Rebellion against Patriarchy: The Employment of the Gothic tradition in Angela Carters' selected stories

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to closely analyze Angela Carter's(1940-1992) representations of femininity in selected examples of her writings with the aim of demonstrating her very special approach to the portrayal of women . It  reflects on Carter‟s use of the Gothic and her relation to this literary mode It focuses on the use of the  Gothic characters and themes in Carter's works to explore one of the main issues of the century: the role of women in society and the relationship between the sexes.  It deals with the  literary mode of the Gothic which has not lost its fascination over the centuries .The use of Gothicism  characterizes her as a sophisticated writer, capable of mixing different literary devices to create an original and powerful kind of writing. She uses Gothic as a foil  to reflect upon depiction of feminity . In this paper , I will therefore bring one important  aspect of Carter's writing which has fascinated me most about her works: the female Gothic mode of her writing

Gothic literature has fascinated readers of all ages, men and women alike. Interestingly, the Gothic as a literary mode is as "shadowy and nebulous" as the atmospheres it describes.  For Botting ,"Gothic literature depicts feelings and characters in their extremes, thus alluding strongly to the reader's imagination and his or her emotions"¹