Focus on The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories.

Jay, Mary

Focus on The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories

Angela Topping

Greenwich Exchange, London, 2009-12-04

ISBN: 9-781906-075255

Paperback

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Focus on The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories is a new title in the Greenwich Exchange Student Literary Guide Series which offer collections of essays on classic and contemporary serious writers in English. The guides are designed for both teachers and students and as a library resource.

Although there is already a wealth of material available on Angela Carter's stories, this text does offer some fresh perspectives on her writing. This is a commentary which expresses opinions and interrogates the stories in detail, while leading the reader through the complexities of Carter's writing.

Topping avoids a formulaic study guide approach by exploring Carter's stories via five sections which deal with different aspects of her work.

The student reader is encouraged to delve deeply into Carter's narratives, while gaining increasing awareness of the many literary and cultural influences on her work. The discussions foreground the fact that Carter was herself an avid reader.

A short Preface sets Carter's work in a wider context and then moves into the five chapters which explore the following strands of Carter's work:

* women as prey

* identity through masks and mirrors

* sex

* transformations

* settings

There is an emphasis on the idea that Carter was not writing 'versions' but was creating new and original texts. The multiplicity of intertextual references in the essays demonstrate the variety of influences on Carter, ranging from Chaucer and traditional fairytales to gothic horror.

The reader is shown how Carter subverts the sanitised, gender-ridden Disney interpretations of fairytales and how she is not afraid to confront gender roles and attitudes through her exploration of gender, sex and violence in her narratives.

There is a detailed, invigorating analysis of symbolism in the stories which brings to the foreground the multi-layered nature of Carter's writing.

Carter's use of language is explored in a discriminating way with careful selection of some key techniques eg, her use of phonological devices to create atmospheric effects or to accentuate horror.

The final chapter of the guide 'The Portals of the Great Pines' offers some interesting comments on Carter's use of interiors and exteriors from Gothic castles and peasant hovels to white Palladian mansions and palazzos.

The more complex linguistic and literary terms are succinctly explained and the footnotes to each section are helpful without being excessive.

Topping writes with energy, expressing a strong admiration for Carter's writing eg, 'Carter's magical surefootedness of style' and she communicates an enthusiasm which should stimulate the imagination of the student reader.

At 53 pages long, this slim text is accessible and will not be daunting for either the student or the busy classroom teacher.