Marxism

1) The Overt of 'The Bloody Chamber' is that it is a book of various short stories in the genre of the gothic fairy tale. All the stories are about the relationship between a man and a woman.

The Covert of 'The Bloody Chamber' story is that it is about the class struggle between the middle and upper classes, this is shown through the marriage of the Heroine and the Marquis and can be symbolised he gives her the necklace belonging to his grandmother when she survived the French Revolution, which was the working class uprising against the upper class. In addition Carter could also symbolise the theme of hidden information which could be seen through the constant repetition of a 'mask' used by the man (who symbolises all men) which when it is removed the heroine - and the reader - learn a new piece of information. Furthermore Carter shows the reader, in 'The Bloody Chamber', that we all have access to hidden information as we are given the 'key' but told never to use it, giving us the impression that we have power but not enough to rise against those higher then us (e.g the government). But Carter tells us that we have more power then we realise as she has the narrator use the key, which unlocks the hidden information that ultimately warns her that her life is in peril.

2) Carter has purposefully made the reader aware (if they choose to read in depth her symbolism on society) that she exposes captilism and patriarchy in order to make the reader question what they know about the society they live in and their role in it. A Marxist critique would see how Carter exposes Capitalism. Firstly at the start of 'The Bloody Chamber' the narrator begins her journey on a train, which a Marxist would see it as a symbol for industrial captilism-as it was a quick transportation for workers to get to their jobs quicker. It's relevant to 'The Bloody Chamber' as Capitalism wants us to produce a family, and train the offspring to contribute to society and maintain its order and balance. And lastly, at the end of the book the narrator 'inherited' the Marquis' 'enormous wealth' but instead of keeping it all she gives it 'away to various charities'. Which runs parallel to the core of the Marxist belief- that we completely break free of money.

3) Literary genre of 'The Bloody Chamber' is a postmodern feministic gothic text in the style of fairy tales, Carter uses the Gothic genre as its purpose is to shock and disturb the reader, as Carter does in order to expose the darkest desires in our mind. Furthermore she uses they style of fairy tales, to highlight and exaggerate the capitalist ideals we have grown up with as children.