...the sequel to which is 'Through the Looking-Glass, and what Alice found there'...just like Alice in Wolf-Alice, ey? With the whole finding-herself-by-looking-in-the-mirror thing. wow. I'm sure you're all very impressed by my linking of Literature there...erm...ok...moving swiftly on...we're meant to be blogging on 'The Company of Wolves' and how it ends and as I wasn't in the lesson when we did it, I'm a bit unsure of what to say but...here goes...as we were taking about last lesson, I found the power-dynamic in the tale quite interesting and as Mr Francis said how 'power is attained by embracing the threat' - In the story we see a further exploration of the idea of humans and 'beasts' sharing the same base desires and animalistic qualities - to the extent that the girl seems to have the power over the wolf on account of her gender and sexual awareness. As we've read throgh the collection, Carter's sequencing of the tales begins to makes more sense, with the texts following each other well, expanding on ideas already touched upon. For example, in The Company of Wolves, the themes of the unconcious affect the moon has on characters and the idea of a the power-roles between gender roles not being as clearly defined as female victim and male predator are touched upon at the end of the story and are followed up and developed in Wolf-Alice.
Wolf-Alice is, like Tiger's Bride, I think, in the sense that it's based around a type of self-discovery. The way being human is defined at the start is interesting and integral to the character of Alice as she develops from Beast to Human - the link that is made between an awareness of time and simply acting on impulse and base desire. It seems to me that one of Carter's purposes in writing Wolf-Alice is to emphasize the ordered nature of human existence - whereas 'beasts' and mythical creatures are seen to be impulsive and unpredictable, they is a sense of order, perhaps set out by society, that means humans are conditioned not to follow their natural instincts without thinking e.g. a wolf will have the urge to attack something and will do it without any thought - but a human is governed somewhat by time, what is deemed acceptable e.t.c. Also, in Wolf-Alice the theme of finding sympathy in the gothic characters is brought out - with the characters presented as being sorry for their uncontrollable actions - there is talk of the Duke 'weeping' for example. There's a great deal of intertextual referencing within Wolf-Alice, also, with the adjective 'inconsolable' being used to describe the Duke at night just as it was used to describe the Lady in The Lady of the House of Love after her killings. Similarly the Duke's 'bloody chamber' is referenced - perhaps a suggestion that everyone has their dark secrets.
It can be interpreted in different ways but I got the impression that Alice wasn't really a wolf at all but saw herself as a wolf (explaining why references to claws e.t.c. were made) and her journey towards discovering her own autonomy and human self, in a way, mirrors the journey all humans go on as a child - trying to understand concepts of time, reflection and changes in one's self. Interestingly, Alice's self-realisation comes at a) the same time as the moon and b) the same time as the blood. As well - at the end, just as The Lady of the House of Love is made immortal after experiencing the care and love of the soldier, the Duke gains humanity having been cared for by Alice. I found it interesting that the Duke and Alice were 'companions' because they were two outsiders - also very different, they were united by their difference to the rest of society - the loneliness of the gothic protagonists, again, coming through.
I think I'll leave it there for now...
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Monday, 3 May 2010
Little Red Riding Hood (again)
I'm pretty angry at the moment because I blogged last night and nasty blooger.com didn't save it so I'm going to try to remember what I wrote. I missed last week's lessons so it's quite possible I'm about to talk a load of nonsense...anyway...
I've read a few different re-tellings and reviews of re-tellings of Little Red Hiding Hood and I get the impression that the modern versions are focused on not going down the cliched innocent-girl-gets-attacked-by-predatory-male-but-good-prevails-over-evils-in-the-end route and, mirroring the trend in modern gothic Literature, are keen to explore the nature and loneliness of the 'beast' rather than making them and out-and-out villain - just as Carter does, most notably in The Tiger's Bride. Although essentially a fairytale, Little Red Riding Hood functions very well within the gothic genre as a lot of writers have picked up in their re-tellings - the gothic setting of the woods, the innocent girl, the predatory male 'beast', the symbolic red riding hood e.t.c. By design, it seems gothic texts subvert the key elements of the fairytale - Many fairy tales are allegory - a sugar-coated story with a harsh, blunt message i.e. 'don't go into the woods on your own, little children' but are distanced enough from the reality and time of the child reading so as not to scare them too much....'once upon a time' as opposed to 'last week...some girl went into the woods...' - the gothic genre des the exact opposite of this and aims to convince the reader that mythical beings can function within the 'real world' in order to scare. It's these opposites that I think make Carter's cross-over between the fairytale and gothic genres so successful. There are links, of course, between Dracula and the wolf in 'Little Red Riding Hood' with regard to the animalistic qualities (and most other gothic 'beasts')...and Red Riding Hoods curiosity and fascination with the wolf mirrors the deadly curiosity of the narrator in The Bloody Chamber. Also - the musical that I've referred to called 'Into the Woods' is, in a way, a re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood (of course taking its name from it) and, like the gothic genre, this take on the story brings the tale into real life and the song when the wolf meets Little Red Riding Hood 'Hello Little Girl' is particularly creepy when it's an old man singing it to a young girl. On that note....I'll be off.
I've read a few different re-tellings and reviews of re-tellings of Little Red Hiding Hood and I get the impression that the modern versions are focused on not going down the cliched innocent-girl-gets-attacked-by-predatory-male-but-good-prevails-over-evils-in-the-end route and, mirroring the trend in modern gothic Literature, are keen to explore the nature and loneliness of the 'beast' rather than making them and out-and-out villain - just as Carter does, most notably in The Tiger's Bride. Although essentially a fairytale, Little Red Riding Hood functions very well within the gothic genre as a lot of writers have picked up in their re-tellings - the gothic setting of the woods, the innocent girl, the predatory male 'beast', the symbolic red riding hood e.t.c. By design, it seems gothic texts subvert the key elements of the fairytale - Many fairy tales are allegory - a sugar-coated story with a harsh, blunt message i.e. 'don't go into the woods on your own, little children' but are distanced enough from the reality and time of the child reading so as not to scare them too much....'once upon a time' as opposed to 'last week...some girl went into the woods...' - the gothic genre des the exact opposite of this and aims to convince the reader that mythical beings can function within the 'real world' in order to scare. It's these opposites that I think make Carter's cross-over between the fairytale and gothic genres so successful. There are links, of course, between Dracula and the wolf in 'Little Red Riding Hood' with regard to the animalistic qualities (and most other gothic 'beasts')...and Red Riding Hoods curiosity and fascination with the wolf mirrors the deadly curiosity of the narrator in The Bloody Chamber. Also - the musical that I've referred to called 'Into the Woods' is, in a way, a re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood (of course taking its name from it) and, like the gothic genre, this take on the story brings the tale into real life and the song when the wolf meets Little Red Riding Hood 'Hello Little Girl' is particularly creepy when it's an old man singing it to a young girl. On that note....I'll be off.
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
The Lady of the House of Love
I'm glad it was pointed out from the offset that this story has links to Sleeping Beauty and Dracula because after the recent revelation of the Snow Child linking to Snow White, I'm starting to realise how hopeless I am at spotting the obvious.
I wish I'd re-read this story again before I'd written the timed essay about how Carter re-invents the gothic traditions as it links in really well with a point I was trying to make about how Carter emphasizes the tragedy of gothic figures (like the 'Lady of the House of Love') in a way that other gothic writers don't tend to do that much e.g. Mina sees the flash of relief on Dracula's face when he is killed but Dracula's loneliness and tragedy isn't really focused on at all - Carter makes the tragedy of some of her gothic figures very apparent...The Lady of the House of Love, for example, is spoken of as being trapped in a 'baleful posthumous existence'. Carter, it seems, is attempting to evoke sympathy in the reader in a way that isn't the norm with regard to the presentation of such characters as vampires - we're never really led to sympathise with Dracula - unlike the Lady of the House of Love, his loneliness and entrapment aren't focused on.
