not have been revealed so openly ‘I felt both a strange and impersonal arousal…’. Carter has used her interpretations of the gothic to challenge the female role in society also. Written in the late 1970’s a time of social progression, it comes as no surprise that Carter places her female characters in a position of sexuality or power. In the Courtship of Mr Lyon, Beauty holds the power over the Beast. Demonstrated in the detrimental effect her absence has on him and how upon her return he is saved; this demonstrates the change in who holds the power that was occurring at the time and also challenges the conventions of the saviour and damsel in distress. Making the Beast, the male, the damsel and the female, Beauty the saviour, this emphasises the title of this particular story, The Courtship of Mr Lyon; it is the male character being courted, which traditionally was the other way round in the sense of courtship.

Carter’s narrative definitely demonstrates a re-interpretation of the gothic genre, whilst still remaining true to the main traditional gothic features such as isolation and desertion, Carter inserts her own ideas of what the gothic is about, for example nature and the distribution and abuse of power between male and female.

In Chapter 10, to what extent is nature a key point?

Nature holds a key part in this chapter, as Victor once again seeks comfort from it and relieves his grief and calamities by being at one with the natural surroundings of Mount Blanc. The romantic theme of this chapter demonstrates the popular movement existing in the 18^th and 19^th century, when Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. Romanticism celebrated nature rather than civilisation and focused on the effects of nature, this is relevant particularly in this chapter as Victor seeks solace by climbing the ‘tremendous’ Mount Blanc. ‘It had then filled me with a sublime ecstasy that gave wings to the soul’. As we have seen throughout the novel so far Victor temporarily forgets his sorrows when surrounded by nature and presents this feeling of overwhelm and awe at the beauty and grand scale of nature. His love for nature and the relief that comes with it is emphasised the positive language Victor uses in relation to nature, 'tremendous' 'awful and magnificent'. Mary Shelley’s emphasis on the romantic elements of nature comes as little surprise, as she was acquainted with some of the greatest romantic poets of her time, for example Wordsworth. Moreover within the novel nature is perceived as the highest immutable power, above that of mankind and the struggles in society. In chapter 10, both Frankenstein and the monster seek the power of nature to forget the erratic humane troubles that they are faced with, highlighting the romantic within Mary Shelley and more subtly her criticisms of society.

Frankenstein, Chapter 1.

Themes in chapter 1:

- family/companionship/love – love between parents ‘he strove to shelter her’ love for Elizabeth, relationship with family, ‘one train of enjoyment for me’

- Elizabeth: Victor shows genuine affection for her – positive description ‘’cherub creature who seemed to shed radiance from her looks’ – yet serves as a protector *last paragraph* ‘I shared it, my pride and my delight’, selfish intentions behind his love?

- happiness of childhood/parents: respect shown for parents, refers to them as ‘benevolent’ constantly, God described as ‘benevolent’, other religious references: mother a ‘guardian angel to the afflicted’.

- Women (oppression of?): Female characters in this chapter portrayed as the weaker sex, Victor’s mother- rescued from poverty ‘he came like a protecting spirit to the poor girl’. Elizabeth a possession (trophy) – ‘mine to protect, love and cherish’ – reflects society in the time it was written – women held a more passive role in society, under the power and protection of men.

- Question of victor’s obsession (source of?): Where does his obsession with the quest of knowledge come from? Such a stable upbringing, plenty of love and affection. Stability: lessons of ‘patience, of charity and of self control’. (is his future obsession class rebellion?) -NATURE VS NURTURE debate – must come from nature? Nurture (upbringing completely stable)

- Possession? Elizabeth like a possession he can display and claim to be his ‘Till death she was to be mine only’

- Inevitability of Victor’s tragedy: Indications of Victor’s doom. Speaking in past tense ‘I was so guided…’ – implies he lost that guidance

- Locations: Childhood in Geneva (influence of Lake Geneva from Shelley’s life)

- Prolepsis: Elizabeth’s death ‘til death she was to be mine only’ (not the monsters)

*imagery: ‘bloomed…fairer than a garden rose among dark leaved brambles’

- idea of Elizabeth as a bright, beautiful influence on the dark, on Victor’s inherent darkness, when he leaves for Ingolstadt, the darkness is in complete control. Elizabeth: light (good) contrast to darkness of novel.

