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VINTAGE CLASSICS

ANGELA CARTER

Angela Carter was born in 1940 and read English at Bristol University, before spending two years living in Japan. She lived and worked extensively in the United States and Australia. Her first novel, Shadow Dance, was published in 1965, followed by the Magic Toyshop in 1967, which went on to win the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. She wrote a further four novels, together with three collections of short stories, two works of non-fiction and a volume of collected writings. Carter died in 1992.

BY ANGELA CARTER

Sh ORT S TOR i ES

Fireworks

Black Venus

American Ghosts and Old World Wonders

Burning Your Boats: Collected Short Stories

The Virago Book of Fairy Tales (editor)

The Second Virago Book of Fairy Tales (editor)

Wayward Girls and Wicked Women (editor)

N O v ELS

Shadow Dance

The Magic Toyshop

Several Perceptions

Heroes and Villains

Love

The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman

The Passion of New Eve

Nights at the Circus

Wise Children

N ON -fi CT i ON

The Sadeian Woman: An Exercise in Cultural History

Nothing Sacred: Selected Writings

Expletives Deleted

Shaking a Leg: Collected Writings

D RA m A

Come Unto These Yellow Sands: Four Radio Plays

The Curious Room: Collected Dramatic Works

ANGELA CARTER THE BLOODY CHAMBER AND OTHER STORIES

wi T h AN i NTROD u CT i ON BY Helen Simpson

Vintage Classics is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies

Vintage, Penguin Random House UK, One Embassy Gardens, 8 Viaduct Gardens, London S w11 7 B w

penguin.co.uk/vintage-classics global.penguinrandomhouse.com

The moral right of the author has been asserted

First published in Great Britain by Victor Gollancz Ltd in 1979

This paperback first published in Vintage Classics in 2025

Some of the stories in this collection originally appeared in somewhat different form in the following publications: ‘The Courtship of Mr Lyon’, British Vogue; ‘The Erl-King’ and ‘The Company of Wolves’, Bananas; ‘The Lady of the House of Love’, Iowa Review; ‘The Werewolf’, South-West Arts Review; ‘Wolf-Alice’, Stand; all are reprinted here with the permission of the editors. ‘The Snow Child’ was broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 programme Not Now, I’m Listening ‘Puss-in-Boots’ appeared in an anthology, The Straw and the Gold, edited by Emma Tennant (Pierrot Books, 1979)

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i SBN 9780099588115

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TheBloodyChamber

Introduction

‘Thetaledoesnotlogeverydayexperience,astheshort storydoes,’wroteAngelaCarterintheafterwordto Fireworks,herfirststorycollection,in1974;‘Itinterprets everydayexperiencethroughasystemofimageryderived fromsubterraneanareasbehindeverydayexperience.’She drewasharpdistinctionbetweenwhatshelaterdescribed as‘thosefragmentsofepiphanicexperiencewhicharethe typeofthetwentieth-centurystory’,andthe‘ornate,unnatural’styleandsymbolismofherfavouredform,thetale. Sheknewfromthestartthatshewasdrawnto‘Gothic tales,crueltales,talesofwonder,talesofterror,fabulous narrativesthatdealdirectlywiththeimageryoftheunconscious.’When,inhersecondcollection, TheBloody Chamber,shecontinuedinthisGothicmodebutwithnarrativessuggestedbytraditionalwesternEuropeanfairytales, shefoundthatshehadconjuredupanexoticnewhybrid whichwouldcarryhervoicetoawideraudiencethanit hadreachedbefore.

TheBloodyChamber isoften–wrongly–describedasa groupoftraditionalfairytalesgivenasubversivefeminist twist.Infactthesearenewstories,notretellings.AsCarter madeclear,‘Myintentionwasnotdo“versions”or,asthe Americaneditionofthebooksaid,horribly,“adult”fairy tales,buttoextractthelatentcontentfromthetraditional

storiesandtouseitasthebeginningsofnewstories.’Nor arethey that homogeneous,beingstrikinglydifferentfrom eachotherinlengthandtone.Thetitlestory,forexample, ismorethantwicethelengthofanyoftheotherstories,and morethanthirtytimesthelengthoftheshortest.ItsslowmovingGothicintensityisquitedifferentfromthelibidinous top-speedfarceof‘Puss-in-Boots’,forexample,orfromthe laconicbrutalityof‘TheWerewolf’.Anditisthisverylack ofhomogeneitythatgivesthiscollectionitsimpressive complexity–itusesthephysicalformofthestorycollection toapproachitsthemeobliquely,variously,fromtenstrikinglydifferentangles.