I thought the image of the caged lark was a striking one as the fact that 'she likes to hear it announce that it cannot escape', to me, implies that although she's given up hope of being released from her 'trap', she likes to hear the evidence of the lark's hope...she is silent, however, the lark cries out as if for help...in the hope that it will be set free. You can interpret it in different ways, of course, but that's how I saw it.
Other interesting concepts within The Lady of the House of Love, I thought, were the 'hair falling down like tears' (reinforcing the 'woman of metal' image...simulation of tears) and the links to other stories within the collection and within the gothic genre. Strong links, for example, to Dracula (Vlad the Impaler, Vampires) and also lots of typically gothic features and themes - impurity and 'diseases of imagination' attributed to supernatural creatures and vampires, supernatural vs. religion conflict e.t.c.
I like this story as I think the different aspects and images within it can be interpreted in lots of different ways and lots of things are implied subtly...although there are very overtly gothic ideas (vampire lying in an open coffin), there are other ideas that are more subtle...e.g. the implication behind the Lady 'noticing nothing' of the 'disintegration' that she is unphased by material status and has deeper, more meaningful desires. Also, the description of her that becomes increasingly more animalistic in its language...'fingernails' are referred to then 'claws'. The chandelier 'heavy with dust' also, I thought, could be a metaphor for the Lady's mind or heart...heavy with knowledge, saddness, loneliness e.t.c.
Love the imagery in this story and am really interested in all the symbolism associated with the tarot cards that we spoke about it class.
I wish I'd re-read this story again before I'd written the timed essay about how Carter re-invents the gothic traditions as it links in really well with a point I was trying to make about how Carter emphasizes the tragedy of gothic figures (like the 'Lady of the House of Love') in a way that other gothic writers don't tend to do that much e.g. Mina sees the flash of relief on Dracula's face when he is killed but Dracula's loneliness and tragedy isn't really focused on at all - Carter makes the tragedy of some of her gothic figures very apparent...The Lady of the House of Love, for example, is spoken of as being trapped in a 'baleful posthumous existence'. Carter, it seems, is attempting to evoke sympathy in the reader in a way that isn't the norm with regard to the presentation of such characters as vampires - we're never really led to sympathise with Dracula - unlike the Lady of the House of Love, his loneliness and entrapment aren't focused on.
I thought the image of the caged lark was a striking one as the fact that 'she likes to hear it announce that it cannot escape', to me, implies that although she's given up hope of being released from her 'trap', she likes to hear the evidence of the lark's hope...she is silent, however, the lark cries out as if for help...in the hope that it will be set free. You can interpret it in different ways, of course, but that's how I saw it.
Other interesting concepts within The Lady of the House of Love, I thought, were the 'hair falling down like tears' (reinforcing the 'woman of metal' image...simulation of tears) and the links to other stories within the collection and within the gothic genre. Strong links, for example, to Dracula (Vlad the Impaler, Vampires) and also lots of typically gothic features and themes - impurity and 'diseases of imagination' attributed to supernatural creatures and vampires, supernatural vs. religion conflict e.t.c.
I like this story as I think the different aspects and images within it can be interpreted in lots of different ways and lots of things are implied subtly...although there are very overtly gothic ideas (vampire lying in an open coffin), there are other ideas that are more subtle...e.g. the implication behind the Lady 'noticing nothing' of the 'disintegration' that she is unphased by material status and has deeper, more meaningful desires. Also, the description of her that becomes increasingly more animalistic in its language...'fingernails' are referred to then 'claws'. The chandelier 'heavy with dust' also, I thought, could be a metaphor for the Lady's mind or heart...heavy with knowledge, saddness, loneliness e.t.c.
Love the imagery in this story and am really interested in all the symbolism associated with the tarot cards that we spoke about it class.
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
The Erl King
Last lesson we discussed Rosie King...erm...I mean the Erl King. Darn it. I've started yet another blog post with yet another bad joke. Sorry...again. I'll get on with it now.
Yes, we read the poem 'Der Erlkonig' and spoke about the origins of the Erl-King story and myth. The fact that there is a history to the Erl-King myth is, perhaps, one of the reasons it works well within Carter's collection of stories as the idea of old tales handed down through generations, folklore and myths is key to both the gothic and fairytale genres. The fact that the old stories have been heard before in other forms adds to the mysticism and history...The Erl King seems to be a figure, like Bluebeard, that is synonymous with the gothic genre and is an inspiration for many novels, stories e.t.c...Bluebeard, for example, is referenced both in The Bloody Chamber and in the Phantom of the Opera.
I've finished reading the Phantom of the Opera now and although I'll try not to waffle on about it as it's not one of our texts, it does link quite well with the story of the Erl King. Just as in the Erl King, the open setting of the forest is made to feel claustrophobic and like a trap ('the woods enclose and enclose again', 'you are no longer in the open air; the wood swallows you up'), this is how Raoul and the Persian are tortured in Phantom...the torture chamber is hexagonal in shape with mirrors on the six walls and the image of a forest (and then a desert) are reflected onto the walls - rather than being a physical torture chamber (as the bloody chamber is), the torture is psychological (Raoul and the Persian are driven mad by the 'forest effect' as they are tricked into believing they're in a wide expanse when they're actually trapped...ok, I probably haven't explained it that well but what I'm trying to say is that the torture chamber links in with the other gothic texts we've studied...the fact torture is psychological links with all the other texts, the fact that the open-exapanse-yet-trapped feeling ties in with the Earl King and the mirrors in the torture chamber can be linked to the mirrors in the Marquis' bedroom in 'The Bloody Chamber'...which opens up a new meaning with regard to the Marquis' bedroom...another torture chamber of sorts. Also, in Dracula, Jonathan's description of the winding Transylvanian mountains (the Carpathians?) encorporates description of the landscape and mountains trapping and engulfing. The idea of being trapped psychologically as well as physically seems key to the gothic genre.
We discussed the gothic and fairytale elements of the original Erl-King poem and then analysed the narrative style of Carter's version. We spoke about the interesting switches that take place between 1st, 2nd and 3rd person narrative...with readers being drawn in through use of second person, giving a timeless and fairytale theme to the tale. An interesting point that was addressed during discussion of the poem was the fact that the child and the adult's views on the Earl King myth differed...the imaginative child believed whereas the father did not (initially)...again, as in Dracula, thi is a display of the typically gothic logic vs. mysticism argument and the 'The Erl King' adds a new dimension to this by suggested children are more inclined to accept the unexplained and the mystical than adults. This is, perhaps, why Carter's gothic/fairytale combination works so well as both genres are reliant on the reader's imaginination and suspension of disbelief - something which is addressed in Carter's The Erl King when it is said that the yound girl was 'trapped in her own illusion'...in reading and buying into gothic tales and fairytales, one could argue that the reader is 'trapping themself in their own illusion' by believing in the mystical world...the fear, again, is psychological. It's all the mind.....wooooo. I think I'll leave it there for now...I'm sorry if this blog hasn't made any sense...I've just been thinking as I go.