Act five, Macbeth

Act 5 brings a sense of justice to the play, as well as the triumph of good over evil. In scene 1 Lady Macbeth's madness is revealed to the reader, displaying how her steely, strong character has descended into utter insanity due to her participation in the murder of the King of Scotland, as well as constantly assuring Macbeth in the earlier scenes in the play. *Strange how we don't question whether LM is truly unaffected by the murder earlier in the play, assume she is the stronger one, someone has to be?* The presence of the doctor and gentlewoman are extremely important as they both act as witnesses in a sense, and emphasise the depths of madness to which LM has sunk. Moreover the doctor emphasises the disturbance in nature which rings true throughout the play, 'perturbation in nature', 'unnatural deeds', and is also relevant in the 'unnatural troubles' of LM. The doctor's last speech is rich in natural imagery, 'breed', 'mated', 'eyes', 'speak', 'sight'. The language used once again emphasies the unnatural occurence witnessed by the doctor but also possibly the things LM is no longer in control of, or never has been. For example, the true nature of her feelings of guilt concerning the murder of Duncan she is no longer in control of, and her senses 'sight' and speech she is also no longer in control over, as she confesses unknowingly in her insanity and regarding her eyesight her 'sense are shut'.
LM's inability to sleep is foreshadowed in the second act, where one of the King's attendants cries 'Macbeth does murder sleep', the 'benefit of sleep', has no effect on LM as it has been 'murdered' by Macbeth, thus she cannot resolve her guilt in her mind, as she does not receive the mental healing rewarded by sleep.
* blood once again used as a symbol of guilt - similar to Macbeth 'will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood from my hand?'
*'hell is murky' - not real hell, as she is not dead or has not been convicted or found out, self inflicted darkness - personal hell?
Scene 2 fundamentally shows the extent Macbeth has gone to- as he has lost all loyalty and respect, previously bestowed upon him by the various lords etc. in court. - they belittle him calling him a 'dwarfish thief'
*imagery once again of blood 'sticking' (not being able to wash it clean)
Macbeth's guilt is also evident in act 5 (Scene 3), when he enquires after the doctor after his 'patient' (aka LM), this is such a cold way to address his wife, indicating Macbeth's desire to distance himself from her 'illness', possible as he is to blame? to ease his own guilt? Macbeth asks generally of the doctor 'canst thou not minister to a mind diseased,pluck from the memory the rooted sorrow, raze out the written troubles of the brain'. His casual use of the word 'the' lacks specification LM who is the one seriously ill because of 'written troubles of the brain' yet Macbeth speaks so generally - leaving it open, to whether he can be cured of his own 'diseased' mind.
Macbeth's soliloquy in reaction to LM's death (scene 5) is key at this point in the play, nearing the end of the play, there is already a hint of desperation and despair, Macbeth's speech echoes a typical nihilistic view on life, that it has no meaning or purpose and is essentially pointless. does his nihilistic view on life act as self justification for his own crimes, if they signify nothing then he has done no wrong?
*'life's but a poor player...' - Macbeth directed by witches (he is the player on stage) or could be interpreted as a dramatic way of Shakespeare forcing the audience to recognise the theatrical illusion of the play?
Scene 6: murder of Macbeth
Act 5 is much more fast paced than the others, representing the culmination to the climax of the play, and also the action within this scene. Macbeth's soliloquy is key not only in this act but of the whole play, as it demonstrates a rare genuine view of Macbeth's, with no influence from LM, the witches or his power hungry mind, it is Macbeth in despair, at a loss, vulnerable and acknowledging that his end is near also.

