Task 1

Define polarity – the possession or manifestation of two opposing tendencies, attributes or principles

Define postulated – suggest or assume the existence, fact or truth of something as a basis for reasoning, discussion or belief

Define androgyny – the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics

Define autonomy – freedom from external control or influence; independence

Define exigencies – an urgent need or demand

Define transposition – to cause two or more things to exchange places, transfer to a different place or context

Define bourgeois – belonging to or characteristics of the middle class, particularly perceived materialistic conventions

Task 2

·         Cater challenges social constructs of gender

·         Makes her characters both masculine and feminine

·         Suggests the deconstruction of femininity

·         Also suggests the deconstruction of masculinity

·         Argues that society forces these stereotypes upon us

§  Gender

§  Duality

§  Femininity

§  Masculinity

§  Stereotypes

Challenging gender stereotypes and traditional gender roles

Task 3

The article explains that Carter challenges the social stereotypes of masculine and feminine through the stories ‘The Tiger’s Bride’ and ‘The Courtship of Mr Lyon’. She does this through using the fairy tale genre, as this genre has been used for hundreds of years to install typical feminine values in women, for example the fear of men.  By taking these traditional tales and retelling them, Carter is exposing their flaws and is also creating a new set of androgynous, more realistic characters.

Bettelheim questions

11)      Bettelheim argues that fairy tales, such as Cinderella, teach children about morals and good vs. evil, through providing clear cut good characters, e.g. Cinderella herself, and bad characters, such as the evil stepmother. By doing this, children are able to learn that doing and feeling bad things, such as not liking a parent, is not a bad thing to do. Furthermore, they also allow children to come to these decisions themselves, rather than being forced into them.

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22)      Bettelheim describes the ‘duality’ of the fairy tale genre, which is also associated with the gothic. This idea of ‘duality’ explains why there are rarely purely good and purely bad characters in the gothic, as everyone is realistically a mix of both. The purpose of the gothic is similar to that of the fairy tale genre, i.e. to allow people to see the distinction between good and bad and to make their own decisions about it. However, the gothic does this in a more complex way than fairy tales.

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33)      Carter mixes the fairy tale and gothic genres in ‘The Bloody Chamber’ in order to show the reader the flaws within society, for example the way in which women are treated, and then to allow them to think about the wider implications of that issue and also to think about how to deal with it.

The Tiger's Bride - task 3

1. What are ‘the devil’s picture books’?

‘The devil’s picture books’ refer to the cards the Beast uses to beat the narrator’s father.

2. What type of language is Carter using when the narrator calls The Beast ‘Milord’?

Carter gives the word ‘Milord’ a sarcastic tone, therefore showing the narrator to be cynical and somewhat bitter towards her father and the situation he has put her in.

3. When the Beast gives the girl a white rose. What do white roses symbolise in this collection and why are they used more than once (also in ‘The Courtship of Mr. Lyon’)?

In this collection of stories, a white rose symbolises purity and innocence, for example in ‘The Courtship of Mr Lyon’, Beauty asks for a simple white rose as a show of her innocence and purity.

4. What might be significant about the verb choice ‘fleeced’?

The verb ‘fleeced’ has connotations of sheep, which links to the way in which Carter describes the characters as sheep, for example the narrator refers to herself as a ‘lamb’. Furthermore, the fact that the narrator and her father are described as sheep indicates that the Beast has power over them, as he is a tiger.

5. Which fairy tale does ‘gobble you up’ come from and why is it referred to?

‘Gobble you up’ is a reference to ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and the Big Bad Wolf. Carter refers to this to emphasise how much power the Beast has over the narrator.

6. What tells the reader that the inhabitants are not driven by appearances or luxuries?

Carter shows the reader that the inhabitants of the town are not driven by appearances or luxuries by describing the town as ‘cruel’ and ‘malign’, indicating that they do not care for appearances. The fact that they do not care for luxuries is indicated by Carter’s description of their diet as being ‘poor food’.

7. What is the significance of the fresco ‘where fruit and blossom grew on the bough together’?

The significance of this fresco is that it is unnatural, therefore hinting at the magical realism genre of the book. Furthermore, it also references the Garden of Eden, indicating the fact that the house could be a place of paradise for the narrator.

8. What is the description of the soubrette supposed to suggest to the reader?

The description of the mechanical soubrette suggests to the reader that the Beast likes to have control, as the fact that she is ‘mechanical’ means she can be controlled easily.

9. How does the girl compare herself to animals?

The narrator ‘lirruped and hurrumphed’ at the other horses, therefore comparing herself to them.  This indicates her desire to be free of the Beast. Furthermore, the Beast treats his horses with kindness, having given them his ‘dining room’ to live in. This could show that the narrator wants the Beast to treat her as an equal.

10. In light of the end of this story, analyse the phrase, ‘The tiger will never lie down with the lamb; he acknowledges no pact that is not reciprocal’.