Yes, we read the poem 'Der Erlkonig' and spoke about the origins of the Erl-King story and myth. The fact that there is a history to the Erl-King myth is, perhaps, one of the reasons it works well within Carter's collection of stories as the idea of old tales handed down through generations, folklore and myths is key to both the gothic and fairytale genres. The fact that the old stories have been heard before in other forms adds to the mysticism and history...The Erl King seems to be a figure, like Bluebeard, that is synonymous with the gothic genre and is an inspiration for many novels, stories e.t.c...Bluebeard, for example, is referenced both in The Bloody Chamber and in the Phantom of the Opera.
I've finished reading the Phantom of the Opera now and although I'll try not to waffle on about it as it's not one of our texts, it does link quite well with the story of the Erl King. Just as in the Erl King, the open setting of the forest is made to feel claustrophobic and like a trap ('the woods enclose and enclose again', 'you are no longer in the open air; the wood swallows you up'), this is how Raoul and the Persian are tortured in Phantom...the torture chamber is hexagonal in shape with mirrors on the six walls and the image of a forest (and then a desert) are reflected onto the walls - rather than being a physical torture chamber (as the bloody chamber is), the torture is psychological (Raoul and the Persian are driven mad by the 'forest effect' as they are tricked into believing they're in a wide expanse when they're actually trapped...ok, I probably haven't explained it that well but what I'm trying to say is that the torture chamber links in with the other gothic texts we've studied...the fact torture is psychological links with all the other texts, the fact that the open-exapanse-yet-trapped feeling ties in with the Earl King and the mirrors in the torture chamber can be linked to the mirrors in the Marquis' bedroom in 'The Bloody Chamber'...which opens up a new meaning with regard to the Marquis' bedroom...another torture chamber of sorts. Also, in Dracula, Jonathan's description of the winding Transylvanian mountains (the Carpathians?) encorporates description of the landscape and mountains trapping and engulfing. The idea of being trapped psychologically as well as physically seems key to the gothic genre.
We discussed the gothic and fairytale elements of the original Erl-King poem and then analysed the narrative style of Carter's version. We spoke about the interesting switches that take place between 1st, 2nd and 3rd person narrative...with readers being drawn in through use of second person, giving a timeless and fairytale theme to the tale. An interesting point that was addressed during discussion of the poem was the fact that the child and the adult's views on the Earl King myth differed...the imaginative child believed whereas the father did not (initially)...again, as in Dracula, thi is a display of the typically gothic logic vs. mysticism argument and the 'The Erl King' adds a new dimension to this by suggested children are more inclined to accept the unexplained and the mystical than adults. This is, perhaps, why Carter's gothic/fairytale combination works so well as both genres are reliant on the reader's imaginination and suspension of disbelief - something which is addressed in Carter's The Erl King when it is said that the yound girl was 'trapped in her own illusion'...in reading and buying into gothic tales and fairytales, one could argue that the reader is 'trapping themself in their own illusion' by believing in the mystical world...the fear, again, is psychological. It's all the mind.....wooooo. I think I'll leave it there for now...I'm sorry if this blog hasn't made any sense...I've just been thinking as I go.
Monday, 29 March 2010
The Snow Child
This is my second blog of the day but I've just been informed we've got to blog on certain things to do with 'The Snow Child'...but as I wasn't in last lesson this will be more of a blag than a blog. Bad, bad joke, I know. I'm ashamed.
Anyway...
What the Woman is Wearing
The Count's wife wears 'the glittering pelts of black foxes', 'high, black shining boots with scarlet heels, and spurrs'...although the 'pelts of black foxes' would be considered glamorous and a show of wealth, it is ultimately a dead animal which, as symbols go, isn't exactly cheery. I've done a bit of research on what foxes, specifically black foxes symbolise and discovered black foxes are apparently synonymous with good luck - although foxes in general (in the West) are synonymous with cunning or slyness - in the East they symbolise longeivity and transformation and in Christianity they're associated with hersey, injustice, greed and lust. The 'scarlet heels' can also be linked to the idea of the scarlet woman - and the fact that the woman might only be wearing the items listed is a bit erm...scarlet woman-esque in itself. Hang on...it also says she's wearing gloves and a diamond brooch.
What Happens to What the Woman is Wearing?
The clothes the Count's wife is wearing fly off and clothe the naked girl (e.g. the pelts) However she drops her own glove and throws her own diamond brooch into the pond...maybe it's because she cares more about getting rid of the girl than she does about her clothes that they decide to fly off?! I don't know.
The Count's Wishes and Inspirations
The Count wishes for a girl as red as blood, black as the raven's feather and white as snow. With the 'white as snow' comes connotations of purity and innocence, whereas the 'red as blood' could be seen to symbolise a loss or corruption of innocence. The raven, too, is seen to symbolise death and combined these symbols seem to imply the Count wants a girl who is innocent but as an underlying darkness so can be corrupted. The attraction of the male figure to innocence seems a key theme within a lot of gothic texts...going back to the whole Madonna/Whore theory - the girl in The Blood Chamber, Mina and Lucy e.t.c. The Count specifies a 'girl' also which implies innocence but also, I think, may contrast with his wife...maybe the 'Midwinter' referred to at the start of the story is a reference to the Count's wife and as in Rossetti's 'Winter: My Secret', the 'Midwinter' could be symbolic of the stage of the woman's life...middle age plus...maybe the Count specifies a 'girl' as he wants a female younger than his wife. When I first read the story, I interpreted 'girl' as the Count wanting a daughter at first...though it soon became apparent that wasn't the case. Or at least I hope it wasn't. Moving swiftly on...yes, I first linked the Count's wife to the 'Midwinter' mentioned as, in a way, unlike the young girl, she is 'invinsible' and 'immaculate'. She's invincible in that she survives (unlike the girl) and, in terms of 'immaculate', one could make links with the idea of immaculate conception...which ties in with the Madonna/Whore concept as well as the idea of the girl as a daughter...maybe that's taking it a bit too far though...
Conclusion
To my mind the 'It bites!' line is an expression of the woman's pain at accepting a 'gift' from her husband, though she knows she's not what he wants. Also the 'It bites!' can be linked to the cold 'Midwinter' and if interpreted in the way I mentioned previously (it being symbolic of the 'Midwinter' of the woman's life), it could mean that the 'Midwinter' of the woman's life 'bites' as it's a harsh, cruel time...her husband's more interesting in strange naked girls that mysteriously appear. The more I think about it though, the more I'm convinced the girl is actually symbolic of a daughter...a daughter that the woman perhaps can't give to the Count as she's reaching the 'Midwinter' of her life?! I'm not sure...although it would make what the Count does to the girl rather worrying. Maybe the whole 'weeping, the Count got of his horse...' bit is about the pain that comes with the loss of a child...maybe not. Oh, I don't know. There are certainly a lot of symbols in there...and they're all rather ambiguous so...who knows what it really means? Angela Carter, presumably.
All in all, it's a rather sinister story and although one of the shortest, has the most points for speculation. Even if the girl isn't a daughter...the whole thing's still a teeeeny bit odd...what with the necrophilia and all...
Anyway...
What the Woman is Wearing
The Count's wife wears 'the glittering pelts of black foxes', 'high, black shining boots with scarlet heels, and spurrs'...although the 'pelts of black foxes' would be considered glamorous and a show of wealth, it is ultimately a dead animal which, as symbols go, isn't exactly cheery. I've done a bit of research on what foxes, specifically black foxes symbolise and discovered black foxes are apparently synonymous with good luck - although foxes in general (in the West) are synonymous with cunning or slyness - in the East they symbolise longeivity and transformation and in Christianity they're associated with hersey, injustice, greed and lust. The 'scarlet heels' can also be linked to the idea of the scarlet woman - and the fact that the woman might only be wearing the items listed is a bit erm...scarlet woman-esque in itself. Hang on...it also says she's wearing gloves and a diamond brooch.
