Mind Over Matter: Rationality in “The Lady of the House of Love” Rationality and instinct are inherently at odds. To act on instinct is to ignore rationality, and to be rational is to overcome the instinctual. Angela Carter’s short story “The Lady of the House of Love” tells of a young man’s encounter with a lonely vampire. Carter’s story is an allegory for the triumph of reason over instinct. The Countess is the ruler of the supernatural, “diseases of the imagination” that “torment” the humans in her domain (95). She is the embodiment of superstition and fear, chief facets of human instinct. At the same time, she is imprisoned by her own urges, “loath[ing] the food she eats,” despite the “hunger [that] always overwhelms her” (96). Unable to survive without consuming blood, the Countess is nonetheless “inconsolable” over the violence her body’s needs (96). The Countess struggles with her instincts, and the role they force her to play. She is “indifferent” to her duty as ruler of the supernatural, even “horribl[y] reluctan[t]” (95). After feeding on young men, the Countess’s grief manifests as “the[ir] blood on [her] cheeks … mixed with tears” (96). Her desire to “caress their … cheeks and stroke their … hair” cannot be fulfilled, as long as her “ghastl[y] … condition,” her need …show more content…
When the farmer boys are led to the Countess’s bedroom, “they can scarcely believe their luck,” thinking that sex is in their immediate future (96). What they assume is the Countess’s sexual appetite is really her literal hunger. The notion of hunger is intrinsically tied to sexual desire. However, the rational young officer’s “pentacle of virginity” protects him from fully comprehending the Countess’s hunger (99). He, in his “ignorance” and “unknowingness” of sex, is immune to the allure of the Countess. To him, she is “so thin, so frail,” an almost pitiable thing
...hey lusted after, as it belonged to a Native woman, something that was beneath them and they were not supposed to want. The destruction of the genitalia allows the young men to realign themselves with their society’s views.
Elizabeth Bathory is known by many different names; ‘The Bloody Lady of Čachtice’, ‘The Blood Countess’, ‘Countess Dracula’, and not without reason. In the 16th century this murderess became obsessed with achieving mastery over nature; the countess had forsaken her humanity by drinking the blood of virgins for vitality and bleeding them dry to bathe in it for her skin to be clear of imperfections and signs of aging. Often the vain become delusioned that beauty and youth preserves the body forever, when in fact, life can just as easily be ripped away young than it is when old. With torture and a side of cannibalism, Countess Bathory was not the poster-woman for mental health, but her fear of death was what drove her to go to such extremes. Humans will go to endless lengths to maintain the illusion of mastery over nature and control over life and death. Throughout Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood explores human nature and puts forth that humans are driven by knowledge and fear of their own mortality. She argues that humans seek to play a divine role to control their own fate and in the process, sacrificing morals and ethics to quell that fear.
In Christina Rossetti’s narrative poem” Goblin Market”, two sisters, Laura and Lizzie were enchanted by glorious calls from the goblin that were directed towards young innocent maidens, “Come by come by.” The sisters knew not to take the fruit from the Goblins because they were eerie as to where the fruit came from. However, Laura feel for the tempting calls of the Goblin men. It could be argued that Laura accepted the fruit because of her curiosity in the Goblin men created Laura’s desire to indulge herself into something she has yet to experience. Laura had a yearning for sexual temptation because of the tempting calls from the Goblins.
In this novel, the society is centered around dichotomies; “youth and dotage” (Balzac 67), “the young man who has possessions and the young man that has nothing” and “the young man who thinks and the young man who spends” (87). Any person who falls outside of either box is called a “[child] who learn[s]… too late” or can “never appear in polite society” (87), essentially meaning they are undesirable in a formal society because they cannot follow expectations. The titular character, Paquita, is an “oriental” foreigner, from Havana, domesticated in Paris when she was sold to a wealthy woman who desired her. She fits into no culture entirely, as she is “part Asian houri on her mother’s side, part European through education, and part tropical by birth” (122). She is bisexual, choosing neither men nor women over the other. She is controlling, dressing Henri in women’s clothing (119), but controlled as she is reduced to a possession. However, there are ways in which a person can still be desired even if they are not easily pigeonholed. With her golden eyes and sensuality, Paquita fulfills both of the main pursuits of this society, “gold and pleasure” (68). Consequently, unlike the Marquis and his irrelevance in society, Paquita is highly sought after, thus making her a valuable commodity. Her desirability is not because of who she is as a human, but instead what
In the novel, later, Mme. de Clèves asks for further explanation for the love between a woman and the king with “several other lovers” (1039). This passion forms the “political and social effects” (1039) that change the norms in the court. The court mixes this false “event into its own structure, so that the implausible now becomes the norm for the entire court” (1039). This incident drives to the extent of passions, “political ambitions and social events”, that utilize M. de Clève’s passion. Hence, the power of Duchesse de Valentinois doubles “the power of the monarch” (1039).
