How does Angela Carter's "The Bloody Chamber" rewrite gothic tales according to a feminist agenda?
Carter's intentions for reimagining of the Gothic genre in her 1979 collection of short stories The Bloody Chamber can be more clearly understood when considering her political motives - she was a second-wave feminist attempting to change perceptions of women which she deemed to be stereotypically weak and thus negative. This is clearly addressed in the title story, where the female protagonist is saved by her mother, rather than her brothers (as in the original Bluebeard tale). This 'indomitable mother', who 'shot a man-eating tiger with her own hand' embodies the active women - as opposed to the passive woman - who takes fate into her own hands. Carter is arguing that women need to be more active otherwise they will be at the mercy of predatory men such as the antagonist, the Marquis.
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