What Happens to What the Woman is Wearing?
The clothes the Count's wife is wearing fly off and clothe the naked girl (e.g. the pelts) However she drops her own glove and throws her own diamond brooch into the pond...maybe it's because she cares more about getting rid of the girl than she does about her clothes that they decide to fly off?! I don't know.
The Count's Wishes and Inspirations
The Count wishes for a girl as red as blood, black as the raven's feather and white as snow. With the 'white as snow' comes connotations of purity and innocence, whereas the 'red as blood' could be seen to symbolise a loss or corruption of innocence. The raven, too, is seen to symbolise death and combined these symbols seem to imply the Count wants a girl who is innocent but as an underlying darkness so can be corrupted. The attraction of the male figure to innocence seems a key theme within a lot of gothic texts...going back to the whole Madonna/Whore theory - the girl in The Blood Chamber, Mina and Lucy e.t.c. The Count specifies a 'girl' also which implies innocence but also, I think, may contrast with his wife...maybe the 'Midwinter' referred to at the start of the story is a reference to the Count's wife and as in Rossetti's 'Winter: My Secret', the 'Midwinter' could be symbolic of the stage of the woman's life...middle age plus...maybe the Count specifies a 'girl' as he wants a female younger than his wife. When I first read the story, I interpreted 'girl' as the Count wanting a daughter at first...though it soon became apparent that wasn't the case. Or at least I hope it wasn't. Moving swiftly on...yes, I first linked the Count's wife to the 'Midwinter' mentioned as, in a way, unlike the young girl, she is 'invinsible' and 'immaculate'. She's invincible in that she survives (unlike the girl) and, in terms of 'immaculate', one could make links with the idea of immaculate conception...which ties in with the Madonna/Whore concept as well as the idea of the girl as a daughter...maybe that's taking it a bit too far though...
Conclusion
To my mind the 'It bites!' line is an expression of the woman's pain at accepting a 'gift' from her husband, though she knows she's not what he wants. Also the 'It bites!' can be linked to the cold 'Midwinter' and if interpreted in the way I mentioned previously (it being symbolic of the 'Midwinter' of the woman's life), it could mean that the 'Midwinter' of the woman's life 'bites' as it's a harsh, cruel time...her husband's more interesting in strange naked girls that mysteriously appear. The more I think about it though, the more I'm convinced the girl is actually symbolic of a daughter...a daughter that the woman perhaps can't give to the Count as she's reaching the 'Midwinter' of her life?! I'm not sure...although it would make what the Count does to the girl rather worrying. Maybe the whole 'weeping, the Count got of his horse...' bit is about the pain that comes with the loss of a child...maybe not. Oh, I don't know. There are certainly a lot of symbols in there...and they're all rather ambiguous so...who knows what it really means? Angela Carter, presumably.
All in all, it's a rather sinister story and although one of the shortest, has the most points for speculation. Even if the girl isn't a daughter...the whole thing's still a teeeeny bit odd...what with the necrophilia and all...
'Puss in Boots', 'The Phantom of the Opera' and 'The Woman in White'
I missed one of our 'Puss in Boots' lessons but I'm just going to blog about my initial thoughts...we discussed how the characters in 'Puss in Boots' correlate with the Italian Theatre characters we'd researched...it seems that Figaro was the 'Harlequin' of the piece...poor and hungry (he scrounges for food 'I'd pilfer the market for breakfast') yet proud ('impeccable hygenic integrity'), he uses the fact he is dismissed by others (the fact that he's a cat) to outwit...(helps his Master to woo his 'love'). I think the charcater of Figaro is a very interesting one as in some ways he is an archetypal fairytale character (a cat...that talks) but in other ways dismisses the fairytale nonsense (almost mocks his Master for his romantic endevours, calling him a 'lovelorn loon'). I also thought that, if Figaro is the 'Harlequin', Tabby might be 'Columbina'...Harlequin's 'companion' who helps him in his tasks and has more character and 'pepper' than the other lovers (Figaro's master's lover). Also, there's Signor Pantelone 'the old man was a fool and a miser' (Pantaloon) and in true fairytale style '[the] hag turns out to be the biggest snag'.
I've also been trying to get a bit more clued up on gothic texts and conventions and have been reading Gaston Leroux's 'The Phantom of the Opera' and Wilkie Collins' 'The Woman in White' - just as we were talking about the set characters in Italian theatre (and in fairytales, to an extent), it seems there are certain characters that most gothic texts have...the 'monster' male who is attracted by beauty and innocence (Dracula, The Marquis, The Phantom, Percival Glyde), a 'beauty' (Beauty, Mina, Lucy, Christine Daae, Anne), the beauty's dying or vulnerable guardian (In 'Phantom', Christine's adopted mother is on her deathbed, in 'Dracula', Lucy's mother is dying, in 'The Woman in White', Laura Fairlie's uncle is old and frail, in 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon', Beauty's father is quite weak...characters in the gothic tales seem to act in certain ways and do certain things for the sake of the old/dying relatives e.g. no-one tells Lucy's mother about the danger Lucy's in, Beauty stays with the Beast for the sake of her father...emphasizes the 'goodness' of the characters and heightens drama...imminent death!) and there's (sometimes) the antithesis of the 'monster male' in a male version of the 'Beauty'...(Raoul, the Piano Tuner, Walter) - occasionally, the male version of the 'Beauty', however, is found within the monster...as in The Courtship of Mr Lyon.
In addition, thinking about the different gothic texts, I found that the love/hate conflict that we discussed with regard to 'The Bloody Chamber' (curiosity/disgust, sex/death e.t.c.) runs through the entire gothic genre and The Phantom of the Opera sort of embodies this...The Phantom is obsessed with Christine - one of the reasons being that in terms of physical appearance, she's the exact opposite of him...but alongside the obsessive love for and admiration of Christine's beauty and innocence runs a hatred and deep-seated envy...If he can't have Christine, he'd rather her die or have all she cares about destroyed than she be someone else's...there's a fine line between love and hate in The Phantom of the Opera and in many gothic texts...to quote the musical (here I go again...) of The Phantom of the Opera 'Fear can turn to love, you'll learn to see, to find, the man behind the monster - this repulsive carcass who seems a beast but secretly dreams of beauty'). The other conflicts we've discussed in class that I've found to feature in The Phantom and The Woman in White are...the asleep/awake conflict (in The Woman in White, Count Fosco and Percival Glyde cover up the fact they've imprisoned Laura in an asylum by saying she fell to her death while sleepwalking...similar to Lucy in Dracula....also, in Phantom, Christine hears the voice of the 'Angel of Music' in her sleep) - there's also the dead/alive conflict (is the Phantom dead or alive? He is known as the 'Opera Ghost'...similarly, Anne in WiW is mistaken for a ghost)...maddness (Both Laura and Anne are imprisoned in asylums in WiW and those who can hear the voice of the Phantom are considered mad initially).
That's all for now...
