Introduction

Carter: The Bloody Chamber

In this course, Dr Helen Stoddart (University of Glasgow) explores Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber, first published in 1979. We begin by thinking about Carter's literary career, focusing in particular on her interest in fairy tales. After that, we consider the first paragraph of 'The Bloody Chamber' and think about how it introduces some of the key themes in the collection as a whole, before moving on in the third and fourth modules to provide close readings of the seventh and third stories in the collection, respectively – 'The Lady in the House of Love' and 'The Tiger's Bride'. In the final module, we think about the nature of the critical debate and controversy that has surrounded The Bloody Chamber since its publication, looking in particular that the work of Patricia Duncker, Margaret Atwood, Lucie Armitt, and Merja Makinen.

Introduction

In this module, we think about Carter's literary career up to her writing of The Bloody Chamber in 1979, focusing in particular on how she engages with the fairy tale as a traditional narrative form.