Act four, Macbeth

Act four in my opinion is the epitome of the gothic in Macbeth; the act begins with the witches gathered around their cauldron chanting some kind of spell ‘round about the cauldron go; In the poisoned entrails throw…’. The first scene is rich with similar gothic imagery ‘baboon’s blood’, emphasising the gothic role of the witches, which is to remind the audience/reader of the reality of evil or unnatural things in the play. It is in this scene which we see clearly how far Macbeth has transgressed from the beginning of the play, Macbeth goes to the witches to seek their advice and prophecies, yet separates himself from them, calling them ‘secret, black and midnight hags’. At this point Macbeth has gone to the dark side as it were, yet refuses to admit this to himself, this is evident in the way he distances himself from the witches (the embodiment of evil in the play) and also in an earlier act when he personifies ‘wither’d Murder’, to distance himself from the act of the murder of the King.

The idea of control is central to the witches in the play; they are quite clearly in control of Macbeth, evident in the fact that what they say to him he acts upon, with no real sufficient evidence or source to what they are prophesying and they create this illusion of control given to Macbeth, ‘speak, demand, we’ll answer’, which he falls for and believes he is in control of the witches, ‘call ‘em. Let me see ‘em’. Here Macbeth believes he is in complete control and takes it upon himself to command the witches, and when dissatisfied adopts the witches behaviour ‘an eternal curse fall on you!’. This also emphasises the change in Macbeth, in the sense that he has become like the witches.

The hierarchy of power and control is also represented in the presence of Hecat in Act four, up to this point in the play, the audience are also under the illusion that the witches are the highest source of power, and then we are introduced to Hecat, the goddess of witches, who administrates her power and approval over the witches ‘O well done! I commend your pains’. The presence of Hecat in this scene alludes to the idea of destiny within they play, that there is a force working against all of the characters in the play that we have been led to believe hold power, for example the witches and even Lady Macbeth, this force is destiny, which is reinforced frequently by the witches predictions. Macbeth however works in vain against destiny, highlighting how unnatural and evil he has become (as he fights against the destiny of Macduff- by killing his family)

Scene 2 also emphasises this change within Macbeth, as we are once again shown the murder of more innocent characters, in this sense Macduff’s wife and son. Macduff’s son in particular represents the innocence of lack thereof within the play, his innocent questioning ‘what is a traitor?’ highlights the extent of the evil deed Macbeth is about to commit. Moreover the son is wise, despite his naivety and innocence, he comments in that innocent child-like way on the simplicity of the problem of good and evil, ‘then the liars and swearers are fools; for there are liars and swearers enow to beat the honest men and hang them up’. Here he is saying that the traitors are stupid as there are so many in the world that they outnumber honest men and can triumph over them. It is ironic that he comments on this, as it is the way the play seems to be going at this moment, that evil is in fact triumphing over good, as Banquo is dead and the ‘light’ has been extinguished. (Light symbolising good)

* bird reference again ‘whither should I fly?’ – Innocence of son and fleance.

* references to evil character of Macbeth - emphasises his change. 'black Macbeth' 'shag haired villain' 'horrid hell'

- everyone aware of the true nature of Macbeth.

*ADDED NOTES:

in relation to the development of his evil character, he kills Macduff's family, for no political or personal gain but for the want of causing harm, which we have been yet to witness in the play: a truly vindictive, sinister and dare we say, evil murder.

Why are the witches in Macbeth?

The witches in Macbeth not only add to the gothic theme of the play, but also act as a constant messenger to Macbeth. Through their prophetic dialogue, Macbeth is informed of us future, from which he acts so as to secure that future. Arguably without the witches, there would be no story, as Macbeth would have no real desire to overthrow Duncan. The witches also demonstrate the fundamental idea of power which is clearly evident within the play, Macbeth is in a sense under the control of the witches and Lady Macbeth, as he is influenced by what they tell him. However the witches are controlled by Hecat (Goddess of witches), suggesting that there are bigger sources of power working above that of the supernatural.
* Possibly nature? (emphasised in the end of the play when the trees move, from the castle it seems as if the trees (nature) are attacking the castle).

I think the witches are also present in Macbeth to demonstrate how the character of Macbeth has changed from the beginning of the play. When Macbeth first encounters the witches he comes across as innocent and puzzled, and when speaking to the witches refers to them as 'imperfect speakers', yet in act 4, he refers to them as 'secret, black and midnight hags', this shows how he has changed and become more evil as he insults the witches.