I've also been trying to get a bit more clued up on gothic texts and conventions and have been reading Gaston Leroux's 'The Phantom of the Opera' and Wilkie Collins' 'The Woman in White' - just as we were talking about the set characters in Italian theatre (and in fairytales, to an extent), it seems there are certain characters that most gothic texts have...the 'monster' male who is attracted by beauty and innocence (Dracula, The Marquis, The Phantom, Percival Glyde), a 'beauty' (Beauty, Mina, Lucy, Christine Daae, Anne), the beauty's dying or vulnerable guardian (In 'Phantom', Christine's adopted mother is on her deathbed, in 'Dracula', Lucy's mother is dying, in 'The Woman in White', Laura Fairlie's uncle is old and frail, in 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon', Beauty's father is quite weak...characters in the gothic tales seem to act in certain ways and do certain things for the sake of the old/dying relatives e.g. no-one tells Lucy's mother about the danger Lucy's in, Beauty stays with the Beast for the sake of her father...emphasizes the 'goodness' of the characters and heightens drama...imminent death!) and there's (sometimes) the antithesis of the 'monster male' in a male version of the 'Beauty'...(Raoul, the Piano Tuner, Walter) - occasionally, the male version of the 'Beauty', however, is found within the monster...as in The Courtship of Mr Lyon.
In addition, thinking about the different gothic texts, I found that the love/hate conflict that we discussed with regard to 'The Bloody Chamber' (curiosity/disgust, sex/death e.t.c.) runs through the entire gothic genre and The Phantom of the Opera sort of embodies this...The Phantom is obsessed with Christine - one of the reasons being that in terms of physical appearance, she's the exact opposite of him...but alongside the obsessive love for and admiration of Christine's beauty and innocence runs a hatred and deep-seated envy...If he can't have Christine, he'd rather her die or have all she cares about destroyed than she be someone else's...there's a fine line between love and hate in The Phantom of the Opera and in many gothic texts...to quote the musical (here I go again...) of The Phantom of the Opera 'Fear can turn to love, you'll learn to see, to find, the man behind the monster - this repulsive carcass who seems a beast but secretly dreams of beauty'). The other conflicts we've discussed in class that I've found to feature in The Phantom and The Woman in White are...the asleep/awake conflict (in The Woman in White, Count Fosco and Percival Glyde cover up the fact they've imprisoned Laura in an asylum by saying she fell to her death while sleepwalking...similar to Lucy in Dracula....also, in Phantom, Christine hears the voice of the 'Angel of Music' in her sleep) - there's also the dead/alive conflict (is the Phantom dead or alive? He is known as the 'Opera Ghost'...similarly, Anne in WiW is mistaken for a ghost)...maddness (Both Laura and Anne are imprisoned in asylums in WiW and those who can hear the voice of the Phantom are considered mad initially).
That's all for now...
Monday, 22 March 2010
Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!
Ok...so there have only been lions and tigers up to now but I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to quote the Wizard of Oz. Since I last blogged, we've read both 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon' and 'The Tiger's Bride' - I missed the first lesson in which we discussed and read the latter but I'm going to use everyone's Wunderbar (That's wunderbar with a capital 'W' Emma!!! Satisfied?! Hmmmm?!) blogs to catch up. Anyway...I'll start with 'The Tiger's Bride' as that's relatively fresh in my mind...Mr Francis asked us to ponder why Carter made the decision at the end of the story to revert the idea of the beauty/beast transformation and I think this decision could be rooted in Carter's feminist agenda (or at least her aim to promote gender equality) - rather than the story being about the 'beauty' (woman) learning to love the 'beast' (man), I felt that The Tiger's Bride was concerned with the 'beauty' learning to accept and perhaps love the 'beast' inside herself - in other words, learning from the Beast (who literally takes off his mask), to metaphorically take off her own mask and face up to her real self, regardless of how horrific or gruesome it may be. I got the impression that, rather than 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon', The Tiger's Bride was about self-discovery and acceptance rather than a story in which someone changes in order to 'match-up' with someone else. To this end, even though we spoke of how 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon' is a fairly straight-forward fairytale, it could be argued that 'The Tiger's Bride' with all its strange concepts and symbols has a more positive end message. The fact that, as a class, we came to the conclusion that 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon' was a quite traditional fairystory with a narrative and message not dissimilar to others we'd heard in the past, I think, says quite a lot about the fairytale genre and Carter's purpose in retelling the 'Beauty and the Beast' tale twice. As is the nature of the gothic genre, it seems to me as if Carter could be trying to present something to us that we are certain and sure of (the 'traditional' fairytale of 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon') before showing us how that concept is somehow odd or wrong, leaving us to question and feel less secure about it. At first reading, I imagine most people expected the 'Beast' to turn into a 'Beauty' at the end of 'The Tiger's Bride'...but why? This is, I think, what Carter is trying to get us to think about by placing the two re-tellings/re-workings together - why do the fairytales we have all grown up with teach that 'Beasts' should change in order to be with 'Beauties'? In 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon', the Lion changing back into human form is seen almost as a reward to Beauty for seeing the good within him while he was a Beast, whereas, in 'The Tiger's Bride', it is as if the woman changes into a 'Beast', not for the Beast, but for herself. It is implied that the Beast in 'Mr Lyon' is trapped in a world of magic in which he doesn't belong - a man trapped within a Lion, whereas, in 'Tiger's Bride' there are no hints towards there being a 'Beast' behind the Beauty until the very end.
I'm sorry I've just got one jumbo paragraph but the main point I'm trying to make is that maybe Carter placed the two re-tellings together in order to lead the reader to question the expectations of and morals within 'traditional' fairytales - getting us to question, as the gothic genre often does, which morals are the most positive. Just a thought.
I'm sorry I've just got one jumbo paragraph but the main point I'm trying to make is that maybe Carter placed the two re-tellings together in order to lead the reader to question the expectations of and morals within 'traditional' fairytales - getting us to question, as the gothic genre often does, which morals are the most positive. Just a thought.
Monday, 8 March 2010
Finishing 'The Bloody Chamber'
Just a quick blog post today as I don't have that much to report. Last lesson, we finished reading 'The Bloody Chamber' (the story, not the entire text) and began questioning Carter's purpose in writing such a story - or rather retelling such a story. We discussed the protagonist's 'shame' as spoken of in the last line and wondered whether this shame was on account of her having allowed what happened to happen for so long or because she almost went along with the Marquis' rituals or because she wasn't strong like her mother. Interestingly, it seems the supposed 'role model' in the moral story is the mother who, unlike in the majority of fairytales, is the saviour as opposed to the 'wicked' character. It seems Carter is presenting the mother in The Bloody Chamber as the feminist figure, left to fend for herself and bring up her daughter alone, while the protagonist represents the 'normal girl' who learns from experience to adopt more feminist principles. The story isn't left on an entirely positive note as the last thing mentioned is the shame and the stain. The stain seems representative of the shame and the narrator's desire to hide the stain seems to reflect the need in human nature to create a facade to block out the bag things. Just as the bloody chamber is spoken of being 'sealed', it seems the bad things are hidden and are lurking but are, however, not destroyed. It's almost as if saying that, like the narrator, women have put up with male dominance for too long - it's important to note that Carter doesn't criticise men completely as the Piano Tuner is seen at the end of the story to be setting up home with the narrator - as was commented on in the lesson, however, the piano tuner is very boyish and almost feminine and submissive to the extent that the narrator can dominate him - to start off with, he literally does work for her. As explored in my piano tuner essay he does have some very positive qualities and influences on the narrator.
The fairytale-esque jump in terms of time scheme at the end of the story allows for the moral of the text to be brought in - with a nice fairytale-like rounding off of the 'happily ever after' (as mentioned previously, it's not so happy though!) The fairytale-esque jump also reminds readers of the fairytale nature and encourages readers to embrace the exaggerated nature of the story and the events rather than taking them too seriously or literally. We spoke also in the lesson about which bits of the story were people's favourites and least favourite moments. The least favourite moments seemed to be the moments in which suspension of disbelief was key - for example, the 'maternal telepathy' being the reason behind the mother's visit - prepared for a fight, shotgun in hand. Some elements of the story are somewhat far-fetched and ridiculous but, embracing the fairytale nature, one can respect the fact that it's rooted in human nature and real life but is exaggerated, as is the norm in the telling of fairytales, for entertainment purposes.
