Decolonization of Feminine Sexuality †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Decolonization of Feminine Sexuality. Answer: Introduction Angela Carter inThe bloody Chamberpoints to the connection between women, wealth and status in a dark irony. A young woman recalls how she gets into a marriage at seventeen only to realize that marriage is not a bed of roses. She leaves her home to live in a castle and she remembers how a wedding changed her life from being a child into being someone elses wife. At a tender age, she feels ready for companionship, trust, andlove. In contemporary world, it is difficult to separate femininity from the love of money, wealth and status(Comley). This is common of many young women who dream of having a wedding and living in a castle (Makinen). The author tries to convince herself and her mother of her capability to withstand marriage and adulthood. The joy of becoming somebodys wife is a popular experience desired by many women. The author was a celebrated novelist and media personality with a keen eye on feminism(The Famous People). The irony in the story highlights happiness and sorrow characterizedby some sense of loss of childhood innocence and material gains from the newfound relationship. She states that in the midst of my bridal triumph, I feltloss as if, when he put the gold band on my finger, I had, in some way, ceased to be her child in becoming his wife(Carter 7). She assured her mother that she was ready to move in with a man as his wife. Besides fears that the mother may have of losing her as she moves away, she was also aware that her daughter was marrying a man so recently bereaved(Carter 11). Most women look forward to the best but remain oblivious of marital challenges such as domestic violence, depression and sudden death of a spouse(Comley). The authors mother is aware that marriage has the good and the bad. She refers to her matrimonial home as the legendary habitation...to which one day, I might bear an heir, our destination, my destiny(Carter 8). At the same time, she seems too nave and ignorant to inquire about her husbands lifestyle when he leaves her on a wedding night stating that he had serious business to attend to. In her little mind, she does not understand what pressing commitments(Carter 18)were. Questions arise as to why she surrenders her innocence to a man she barely knows, choosing a lifestyle that does not connect with her preference. The unexpected ending The authors tone suggests many ideas about death from the onset of the story with lilies appearing as a symbol of purity(Carter 7-10). Unexpected death in marriage comes with challenges and history shows that women suffer accusations of murder and suspicion forthe death of their spouses. Gordon Edmund in New York Times discusses Carters biography pointing out that carter is a feminist and sexist who had different marriages and valued sex(Gordon). While discussing her husband with her mother she mentions the death of some women. A Romanian countess dead just three short months before I met him(Carter 10) she says. She is also aware of the wedding gift given to the many wives and the strange necklace or ruby choker offered by a widow, which seems to carry a bad omen of short-lived marriages. The choker is an imagery of oppression faced by women. She inspects her husbands bedroom to notice many mirrors and nasty pictures yet she pays no keen attention to these unfounded fears. The story represents symbols from the past revealing aspects of the new life of a married woman. It brings out fairy tale stories of what fascinates women(Dunker). Keys, keys, keys. He would trust me with the keys to his officekeys to his safes(Carter 21) she says. She receives restrictions about the key leading tothe private den. The narrators thoughts onthe wedding night and her new home symbolizea connection withan ancestry. She points out that her new home has memories of the departed and she receives gifts from her new husbands past. She meets a housekeeper who recalls something from his fosters mothers and the gigantic matrimonial bed is hereditary. Further symbolism emerges as she refers to her wedding night as one which would be voluptuously deferred until we lay in his great ancestral bed in the sea-girt(Carter 8). Women and Materialism The author supports the idea that women have a materialistic tendency and find themselves craving for the status of a queen(Dunker). Carter receives a number of presents that make her feel like a queen. As she inspects her husbands collection of books with collections as old as the 1748 Adventures of Eulalie at the Harem of the Grand Turk(Carter 17). The man refers to this as one of his prayer books. Based on an ancient story of a fairytale marriage, the narrator suggests that the marriage to a mature older man is admirable because of the wealth that he had. When she calls her mother, she brags of the gold bath taps instead of mentioning the loneliness that she felt(Carter 24). At one point, she comes across photos of her husbands numerous wives and she listens to him bragging, SeeI have acquired a whole harem for myself(Carter 14). The young bridelook away in shyness and pride. In her case, it is even better when the marriage comes with countless and priceless gifts. The idea of mat erialism is clear as the story begins and progresses. This is common with women in their youth today(Comley). She receives fine clothes made from fine linen and she begins life in a home designed for a queen. Her food comprises of exquisite delights and the best wine. The castle has workers to handle all her chores. The Russian leather seats and purple velvet curtains represent royalty and luxury. She gets married at seventeen years of age when she is still a minor and it seems as though the relationship is mutual. She likes it as much as the man enjoys her naivety and she gives her body to her husband. Although this seems enjoyable, she associates his body with lilies that stain(Carter 14). This is a wealthy man with businesses, estates, and a busy life. A life that a modern woman would prefer. He receives a business call on their honeymoon and he has to leave pointing out that the deal is worth several millions(Carter 18). He leaves the new bride lonely with no activities to keep her occupied except to wait for her husbands return. It seems as though her purpose for marriage as a woman is to serve her husband in bed. She surrenders her virginity to the man despite his old age as most women still do today. However, it is unfortunate that though she inherits the castle, she keeps nothing to herself, donates it all to charity, and settles with the piano tuner. Conclusion The story reveals the hidden truths about most marriages representing a faade of happiness. As soon as the man gets what he wants, he shifts his focus. The revelation of the horrors of dead women with one body embalmed, another strangled, a skull and a pool of blood destroys every good memory that the author had of her new husband. She wishes that she could reverse the tide of time and gain her virginity back but it is too late. The limitation in this story is in the exclusion of contemporary issues faced by women in marriage such as domestic violence, rejection, exploitation, rape and unwanted pregnancies. The story might also consider the plight of men and betrayal in marriage as brought out in the unity between Jean Yves, the blind piano tuner and the author. Works Cited Carter, Angela. The Bloody Chamber. Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1979. Print. Comley, N, R. "Henry Adams Feminine Fictions: The Economics of Maternity." American Literary Realism 22.1 (1870-1910): 3-16. Web. Dunker, P. "Re-imagining the fairy tales: Angela Carter's Blood Chambers." Literature and History 10.1 (1984): 3. Gordon, Edmund. "The invenion of Angela Carter." New York Times (2017). web. 23 March 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/books/the-invention-of-angela-carter-biography.html. Makinen, M. "Angela Carter's "The Bloody Chamber" and Decolonization of feminine sexuality." Feminist Fictions (1992): 2-15. Print. The Famous People. Angela Carter. 10 November 2017. Web. 26 March 2018. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/angela-carter-715.php.