disturbing exploration of the unknown

• intro

  • frameworks and schemas of traditional fairy tales used to explore controversial topics
  • old wine and new bottles quote
  • emphasises the contemporary attitudes across traditional texts and how it has evolved over time
• theme of metamorphosis in the werewolf 


  physical - grandma into wolf

  • 'by the wart, she knew it for her grandmother's hand' = promotes a wider message of people are not always who they say they are

  metaphorically - girl having masculine traits

  • 'take your father's knife, you know how to use it' = girl has become tolerant to the dangers by learning how to defend herself - defies traditional female role
  • 'wiped the blade of the knife clean with her apron' = ironic by using a domestic/feminine item (used to represent women's place in kitchen) to clean up a masculine mess
• theme of entrapment in the werewolf

  • 'you have to wait for the woods to let you out' = personified woods hold a restrictive role by preventing movement/freedom
• challenged gender roles in erl king

  • 'excellent housewife' = he is the homemaker rather than her
  • girl takes on masculine role by escaping and saving everyone - compare to werewolf when girl is prepared to defend herself

  - self empowerment of women defies traditional gender roles

  paulina palmer - 'transcending ideologies' through emphasis of self empowerment in women
• disturbing factors of the known - eg. patriarchy and constricting role of men


  company of wolves - first husband coming back and beating wife

  • 'i wish i were a wolf again to teach the whore a lesson' = suggests that violence is an innate first response in men

  - maybe in an attempt to regain control over someone?

  • 'he has a wolf's heart' - supports previous point that violent responses are innate, describing only the heart as violent = it is a priority for men and they keep it as a close value?
• snow child - girl is a victim of objectification, pedophilia, necrophilia

  • 'red as blood etc' - women are products of men's sexual desires
  • 'i wish' - girl is a product of his dream features, fantasy come true

  paulina - 'transcending' with the juxtaposition of men's desires and their reality - evident with the countess and the girl

  • 'thrust his virile member' - necrophilia promotes a disturbing nature of men, represents patriarchy by her whole existence being reserved for pleasure
  • 'melts away' = she isn't needed anymore and represents the 'intended' use of women in a patriarchal society
• theme of infantilisation in bloody chamber

  constant treatment of a child with restrictions within the castle despite it being hers through marriage

  • 'baby musnt play with grown ups' toys' + 'he dangled the keys tantalizingly above my head' = placing the marquis is a position of power where he can control narrator's actions

  - disturbing as marquis treats her like a child but expects her to provide sexually benefitting experiences to him
• prey-predator theme in bloody chamber


  objectification of her

  • 'he approached his familiar treat with a weary appetite' = abnormal relationship - animalistic features