Also - here's a YouTube link to a kind of whizz-through-version of 'Into the Woods', the Sondheim musical centred around fairytales I referred to in my last post...note the wishes at the start...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsFx5835Qrg
The fairytale-esque jump in terms of time scheme at the end of the story allows for the moral of the text to be brought in - with a nice fairytale-like rounding off of the 'happily ever after' (as mentioned previously, it's not so happy though!) The fairytale-esque jump also reminds readers of the fairytale nature and encourages readers to embrace the exaggerated nature of the story and the events rather than taking them too seriously or literally. We spoke also in the lesson about which bits of the story were people's favourites and least favourite moments. The least favourite moments seemed to be the moments in which suspension of disbelief was key - for example, the 'maternal telepathy' being the reason behind the mother's visit - prepared for a fight, shotgun in hand. Some elements of the story are somewhat far-fetched and ridiculous but, embracing the fairytale nature, one can respect the fact that it's rooted in human nature and real life but is exaggerated, as is the norm in the telling of fairytales, for entertainment purposes.
Also - here's a YouTube link to a kind of whizz-through-version of 'Into the Woods', the Sondheim musical centred around fairytales I referred to in my last post...note the wishes at the start...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsFx5835Qrg
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
The Bloody Chamber
I haven't been blogging as much as I usually do lately as I've been using the pieces of work we've been set e.g. essays and posters as my thought-processing time instead - so...I'm just going to blog about what we've been studying over the last few lessons in order to track our progress in terms of our study of 'The Bloody Chamber'.
Continuing on from the themes of gender and the genre of gothic tales and fairytales I spoke of in my last blog, we've been looking at The Bloody Chamber with regard to its context and how it fulfils our expectations of a fairytale/gothic story. The more we look into Carter's work, the more I understand how clever it is - how cleverly the fairytale/gothic genres are merged in order to give a comment on society.
Over the past few lessons we've looked into the roles of the males in the text - how the piano tuner contrasts with the Marquis. As we wrote essays on this, I won't go into too much detail but the main things I got from this were...how Carter splits her characters between being 'real people' and 'mystical creations' - almost the same as with Dracula...'normal' people thrown into the midst of a mythical creature - in The Bloody Chamber, we spoke about how the narrator might be representative of the 'normal woman' trapped in a fairytale/gothic world. Continuing on with this idea - there are elements of the human and the mythical/gothic/symbolic within each character, I find...with the narrator's dicovery of the 'bloody chamber' signifying the discovery of the mythical, over-the-top fairytale-esque side to her husband.
Linking in with this, we wrote essays on what, in our opinion, the bloody chamber symbolises. In my essay, I spoke about different interpretations but, the main thing I got from the exercise was a greater understanding of the text's feminist themes - 'the bloody chamber' as a symbol, for example, can be interpreted as a reference to the confinement of marriage and the death of a woman when she becomes a wife. As I said before, I won't go into detail about other theories I spoke of as I addressed them in my essay but, again, exploring the symbolism within the text makes me appreciate the intelligence behind it more and more. The metaphors and symbolism withinn the piece are somewhat expected - as figurative language and exaggeration through meatphor is a key trait of fairytales.
When we researched into fairytales and the themes associated with them, I discovered a darkness and harsh reality common to them all. In almost all fairytales, there is an element of fear, moral heart and a comment on human nature. The 'wants', 'needs' and 'dreams' of many fairytale characters that lead them most of the time to danger link in with gothic themes and ideas quite naturally. In researching 'symbolists' (I researched Munch), the subject of supressed desire and dark desire were addressed once again (as seen Dracula with his need to drink blood) - One of Munch's paintings in particular, I thought, spoke volumes and linked remarkably well to 'the bloody chamber' and the themes at the heart of it...one of his paintings, 'Love and Pain' (I'll try to attach a picture) links with the close relationship between love and hate as addressed in The Bloody Chamber and Dracula...the painting, often mistakenly referred to as 'The Vampire' shows a man and woman with an intentionally ambiguous relationship - it is unknown as to whether the picture shows an embrace, a bite or an attack. In many ways Munch's work (particularly 'Love and Pain' as it links so well to the story of Dracula and the implied goings on in 'the bloody chamber') epitomises the gothic themes and dark-fairytale themes of hidden 'wants' and 'desires' - the beast within people - the hidden brutality and darkness. I'm really enjoying seeing how the fairytale and gothic genres overlap and link so well.
We've gone on to talk about 'strong women' also which relates to the more overtly feminist messages...for example, the role of the mother as opposed to the more subtle, metaphorical nods to the theories. I can't quite work out whether 'The Bloody Chamber' works so well because it is the polar opposite of a fairytale (e.g. threat of motherhood reverted so mother is saviour - piano tuner is passive') or whether it works so well because it embraces the harsh realities explored through both the gothic genre and fairytales through expert merging of life and mystical elements - exaggerated version of life.
Just a final point as well...when we were told to research fairytales at the start of our study of the text, my mind instantly jumped to the Stephen Sondheim musical 'Into The Woods' - if anyone's interested, the musical links many fairytale stories and characters by keeping the 'needs' and 'wants' I spoke of earlier at the heart of the story - the musical encompasses all the typical traits of fairytales - emphasizing the idea that acting on great 'wants' and 'hidden desires' often leads to trouble as people will do anything, go into the darkness and 'Into the Woods' in order to find happiness. Essentially, everyone (and fairytale characters) are looking to find happiness...but sometimes, as fairytales tell, in the quest for happiness, if you're willing to do anything - you'll probably end up a) turning into a monster b) getting a stake through the heart/being shot by a crazy 'strong woman' mother/having your body ripped apart by devils. Cheery or what?!
Continuing on from the themes of gender and the genre of gothic tales and fairytales I spoke of in my last blog, we've been looking at The Bloody Chamber with regard to its context and how it fulfils our expectations of a fairytale/gothic story. The more we look into Carter's work, the more I understand how clever it is - how cleverly the fairytale/gothic genres are merged in order to give a comment on society.
Over the past few lessons we've looked into the roles of the males in the text - how the piano tuner contrasts with the Marquis. As we wrote essays on this, I won't go into too much detail but the main things I got from this were...how Carter splits her characters between being 'real people' and 'mystical creations' - almost the same as with Dracula...'normal' people thrown into the midst of a mythical creature - in The Bloody Chamber, we spoke about how the narrator might be representative of the 'normal woman' trapped in a fairytale/gothic world. Continuing on with this idea - there are elements of the human and the mythical/gothic/symbolic within each character, I find...with the narrator's dicovery of the 'bloody chamber' signifying the discovery of the mythical, over-the-top fairytale-esque side to her husband.
Linking in with this, we wrote essays on what, in our opinion, the bloody chamber symbolises. In my essay, I spoke about different interpretations but, the main thing I got from the exercise was a greater understanding of the text's feminist themes - 'the bloody chamber' as a symbol, for example, can be interpreted as a reference to the confinement of marriage and the death of a woman when she becomes a wife. As I said before, I won't go into detail about other theories I spoke of as I addressed them in my essay but, again, exploring the symbolism within the text makes me appreciate the intelligence behind it more and more. The metaphors and symbolism withinn the piece are somewhat expected - as figurative language and exaggeration through meatphor is a key trait of fairytales.
