The Company of Wolves pg 111

"And then no wolf at all lay in front of the hunter but the bloody trunk of a man, headless, footless, dying, dead."

The syntax of this sentence has a specific effect with the uses of induction and deduction. First the general term of a man, then deducting to the specifics that he is headless and footless, and even further, dying to dead. I think its interesting that we have no idea how the hunter reacted to the realization that he killed a man. I also like how it never specified "handless" because we know that the hunter cut off all the paws. By saying that the man is footless instead of foot and handless, Angela demoted this man to an animalistic state, even in human form. Also the comas in the last part of the sentence give a rushed feel, as if all of this informantion is unbelieveable and quickly trying to make sense to the hunter.This sentence is the turning point in the story, a sort of betrayl, to know that the beasts that harm the village could be a neighbor or felllow friend looking for it's next prey.

"The Werewolf"

"It was a hand, chopped off at the wrist, a hand toughened with work and wrinkled with old age. There was a wedding ring on the third finger and a wart on the index finger." - page 109

Ignoring the fact that the grandmother's wedding ring is on her right hand for some reason, this quote demonstrates the running theme of cruel deception and madness in all three wolf stories. Carter seems to have decided that werewolves can shapeshift (and not have reflections, so she's combining their mythos with vampires) or at least play with their victim's perception of who is attacking whom. When the proxy Little Red Riding Hood attacks the wolf, she really attacks her grandmother, sparing the real werewolf the trouble and traumatizing the poor girl to boot. It's a distinctly evil trick that casts blame on the intended victim themselves and contributes to Carter's image of the heartless werewolf who plays games with his prey instead of killing them quickly. A werewolf who is also a rapist. Clearly, Carter likes corrupting classic folk tales to make them even more R-rated than they were originally.

Company of Wolves Quote

"See! sweet and sound she sleeps in granny's bed, between the paws of the tender wolf."

Uh...this story really confused me, especially the end. But there's something about this line that really stood out to me; I thought it was really significant that the author made this her last line in the story. And here the wolf is described as tender, whereas before he was a monster, something to be feared. I just thought this was really interesting and worth bringing up; however, since I don't fully understand the story and was told to refrain from interpreting it here, I won't think dissect in further on here...but I think it would be a cool thing to bring up in class. Why are we reading these stories? Why Angela Carter, why these pieces? Every time I read something new from her I ask myself these questions. I feel like she's going over my hand a lot of times with her writings, but then I think there must be a reason we're reading these particular stories and not something else. Something to think about.

The Snow Child

I really admired Angela Carter's ability to incorporate rather grotesque subjects into her writing as subtly as she does. The rape scene in The Snow Child caught my attention the most. When I first read over it, I had to back track. In my mind I was thinking: "He didn't just seriously rape a dead body did he???..." Reading over it a second time, I was pretty positive that's what had happened. However, I immensely admire writer's who can put disturbing subjects in their writing, yet can execute it so subtly that the reader's may not even catch it at first. I feel I become more immersed in the work itself this way because I'm not busy cringing at gruesome details. Angela Carter writes with such elegance, even when it involves the raping of a dead body.

[from Tom]

The language in The Bloody Chamber struck me as a bit contrived. I
would constantly become more interested in the wording of the story
than the actual plot. The story itself is creative and thoughtful but
the way in which Carter delivers it feels a little pompous. She is
artful with her language but to the point where I feel as though it
overshadows the story.

"The Bloody Chamber"

This story was engaging and fascinating, but it had so much going on at once. One line that strikes me in particular is, when the narrator says, "I only did what he new I would" (37), Jean-Yves answers, "Like Eve" (38). This brings to mind a theme of overcoming fate, which is especially interesting as, even when her husband is dead, the narrator feels shame and retains her husband's red mark on her forehead. I can't quite tell if she's won or lost, exactly (if you can call it winning or losing). I find the biblical reference curious, though, because it likens the marquis to god. I'm not entirely sure whether this was done to emphasize the husband's power and potential to frighten, to say something about religion, or perhaps both. Other elements of the story don't quite fit into a perversion of the Adam and Eve story, but thinking of the whole story in that light is interesting nonetheless.

cass ford & "the snow child"

A lot of the responses regarding “The Snow Child” are negative, citing its graphic nature as being one of the reasons they found it strange, disturbing, etc. However, I think this is an important story to look at as metaphor. Yes, it sounds a lot like Snow White, but by drawing only this comparison, other interpretations become lost. I read “The Snow Child” as a metaphor for aging, jealousy, and the fleeting and fickle nature of desire. Carter may also be alluding to the role purity and virginity play in a society; “So the girl picks a rose; pricks her finger on the thorn; bleeds; screams; falls.” The imagery is obvious when thought of as a sexual metaphor; the girl’s death after she is pricked is equally important. The story is full of imagery and metaphor; because it is so short, every detail becomes more important to interpret. Nothing was left in this story that shouldn’t be there. This complex story needs more thought and interpretation rather than being dismissed as too grotesque, or too graphic.