The phrase refers to the quote from Revelations, ‘and the lion will lie down with the lamb’, indicating that the Beast is unnatural in his feelings for the narrator, as Carter changes the lion to ‘tiger’. The fact that ‘he acknowledges no pact that is not reciprocal’ foreshadows the end of the story where the narrator turns into a tiger herself.

The Tiger’s Bride task 2 – definitions

•       obsequiousness – obedient or attentive to an excessive degree

•       ostler – someone who is employed to look after the horses of people staying at an inn

•       patina – 1) a green or brown film over oxidized metals, 2) a gloss or sheen over aged wooden furniture 3) an impression or appearance of something

•       preternatural – exceeding what is natural or irregular, existing outside of nature

•       Profligate – recklessly extravagant or wasteful, dissolute

•       settecento – a period of art and literature during the 18^th century

•       shagreen – sharkskin used as a decorative material or abrasive

•       simian simulacra – the imitation of the characteristics of an ape

•       soubrette – a minor female role in a comedy, usually a maidservant

•       spar – a stout pole used for masts, part of the framework of an airplane, to argue with someone in a friendly way, to fight as a form of training

•       spurious - false

•       tantivy – a rapid gallop or ride, a hunting cry

•       tintinnabulation – a ringing or tinkling sound

•       viscera – internal organs

•       assuage – make an unpleasant feeling less intense, to satisfy

•       awry – away from the usual or expected course, amiss

•       axiom – a statement or proposition which is regarded as being true, accepted or self evident

•       capisco (translate) – ‘I understand’

•       ciliate – a single celled animal

•       civet – a ring tailed cat

•       desnuda (translate) – ‘naked’

•       excoriating – damage or remove part of the skin, to criticize someone severely

•       expostulating – express strong disapproval or disagreement

•       eyrie – the large nest of a bird of prey, usually built high up

•       gavotte – a medium paced French dance that was popular in the 18^th century

•       gracile – slender or thin

•       megalomaniac  - a person who has an obsessive desire for power

•       metaphysical – trying to explain the fundamental nature of being

•       minuet – a slow ballroom dance for two in triple time, popular in the 18^th century

•       molto agitato (translate) – ‘very agitated’

•       Nascent – just coming into existence, beginning to display potential    

The Tiger’s Bride task 1 – research

Andrea Mantegna
he was an Italian painter and student of Roman archaeology. He experimented with perspective by lowering the horizon. He was a leading producer of print in Venice before 1500.

 Giulio Romana

He was an Italian painter and architect who was a pupil of Raphael. He helped to create the style of painting known as Mannerism, which deviated from the typical paintings of the high Renaissance.

 Benvenuto Cellini

He was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, draftsman, soldier, musician and writer. He wrote a famous autobiography and an important artist of the Mannerism style

How is the father represented by Carter? What values does he stand for and how far do they contribute to the development of the plot?


Carter represents the father as being somewhat superficial, shown through the way in which he chooses to spend the money he gains with the Beast's help on things such as 'the opera, theatres and a whole new wardrobe for his darling'. This also reinforces how unreliable he is with money, having already been 'ruined' twice in the past.The father is also represented as being of a lower social class than the beast, evident through the description of his 'squirearchal' sheepskin jacket in comparison to the Beast's 'smoking jacket of dull red brocade'. Carter highlights this difference to show that, from a Marxist perspective, the Beast has all the power. This is further enforced through the description of the father as a 'doll', as the beast is controlling him, both physically and through society and social status.The father stands for the typical values of Capitalism, again shown through the fact that he spends his money on typically capitalist things, such as going to the 'theatre', which in the long term are of no real use to him.

Which characters and themes is the father associated with? How is he connected with them?






Beauty's father is associated with the theme of money; both gaining and losing it. From a Marxist perspective he starts of as powerless, having been 'ruined' financially, and over the course of the story gains money, and therefore power, thanks to the Beast. This perspective also criticises capitalism, as the father and Beauty become superficial, and spend their newfound fortune on trivial things; therefore showing that capitalism corrupts people.




In addition to this, Beauty's father can be associated with the theme of patriarchy, most evident through his relationship with Beauty. Carter shows this through his description of her as his 'pet'. The word 'pet' shows that he controls her. This is further shown through the fact that she is doing 'chores' at the start of the story, thereby placing her in a stereotypically feminine role in the household.




Furthermore, the father is also associated with the theme of class. It can be inferred that he is of a fairly wealthy class, despite his lost fortune, due to the fact that he wears a 'sheepskin jacket'. However, he is clearly not of the same social class as the Beast, shown through the way in which the Beast dominates him and orders him around, 'bring her to dinner'. Beauty's father also re-emphasises his own lower status by admiring the Beast's higher status. The word 'comforting' is used to describe the Beast's wealth, therefore showing that the father is 'comforted' by the fact that there is someone of a higher status than him.


Beauty's father represents the stereotypical fairy tale father, usually loving but unreliable and unable to take care of his family. This is shown through the fact that he has been financially 'ruined' twice, emphasising his lack of responsibility when it comes to money. His loving nature is shown through his description of her at the beginning of the story, 'his Beauty, his girl-child, his pet. However this description is still lawed, as it is overly possessive.