When we researched into fairytales and the themes associated with them, I discovered a darkness and harsh reality common to them all. In almost all fairytales, there is an element of fear, moral heart and a comment on human nature. The 'wants', 'needs' and 'dreams' of many fairytale characters that lead them most of the time to danger link in with gothic themes and ideas quite naturally. In researching 'symbolists' (I researched Munch), the subject of supressed desire and dark desire were addressed once again (as seen Dracula with his need to drink blood) - One of Munch's paintings in particular, I thought, spoke volumes and linked remarkably well to 'the bloody chamber' and the themes at the heart of it...one of his paintings, 'Love and Pain' (I'll try to attach a picture) links with the close relationship between love and hate as addressed in The Bloody Chamber and Dracula...the painting, often mistakenly referred to as 'The Vampire' shows a man and woman with an intentionally ambiguous relationship - it is unknown as to whether the picture shows an embrace, a bite or an attack. In many ways Munch's work (particularly 'Love and Pain' as it links so well to the story of Dracula and the implied goings on in 'the bloody chamber') epitomises the gothic themes and dark-fairytale themes of hidden 'wants' and 'desires' - the beast within people - the hidden brutality and darkness. I'm really enjoying seeing how the fairytale and gothic genres overlap and link so well.
We've gone on to talk about 'strong women' also which relates to the more overtly feminist messages...for example, the role of the mother as opposed to the more subtle, metaphorical nods to the theories. I can't quite work out whether 'The Bloody Chamber' works so well because it is the polar opposite of a fairytale (e.g. threat of motherhood reverted so mother is saviour - piano tuner is passive') or whether it works so well because it embraces the harsh realities explored through both the gothic genre and fairytales through expert merging of life and mystical elements - exaggerated version of life.
Just a final point as well...when we were told to research fairytales at the start of our study of the text, my mind instantly jumped to the Stephen Sondheim musical 'Into The Woods' - if anyone's interested, the musical links many fairytale stories and characters by keeping the 'needs' and 'wants' I spoke of earlier at the heart of the story - the musical encompasses all the typical traits of fairytales - emphasizing the idea that acting on great 'wants' and 'hidden desires' often leads to trouble as people will do anything, go into the darkness and 'Into the Woods' in order to find happiness. Essentially, everyone (and fairytale characters) are looking to find happiness...but sometimes, as fairytales tell, in the quest for happiness, if you're willing to do anything - you'll probably end up a) turning into a monster b) getting a stake through the heart/being shot by a crazy 'strong woman' mother/having your body ripped apart by devils. Cheery or what?!
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
'Dracula' Essay Plans & Intro to 'The Bloody Chamber'
The last couple of lessons have been spent creating detailed Dracula essay plans as a class - the essays planned spanned a range of themes, meaning we got a flavour of the range of topics we could be asked about in the exam. Sharing ideas, finding quotes and discussing how we'd approach questions as a class has been really helpful and I now feel more prepared with regard to the exam. Studying the text and then moving on to essay planning is my preferred way of working - when we were studying Faustus and did essay plans and practises as we went along, I got a bit confused. Feel more confident with 'Dracula' as we got an overview of the text before we started to structure our knowledge around what the exam asks for.
Last lesson, as an introduction to 'The Bloody Chamber' we started to look at gender expectations. As discussed, in today's society, we've been trained to be politically correct and, when thinking of gender expectations, it was quite difficult to gather ideas as we've had ideas of equality drummed into us. Acknowledging this, we spoke about how, unlike today's society in which we are keen to promote equality and hesitant when it comes to discussing stereotypes, in the 1950s gender roles were very specific and very restricting.
Last lesson, as an introduction to 'The Bloody Chamber' we started to look at gender expectations. As discussed, in today's society, we've been trained to be politically correct and, when thinking of gender expectations, it was quite difficult to gather ideas as we've had ideas of equality drummed into us. Acknowledging this, we spoke about how, unlike today's society in which we are keen to promote equality and hesitant when it comes to discussing stereotypes, in the 1950s gender roles were very specific and very restricting.
Monday, 18 January 2010
Reader-Writer Relationship and Key Themes
Very short blog post today because I still haven't finished the sleep mind-map and, following the re-take, anything Literature related makes me want to gouge my eyes out with a blunt instrument for failing again...anyway...last lesson we discussed reader-writer relationship, how that is built up and how different texts and form of writing e.g. newspaper extracts, diary entries are use to bridge the gaps between author-character-reader (while enhancing key gothic themes of real/not real...verisimilitude). We discussed how everything appears real, with fact merging with fiction and how, through use of different writing styles (letter, diary, newpaper) meant that readers weren't trapped in the same plot - through them we are given different perspectives and accounts and different writing styles come to characterise...characters. As well as this, we discussed the impact of the epistolary form in terms of the juxtaposition of tones, the sequencing which evokes mystery and the feeling of authenticity that you get from it. I also thought that, in structuring the novel in such a way, the writer allows the reader to connect and engage with the characters and story in that, when they all get together and piece together the evidence (following Lucy's death) they essentially put together and read what we read as the novel...because it's not written as a novel and written as, supposedly, the characters would read it, it does make you question the real/not-real ideas. Mr Francis also brought up the idea of the anti-Bible structure...which ties in with the religious themes...and...I think that the reading of letters that, as stated on numerous occasions, are not meant to be read by anyone else means that the theme of infringement of privacy is reflected and enhanced.
Lastly, we discussed ideas regarding the changing role and presentation of blood throughout the novel with regard to it first being described as a trickle, then a smear, then a spurt, then a gush...changing role and 'form' of blood almost reflects the changing shape and form of Dracula.
Lastly, we discussed ideas regarding the changing role and presentation of blood throughout the novel with regard to it first being described as a trickle, then a smear, then a spurt, then a gush...changing role and 'form' of blood almost reflects the changing shape and form of Dracula.
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
'Madness' and 'Sleep' in Dracula
We're mind-mapping 'sleep' in Dracula for next week but just to blog about what we did in lesson...we read about and discussed ideas regarding 'madness' and 'sleep' within Dracula.
Madness
We learnt about mental illness and madness within the context of the Victorian era and how views were changing - it seems during the 19th Century people were gradually beginning to recognise madness as a mental affliction as opposed to a physical one (thanks to developments within the fields of science and psychology) and something that can be cured and helped...in this sense, society was becoming more tolerant of those classed as 'mad', searching for the reasons why and looking for solutions to the problems as opposed to simply imprisoning those branded 'mad' and making sure they're cut off from society...interestingly, those considered to be mad were confined so as to prevent them from causing any harm to the public and society however the things we discussed last lesson got me wondering whether it was society that causes the madness in the first place...external factors as opposed to internal, mental ones...as we talked about, Renfield in many ways has the mind of a sane mad (as we see in Chapter 18 as he speaks with great clarity, perception and objectivity of his own madness) and is, perhaps, deemed mad because he is being controlled and made to do things against social norms because, for some reason, Dracula is his master. Similiarly, reading the article Mr Francis posted a link to about madness in relation to women - some people, especially in Victorian times when there was a very strict social and moral code, people may have been considered mad simply because they failed to comply with social norms - Dracula, for example, follows his natural instinct in drinking blood and is considered 'mad' and a 'supernatural being' because he goes against what is generally accepted as right. Seward can be seen as representing the changes in opinion towards those considered 'mad' as (starting in Chapter 5) we see him attempting to explain why his patients (namely Renfield) have become 'mad'...reflects, to an extent, the Victorian obsession with advancing and improving...strange mix in Victorian socirty between this obsession and the fixation on simply covering things up (but I won't waffle on about facades again...)