This essay explores the blurring of gender roles within Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Angela Carter’s The Lady of the House of Love, focusing on the presentation of a sexually assertive female and its threat to the patriarchal society, and the duality of the female characters as they are presented as enticing and thrilling, but also dangerous and somewhat repulsive.
Angela Carter was a writer in the 1970s during the third wave of feminism that influenced and encouraged personal and social views in her writing. This is demonstrated through her own interpretation of fairy tales in The Bloody Chamber. She combines realism and fantasy to create ‘magic realism’ whilst also challenging conventions of stereotypical gender roles.
During the 17th century, certain poets wrote poems with the specific purpose of persuading a woman to have sexual intercourse with them. Three of these seduction poems utilize several strategies to do this: Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress,” and Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning” and “The Flea.” Some of the reasoning used by both poets is similar to the reasoning used today by men to convince women to have sexual intercourse with them. These gimmicks vary from poem to poem but coincide with modern day rationalization. The tactics used in 17th century seduction poems are relevant and similar to the seduction tactics used in the 21st century.
In the play Romeo and Juliet ,by Shakespeare we are constantly bombarded with different meanings of words, contrasts, and characters who are quite irrational. They wish things upon themselves, and when they happen, are astonished. This piece of literature is filled with situations where the character intends one thing to happen, but his results are completely different. Throughout the following paragraphs the reader is to decide if the examples shown display opposite results from the original plan.
While examining nineteenth-century female monster, Susanne Beacker reveals that she remains a mere idea, a “voiceless textual object” in women’s gothic texts whose happy endings close to the retribution and exorcism of the monstrous woman and the entrapment of the heroine in the patriarchal system (72). In this context, DeLamotte contends that: Like the Good Other Woman, the Evil Other Woman often spends much of her life hidden away in the castle, secret room, or whatever, a fact suggesting that even a virtuous woman’s lot is the same she would have merited had she been the worst of criminals. The heroine’s discovery of such Other Women is in the one case an encounter with women’s oppression-their confinement as wives, mothers, and daughters-and in the other with a related repression: the confinement of a Hidden Woman inside those genteel writers and readers who, in the idealization of the heroine’s virtues, displace their own rebellious
"They turn casually to look at you, distracted, and get a mild distracted surprise, you're gone. Their blank look tells you that the girl they were fucking is not there anymore. You seem to have disappeared.(pg.263)" In Minot's story Lust you are play by play given the sequential events of a fifteen year old girls sex life. As portrayed by her thoughts after sex in this passage the girl is overly casual about the act of sex and years ahead of her time in her awareness of her actions. Minot's unique way of revealing to the reader the wild excursions done by this young promiscuous adolescent proves that she devalues the sacred act of sex. Furthermore, the manner in which the author illustrates to the reader these acts symbolizes the likeness of a list. Whether it's a list of things to do on the weekend or perhaps items of groceries which need to be picked up, her lust for each one of the boys in the story is about as well thought out and meaningful as each item which has carelessly and spontaneously been thrown on to a sheet of paper as is done in making a list. This symbolistic writing style is used to show how meaningless these relationships were but the deeper meaning of why she acted the way she did is revealed throughout the story. Minot cleverly displayed these catalysts in between the listings of her relationships.
Marxist criticism leaves society thinking that dominant classes overpower social order. However, its goal is to present ideas of changing social realities, so future generations will know all people are important and equal. During the Victorian period, a Governess was faced with contradictory burdens leaving them uneasy with status imbalance. The governess is uncomfortable with the fact that she could be similar to the servants/ghosts, because she still feels that she is above them socially. Her desire to break out of the class structure, yet her inability to do so, shows her dependence on the structure. From her first moments at Bly or the “castle of romance”, she instantly feels the conflict between her emotional...
Mrs. Mallard is an ill woman who is “afflicted with heart trouble” and had to be told very carefully by her sister and husband’s friend that her husband had died (1609). Her illness can be concluded to have been brought upon her by her marriage. She was under a great amount of stress from her unwillingness to be a part of the relationship. Before her marriage, she had a youthful glow, but now “there was a dull stare in her eyes” (1610). Being married to Mr. Mallard stifled the joy of life that she once had. When she realizes the implications of her husband’s death, she exclaims “Free! Body and soul free!” (1610). She feels as though a weight has been lifted off her shoulders and instead of grieving for him, she rejoices for herself. His death is seen as the beginn...
The Speaker in ‘My Last Duchess’ is conversing with the servant of a count whose daughter he is proposing to marry. He treats t...
Women in The Count of Monte Cristo possess unique personalities, but intensely similar restrictions. Currently, women in the United States, as well as other countries, are able to have jobs, travel, and participate in many other activities that the ladies Dumas portrays are not allowed to. Feminist analysis of this book reveals the ways of the time and the delicate balance of society’s typical structure. In The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas realistically conveys that when women violate their traditional roles, the balance of life is disrupted. This is evident through descriptions of instances in which females are in the home as well as when they are not.