TheBloodyChamber islikeamulti-facetedglittering diamondreflectingandrefractingavarietyofportraitsof desireandsexuality–heterosexualfemalesexuality–which, unusuallyforthetime,1979,aretoldfromaheterosexual femaleviewpoint.Thiswastheyear,remember,thatPenelope Fitzgerald’s Offshore wontheBookerPrize,andPenelope Lively’s TreasuresofTime wontheNationalBookAward. AnitaBrookner’sfirstnovel, AStartinLife,wouldnotappear foranothertwoyears.MargaretThatcher,at53yearsold, hadjustbeenelectedBritain’sfirstfemalePrimeMinister. AngelaCarter,at39,hadsevennovelstohername,noneof whichhadsofarreceivedmorethanmarginalrecognition. Carterwaslatertocomeunderattackfornotbusting moretaboosthanshedid(‘Shecouldneverimagine CinderellainbedwiththeFairyGodmother,’wrotePatricia Duncker,forexample).Butsuchcriticismsseemwideofthe mark.Herworkcausedshockwaveswhenitappeared,and itcontinuestoshock. TheBloodyChamber,whichhasbeen extensivelystudiedinuniversitiesoverthelastdecade,apparentlyelicitsfurioushostilityfromasignificantnumberof students,whoareoutragedwhentheyrecognisethebedtime storiesoftheirchildhoodnewlyconfiguredastalesofsex

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andviolence.ButasCartersaid,‘Iwastaking...thelatent contentofthosetraditionalstoriesandusingthat;andthe latentcontentisviolentlysexual.’Itisalsotruethather imaginationhadafierceandappetitivequality,turbo-fuelled byGothicthemes,particularlyinheryouth.(Later,aftershe hadpublished NightsattheCircus,shewastocomment, ‘Youknow,sometimeswhenIreadmybackpages,I’mquite appalledattheviolenceofmyimagination.BeforeIhada familyandstuff.’)

Shetooktraditionalfairytalesandusedthemtowrite newones.Fairytaleshavebeenusefullydescribedasthe sciencefictionofthepast;certainlyCarterregardedthemin thislight,usingthemasawayofexploringideasofhow thingsmightbedifferent.Sheadmiredmuchsciencefiction withitsutopianperspectivesandspeculativethinking–‘It seemedtome,afterreadingthesewritersalot,thatthey werewritingaboutideas,andthatwasbasicallywhatIwas tryingtodo.’Also,asdissidentwritershavesooftenfound, theindirectionandmetaphoroffantasycanbehelpfulwhen airingcontroversialsubjectmatter;notthatCarterwould havemindedaboutcausingoffence,but,whethersheminded ornot,byusingthetime-sanctionedformoffairytalesshe acquiredreaderswhowouldnototherwisehavereadher. Andshewasusingtheformsoffantasyandfairytaleswith consciousradicalintent;inalettertoherfriendRobert Coover,shewrote,‘Ireallydobelievethatafictionabsolutely self-consciousofitselfasadifferentformofhumanexperiencethanreality(thatis,notalogbookofevents)canhelp totransformrealityitself.’

Allthismakesherwritingsoundover-schematic;butwhile sheusedfantasytodiscussideas,itisalsoobviousthatit wasthelandscapesandimageryoffairytalesandlegends thatfiredherimagination–bloodstainsandravens’feathers onsnow,moonlightonadust-grimedmirror,graveyardson

Walpurgisnacht.Thestoriesin TheBloodyChamber reverberatewithdeepandunmistakableimaginativepleasure. Thereisanastonishingextra-vividmaterialitytothisalternativeworldsheinvented,downtothelastsensuousdetail, likethecandlewhichdropshotwaxontothegirl’sbare shouldersin‘TheTiger’sBride’.Shelovedtodescribethe trappingsofluxury,todisplayrichsceneryinrichlanguage. Dialoguecamelessnaturallytoherandsheavoideditfor years,jokingthattheadvantageofincludinganimalprotagonistsinherworkwasthatshedidnothavetomakethem talk.Naturalismorrealism,the‘lowmimetic’asshecalled it,wasnothermode.Notthatshewasn’tobservant–nothing couldhavebeensharperthanherjournalismwithitsgimlet anthropologicaleye–butintheendhergeniusdidnotactuallylenditselftothe‘lowmimetic’(see‘TheQuiltMaker’, anuncollectedstoryinthismode,whichisinterestingbut possiblyherleastsuccessful).