Sleep
As I said, I won't go into this in too much detail as we're mind-mapping on the topic for next week. Basically, we discussed the importance of sleep in Dracula...with the themes of asleep/awake, dead/alive a key elements of gothic literature. We discussed and read about how sleep is a time when the mind is more 'lax' and 'unrestricted' and isn't filtered...meaning it goes with instinct as opposed to complying with social codes (no sense of propriety in sleep) which ties in with what I was saying about madness. Is to be mad simply to do things that are socially unusual or unacceptable? We also touched upon ideas regarding sleep as a mystical state, as a dark state (associated with night...and the time of Dracula) and Freud's ideas and theories on sleep being another level of consciousness.
Finally...seeing as Rosie's started a trend of YouTube video links on her blogs...and tying in with the idea of talking to yourself being the first sign of madness (see...it is relevant!), here's the real Count talking to himself, rifling through Jonathan Harker's letters (he says he wrote them himself...yeah right...he's just plain nosey) and calling his bats 'my children'. My personal favourite moment is the Count's joke about the mirror...it's a terrible joke really but terrible enough for it to be funny. Well...I laughed anyway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xunXQPEcoHM&feature=related
Madness
We learnt about mental illness and madness within the context of the Victorian era and how views were changing - it seems during the 19th Century people were gradually beginning to recognise madness as a mental affliction as opposed to a physical one (thanks to developments within the fields of science and psychology) and something that can be cured and helped...in this sense, society was becoming more tolerant of those classed as 'mad', searching for the reasons why and looking for solutions to the problems as opposed to simply imprisoning those branded 'mad' and making sure they're cut off from society...interestingly, those considered to be mad were confined so as to prevent them from causing any harm to the public and society however the things we discussed last lesson got me wondering whether it was society that causes the madness in the first place...external factors as opposed to internal, mental ones...as we talked about, Renfield in many ways has the mind of a sane mad (as we see in Chapter 18 as he speaks with great clarity, perception and objectivity of his own madness) and is, perhaps, deemed mad because he is being controlled and made to do things against social norms because, for some reason, Dracula is his master. Similiarly, reading the article Mr Francis posted a link to about madness in relation to women - some people, especially in Victorian times when there was a very strict social and moral code, people may have been considered mad simply because they failed to comply with social norms - Dracula, for example, follows his natural instinct in drinking blood and is considered 'mad' and a 'supernatural being' because he goes against what is generally accepted as right. Seward can be seen as representing the changes in opinion towards those considered 'mad' as (starting in Chapter 5) we see him attempting to explain why his patients (namely Renfield) have become 'mad'...reflects, to an extent, the Victorian obsession with advancing and improving...strange mix in Victorian socirty between this obsession and the fixation on simply covering things up (but I won't waffle on about facades again...)
Sleep
As I said, I won't go into this in too much detail as we're mind-mapping on the topic for next week. Basically, we discussed the importance of sleep in Dracula...with the themes of asleep/awake, dead/alive a key elements of gothic literature. We discussed and read about how sleep is a time when the mind is more 'lax' and 'unrestricted' and isn't filtered...meaning it goes with instinct as opposed to complying with social codes (no sense of propriety in sleep) which ties in with what I was saying about madness. Is to be mad simply to do things that are socially unusual or unacceptable? We also touched upon ideas regarding sleep as a mystical state, as a dark state (associated with night...and the time of Dracula) and Freud's ideas and theories on sleep being another level of consciousness.
Finally...seeing as Rosie's started a trend of YouTube video links on her blogs...and tying in with the idea of talking to yourself being the first sign of madness (see...it is relevant!), here's the real Count talking to himself, rifling through Jonathan Harker's letters (he says he wrote them himself...yeah right...he's just plain nosey) and calling his bats 'my children'. My personal favourite moment is the Count's joke about the mirror...it's a terrible joke really but terrible enough for it to be funny. Well...I laughed anyway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xunXQPEcoHM&feature=related
Monday, 11 January 2010
Superstitious/Religious Themes in Dracula
We began the lesson by discussing Whitby Abbey and its relevance both to Dracula and to the gothic genre in its entirety (hence the picture of my cousin and I standing next to the Abbey looking scared while visiting Whitby last Summer...the cars in the background enhance the gothic feeling, don't you think?!). There's an element of mystery and intrigue surrounding Whitby Abbey as, in seeing the ruins of the abbey while still being able to appreciate how grand it once was (through structure and architecture), you find yourself drawn to the story behind the disrepair - how and why the abbey ended up in such a bad way. I think this idea of wanting to know stories behind ruins and disasters links with the gothic genre as, essentially, many gothic protagonists, such as Dracula are, in a way, 'ruins' of people. The 'shell' of the Abbey can be seen to reflect Dracula and his emptiness and inhuman nature. Despite being the ruins of an abbey, Whitby Abbey maintains its imposing, typically gothic qualities and it's easy to understand why Stoker was inspired by it - I've blogged about facades within Dracula before and I think Whitby Abbey is a really good image to associate with this idea - it's the facade of the Abbey that remains - although just stone ruins, it maintains a grand appearance and demands attention, like the Count himself. And although appearing grand from the outside (as Dracula does), it can just hold rats and boxes of earth! In a way, it tricks you into it's better and grander than it is when, inside, it's hollow.We then attempted to define religion and superstition and distinguish between the two - while bearing in mind that, in Stoker's day, the two would have been more clearly defined and sepearate than they are in our minds today. One of the ideas that we discussed in relation to superstition was that it was like religion but pushed to excess and born out of fear - this was certainly something that is touched upon in the text, with Jonathan saying in relation to the superstitious people he comes into contact with on his way to Castle Dracula that 'it was all very ridiculous'...however...as he becomes more scared and suspicious of the Count and the goings on in the castle, he starts to buy into the superstitions and finds comfort in the crucifix given to him...'I suppose the general superstition about midnight was increased by recent experiences'. It's also suggested that superstition in some way linked to the idea of being in a foreign place - in England, Jonathan is able to dismiss superstitions and superstitious behaviour as 'ridiculous' and the stuff of imagination as opposed to reality - whereas, when he finds himself in the Carpathians, in a foreign country, he's left unsure as to what to believe and what's true and what's not ('I read that every known superstition in the world is gathered into the Carpathians, as if it were the centre of some sort of imaginative whirlpool') - ties in with the conflict between logic and mysticism (and believing in the 'not possible') that runs throughout the novel. Interestingly, the superstitious inhabitants of Transylvania use religious symbols to fight against the the supposedly negative superstitious things...as Van Helsing does in using the crucifix to ward off Dracula and Seward ends up doing with the wafer and crucifix when he comes face to face with the Count - the battle between logic/mysticism is closely linked to the one of religion/superstition and we see this conflict played out between Van Helsing and Seward's differing opinions...VH spends the novel encouraging Seward that not everything can be explained logically and sometimes you just have to believe and not just dismiss things as silly superstitions and the sign that he learns this lesson is his use of wafer and crucifix as weapons in the first direct fight against Dracula. The science man...with the religious 'weapons'. Without the invest of belief in the 'impossible', the mystical and the fantastical, the technological weapons used against Dracula are nothing - they have to look to the past to fight him (typically gothic idea) - links with the reader's relationship to the novel as, as the characters do in order to fight Dracula, the reader must feel the fear and buy into the mysticism of vampires in order to get the full impact of Stoker's novel.
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