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Feminism In The Bloody Chamber

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Within the framework of the current post-structuralist agenda as literary criticisms, feminists have observed the "discursive" gender qualities to reflect on notions that concern traditional gender thinking with their cultural, geographical and political constraints.
Since the dawn of the feminist literary criticism, many theoretical bothered to question the peripheral position occupied by women within texts and speeches that make up the literary canon. In the beginning, the criticism focused primarily on the representation of the feminine canonical texts written by women authors. Later, the feminist critique interest shifted to the study of texts written by women authors, in an effort to discover a "new tradition" as literary aesthetics …show more content…

In "The Bloody Chamber", the marriage is the reason why the protagonist leaves her family, her home and plans for the future. At first it is not clear if the heroine acquires experience over time, or whether if she is aware from the beginning of the sacrifices they expected. After marriage, the protagonist defines her new situation as an "exile", recognizing that she suspected it would be her new status as a married woman. Thereby, Carter reverses the message that was transmitted in folktales, as an "alarming prophecy that marriage is an enchantment that will protect against unpleasant realities outside the domestic realm, guaranteeing eternal happiness "(Rowe,p. 220). After their marriage to the mysterious Marquez, the protagonist bitterly reflects: "By marriage, exile; I felt, I knew: I knew that from now on always It would be alone "(p. …show more content…

The end of the story "The Bloody Chamber” is revealing. The perverse Marquis leaves a brand steeped in front of the heroine / victim. She is relieved that her lover cannot see it, "not for fear of his revulsion, and that he sees me clearly from the heart but because the brand reveal my shame "(p. 41). This begs the question: What makes feel ashamed? Is it their own sexuality and complicity with the Marquis? The supposed innocence and female passivity is questioned, compared to the figure of the Marquis, as she confesses that she was not afraid of him, but herself. It appears that although the heroine escapes the Marquis, she can see him reflected in her own sexual

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