Carterwasanabstractthinkerwithanintenselyvisual imagination.Whatshelikedabouttheshortstoryformwas (asshewroteintheafterwordto Fireworks)that‘Signand sensecanfusetoanextentimpossibletoachieveamongthe multiplyingambiguitiesofanextendednarrative.’Shefound that‘thoughtheplayofsurfacesneverceasedtofascinate me,Iwasnotsomuchexploringthemasmakingabstractionsfromthem.’Itcomesasnosurprisetofindthatshe particularlyadmiredBaudelaireandthenineteenth-century symbolistpoets,andalsomuchtwentieth-centuryFrench surrealistandstructuralistwriting. TheBloodyChamber is packedwithsigns,symbolsandsignifiers.Ironicallyenough, though,thetwoFrenchmenwhostandastruefairygodfatherstothiscollectionlivedinearliercenturies.

FirstthereisCharlesPerrault,(1628–1703),atranslationof whosecollectionoftraditionalfairystories, HistoiresouContes duTempsPassé,Carterhadpublishedin1977.Shepraisedhis

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‘consummatecraftsmanshipandhisgood-naturedcynicism’in herpreface,addingthat‘Fromtheworkofthishumane,tolerant andkind-heartedFrenchman,childrencanlearnenlightened self-interest...andgainmuchpleasure,besides.’

AndthenthereistheMarquisdeSade(1740–1814). Carter’sreadingofSade,andherdecade-longargumentwith him,colourtwoearliernovels, TheInfernalDesireMachines ofDoctorHoffman (1972)and ThePassionofNewEve (1977),whileherwhite-hotaphoristicaccountofhispornographicwritings, TheSadeianWoman, appearedalongside TheBloodyChamber in1979.‘Ireallycan’tseewhat’swrong withfindingoutaboutwhatthegreatmalefantasiesabout womenare,’shedeclared,reasonablyenough,when The SadeianWoman cameunderattack.Itisadifficult,provocativebookwhosepolemicalprefaceissubtitled‘pornography intheserviceofwomen’–andacontinuingboneof contentionformanycontemporaryreaders.

Oneshiningaperçuwhichemergesfromitspagestospread lightthroughthestoriesof TheBloodyChamber isthat passivityisnotanintrinsicallyvirtuousstate,even–infact, especiallynot–inwomen.‘Justinemarksthestartofakind ofself-regardingfemalemasochism,awomanwithnoplace intheworld,nostatus,thecoreofwhoseresistancehasbeen eatenawaybyself-pity,’wroteCarter,tracingthedescendantsofSade’sheroineJustinedowntoMarilynMonroe. Anotherpassagemighthavebeenwrittenspecificallyasan epigraphfor TheBloodyChamber:

Tobethe object ofdesireistobedefinedinthepassive case.

Toexistinthepassivecaseistodieinthepassivecase –thatis,tobekilled. Thisisthemoralofthefairytaleabouttheperfect woman.

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Thestoriesin TheBloodyChamber arefiredbythe convictionthathumannatureisnotimmutable,thathuman beingsarecapableofchange.Someoftheirmostbrilliant passagesareaccountsofmetamorphoses.Thinkof‘The CourtshipofMrLyon’whichendswithBeasttransformed byBeauty–‘Whenherlipstouchedthemeat-hookclaws, theydrewbackintotheirpadsandshesawhowhehad alwayskepthisfistsclenched,butnow,painfully,tentatively, atlastbegantostretchhisfingers’;orofthestorywith whichitistwinned,‘TheTiger’sBride’,wherethistime BeautyistransformedbyBeast–‘Andeachstrokeofhis tonguerippedoffskinaftersuccessiveskin,alltheskinsof alifeintheworld,andleftbehindanascentpatinaofshining hairs.Myearringsturnedbacktowaterandtrickleddown myshoulders;Ishruggedthedropsoffmybeautifulfur.’ Theheroinesofthesestoriesarestrugglingoutofthestraitjacketsofhistoryandideologyandbiologicalessentialism. ‘There’sastoryin TheBloodyChamber called“TheLady andtheHouseofLove”,’saidCarter,‘partofwhichderives fromamovieversionthatIsawofastorybyDostoyevsky. Andinthemovie...thewoman,whoisaverypassive personandisverymuchindistress,asksherselfthequestion,“Canabirdsingonlythesongitknows,orcanit learnanewsong?”Havewegotthecapacityatallofsinging newsongs?It’sveryimportantthatifwehaven’t,wemight aswellstopnow.’