Act three, Macbeth

Act three is essentially a build up to the murder of Banquo in scene 4, the preceding scenes act as a tool of suspense and ever increasing forebode. Scene 1 is an interesting display of the change in relationship between Banquo and Macbeth, who have gone from best friends in act 1, ‘think about what hath chanced, and at more time…let us speak our free hearts each to other.’, to suspicious and untrustworthy friends by the third act. In Banquo’s soliloquy (L1-10) he displays the sincerity of his character and also lack of malice and manipulation that his character contains, in stark contrast to Macbeth. ‘Thou hast it now: King, Cawdor, Glamis, all, as the weird women promised’, Banquo talks about how Macbeth has all that the witches prophesised and what that must mean for him, showing that until this point Banquo has not obsessively thought about how he must make the prophecies come true as Macbeth has. His soliloquy also demonstrates how suspicious Banquo is of Macbeth ‘I fear thou play’dst most foully for’t’. Yet still it demonstrate the kindness of Banquo, as he fears Macbeth’s immoral actions, as he still cares for him.

Upon Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s entry they immediately compliment Banquo in an attempt to sweeten him, ‘here’s our chief guest’, this demonstrates the unease that Macbeth obviously still feels as he feels the need to keep his friend sweet so as not to arouse suspicions. On the other hand Macbeth’s attempts at flattery and sincerity are portrayed as something completely the opposite, behind his words there is an almost cynicism and sarcasm ‘fail not our feast’, this exposes the darker side of Macbeth in the sense that Macbeth is completely aware that Banquo will not be joining them at the feast as he has ordered him killed.

Lady Macbeth begins scene two with a rhyming soliloquy, mimicking that of the witches’ in act one. The poetic dialogue we get from Lady Macbeth in this scene is a first from her usually strong, almost masculine character, and suggests she is attempting to find her femininity again. Linked to this is a role reversal in power between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, whilst Lady Macbeth rhymes and is re-establishing her role as the woman, Macbeth is taking power his role as King, man and husband by keeping secrets from his wife. ‘Be innocent of the knowledge…till thou applaud the deed’.

Macbeth also seems obsessed by darkness, it seems like he is reliant on darkness to cover his deeds and to gain this confidence he needs to commit his deeds ‘good things of day to droop and drowse, whilst night’s black agents to their preys do rouse’. Here it is like Macbeth is one of ‘night’s black agents’, not just because of the dark and evil deeds he has already committed, but because the ‘good things of day’ sleep at night, or ‘droop and drowse’, which Macbeth of course cannot do. ‘Sleep in the affliction of these terrible dreams that shake us nightly.’

Scene 3 features the dramatic murder of Banquo, this differs to all other scenes of the play as the murder is actually described and would be played out in a performance. Scene 3 works as a transition between scenes, as the previous scenes have been all talking and scheming, whereas this presents action to the play and also shows the depths of betrayal Macbeth has gone to. Also the murder of Banquo gives us insight into the death of Duncan, as we weren’t given a first hand description of it, allowing us to sympathise with Duncan and also realise just how dark and obsessed with gaining the title Macbeth has become. ‘Who did strike out the light’, I feel this quote here is important as it symbolises the only ‘light’ or good in the play (Banquo) going out, leaving the play completely consumed by the darkness of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, and also the impending revenge that Banquo has asked of Fleance ‘thou mayst revenge’.

Once again cracks begin to appear in the character of Macbeth, upon the impending news of Banquo’s completed murder, Macbeth hallucinates of Banquo’s ghost at the banquet, it is ironic that Macbeth himself said ‘fail not our feast’ knowing Banquo would not attend, yet Banquo still in a sense attends. There is also another role reversal occurring in this scene, Lady Macbeth is seizing the power back taking advantage of Macbeth’s hallucination, asking him ‘are you a man?’ she often questions his masculinity, in an attempt to belittle him and almost guilt trip him into acting as if nothing has happened. Weakness in relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth is evident in this last scene particularly, as well as the rest of the play, as yet again they do not support each other when it is most needed and also care an awful lot about face and how they appear to be, which puts a strain on their relationship.