“The Tiger’s Bride” by Angela Carter takes a very peculiar look into the customs of patriarchal society. At first, it seems like a normal short story with its display of women as objects of men, but as the tale develops, the reader finds themselves in a completely different realm of humanity; one where a woman can define herself without the constraints of social masculinity or femininity. By reversing the traditional binaries of male and female, Carter successfully demonstrates her ability to expose the embodiment of women as objects, and to abolish sexist structures of society.
From the beginning of “The Tiger’s Bride,” the female protagonist is immediately seen as an object of men. She is not viewed as her own person in this male-dominated society, only as a thing that can be purchased and sold for the pleasure of men. She clearly knows her worth in this culture when she says: “You must not think my father valued me at less than a king’s ransom; but at no more than a king’s ransom” (Carter 156). Her father could not resist his gambling addiction, even after losing all of his physical possessions. The only object of value that he has left is his daughter, so he decides to wager her too. Unfortunately, he loses her during his last game of cards with The Beast: “I have lost my pearl, my pearl beyond price” (157). She is gambled away by her father as a mere object. Carter also objectifies the heroine even more through her use of diction. The men use words like “pearl” and “treasure” when referring to her during the gaming transaction.
Carter continues to reveal the objectification of women when the heroine is introduced to the soubrette. She uses the maid figure to personify society’s impression of femininity. The soubrette ha...
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...s The Beast embraces his beastliness when he reveals his true self to her during their ride. She embraces her new found self by actually transforming into a tiger, so she can live freely alongside The Beast. Through her animal conversion, the narrator is able to rid herself of the objectification and sexist structures of patriarchal society.
By the end of “The Tiger’s Bride,” Carter manages to change binary opposites—male and female—into similar beings through the use of animals. Women must learn to let go of their societal-bound identities; they are not objects of men. They must make a name for themselves and know their self-worth. Instead of trying to be like men, women must transform themselves into man’s equal.
Works Cited
Carter, Angela. "The Tiger's Bride." Burning Your Boats: The Collected Short Stories. New York: Penguin, 1995. 154-69. Print.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how carter reveals the objectification of women when the heroine is introduced to the soubrette.
- Describes carter, angela, and burning your boats: the collected short stories.
- Analyzes how angela carter demonstrates her ability to expose the embodiment of women as objects, and to abolish sexist structures of society.
- Analyzes how the heroine realizes that she is parallel to the beast; she pretends to be suitable for this masculine society.
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- Tigers Brideanalytical essayIn Carter’s “Tiger’s Bride” masculinity plays a bigger role than femininity does and showed in many ways. The father of the narrator in this story gambles his daughter on a deck of cards to the Beast. He has a very bad gambling addiction and when he loses his daughter, he then becomes concerned. He does not have his priorities straight because he was willing to gamble his own daughter. This shows society how females are just objects in a male’s life and that they value them close to nothing. He only becomes concerned after he loses his daughter and then says the line about how she is his pearl … He shows no fatherly characteristics, he cared more about other things then his own family. He also shows how the only women in his life, since the mother is absent that he has possession over her. He owns her therefore he was allowed to put her up when he was gambling. He shows his lack of caring and loving his daughter. This demonstrates to society ho...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how angela carter's "tigers bride" shows how women should break free of their beautiful appearance and figure and embrace parts that they never show before.
- Analyzes how the father of the narrator gambles his daughter on a deck of cards to the beast. he shows no fatherly characteristics, he cared more about other things than his own family.
- Analyzes how the narrator is a prize when the father loses her to the beast, and carter uses words like "pearl" and "treasure" to demonstrate how she is one.
- Analyzes how the beast shows masculinity by just proving societal expectations about being that typical male.
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In this essay, the author
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1030 wordsRead More