Theunnamedfirst-personheroineof TheBloody Chamber’stitlestoryappearsatfirsttobeaJustine-likesacrificialvirgininawhitedress,routinelydestinedforimmolation;however,shechangesduringthenarrative,andfinishes byescapingherinheritance–femalemasochismasamodus vivendi(andmorendi)–afterafull-scalesurveyofitstemptations.Thestoryissetinacastleonsea-girtMontStMichel in fin-de-siècle France,withmorethananodtoSade’s

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cannibalMinskiandhislake-surroundedcastlewithits torturechamberandcaptivevirgins.

ThisstoryisalsoaversionoftheBluebeardfairytalewhich appearedinPerrault’scollection,whereanewbrideunlocks theforbiddenroominherhusband’scastletofindthe murderedcorpsesofhisformerwives.Perraultdrewthemoral thatfemalecuriosityleadstoretribution,thoughintheFrance ofhistime,wheredeathinchildbirthwascommonplaceand four-fifthsoftheresultantwidowersremarried,thebloody chambermightsurelyhavebeenseenasthewomb.InCarter’s twentieth-centuryversion,themenaceislocatednotinthe perilsofchildbirth,butinthedarkersideofheterosexuality, insadomasochismandtheideaoffatalpassion.

Aswellasallthis, TheBloodyChamber isatourdeforce initsrecreationoflatenineteenth-centuryFrance.Carter claimedthestoriesinthiscollectioncouldnothaveexisted thewaytheydidwithouttheexampleofIsakDinesen–‘becauseinawaytheyareimitationnineteenth-century stories,likehers’;suchstoriesare(shedescribedelsewhere) ‘highlystructuredartefactswithbeginnings,middles,and endsandaschematiccoherenceofimagery’.Certainlythis isanaccuratedescriptionof TheBloodyChamber’stitle story,which,likeeachofthehighlywroughtstoriesinIsak Dinesen’s SevenGothicTales,readsalmostlikeanovella.

‘Iwantedalush fin-de-siècle décorforthestory,’wrote Carterinalettertoafriend,‘andastylethat...utilises theheighteneddictionofthenovelette,tohalf-seducethe readerintothiswicked,glamorous,fatalworld.’Itwas,she added,‘adeliberate homage toColette.’Itsunnamedseventeen-year-oldheroinewearsaschoolgirl’ssergeskirtand flannelblouse,justliketheeponymousheroineofColette’s Claudinenovels,andthereismorethanalittleofColette’s firsthusband,thatclichéofaroué,MonsieurWilly,inthe unnamedhusbandcharacter.

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NearlyallCarter’swritingisstrikinglyfullofculturaland intertextualreferences–youcouldspendfiveyearsonan annotationof TheBloodyChamber –butthisstoryis extremelyso.Itisanartfullyconstructededificeofsignsand allusionsandclues.TheMarquis,asheiscalled(suggesting, ofcourse,theMarquisdeSade),isaparodicevilaesthete andvoluptuarywithhismonocleandbeard,hisgiftsof marronsglacés andhothouseflowers,andhispenchantfor quotingthejuicierbitsofBaudelaireandSade.Onthewalls ofhiscastlehangpaintingsofdeadwomenbyMoreau,Ensor andGauguin;helistenstoWagner(specificallythe Liebestod –‘love-death’–in TristanundIsolde);hesmokesRomeoy Julietacigars‘fatasababy’sarm’;hislibraryisstockedwith graphicallydescribedsadisticpornographyandhisdungeon chamberwithmutilatedcorpsesanditemisedinstrumentsof torture.

Inthisheavilyperfumedstory,theMarquis’smellofspiced leather, CuirdeRussie,isreferredtomorethanhalfadozen times,revertingattheend‘totheelementsofflayedhide andexcrementofwhichitwascomposed’.Descriptionsof scentedlilies,‘cobra-headed,funereal’,smellingof‘pampered flesh’,appearninetimes,theirfatstemslike‘dismembered arms’.Thewords‘immolation,’‘impalement’,‘martyr’and ‘sacrifice’occur,motif-like,atregularintervalsbut,abruptly –rathertooabruptlyforsomecritics–onthelasttwopages ofthisnovella-lengthstorytheheroine-victimisrescuedfrom decapitationbythesuddenarrivalofherpistol-toting maman,whoputsabulletthroughtheMarquis’head.Her fateisnotimmutableafterall;shediscoversthatherfuture looksquitedifferentnowthatshehasescapedfromtheold storyandislearningtosinganewsong.

Therefollowthreecattales.ThefirsttwoareBeautyand theBeasttransformations,asdescribedearlier.Carterwrites withtremendousrelishwhendescribingskin,fur,fabricand