Angela Carter

Born: May 7th 1940
Died: February 16th 1992 (Lung Cancer)

Well known for The Bloody Chamber - most people think it is feminist or adult interpretations of fairy tales when Angela says the stories are new tales made from the latent content of fairytales - which can be very dark and sexual. (I have a book of fairytales and they are all terrifying - almost definitely meant to scare children)

- She was drawn to "gothic tales, cruel tales, tales of wonder, tales of terror, fabulous narratives that deal directly with the imagery of the unconscious"
- Deals with heterosexual female sexuality - told from a heterosexual female viewpoint. In 1979 this was unusual but has also been criticised for not breaking more boundaries (from what I saw after this means - not being gay enough)
- "The short story is not minimalist, its rococo" - quote from Angela showing that even though sort stories are… well… short they are not empty. They are full of life and imagination and such.
- Concerned with the pentacle of Virginity (though I am not entirely sure what this is)
- Work contains images of "meat, naked flesh, fur, snow, menstruation, mirrors and roses" - Up front sexual themes also backed up by more subtle metaphors.

Since I find themes of female sexuality interesting I am intrigued by Angela Carters work. Although it's been a while since the 70's, the Bloody Chamber still shocks people, is it due to the female sexuality or the fact that it's hard not to associate the tales with the well known fairy tales intended for children?