The Erl-King by Angela Carter

The Erl-King

How is the Erl-King presented?

Carter presents the Erl-King as a threat and a predator through the description of his appearance. He is presented as a monster like figure with 'pointed teeth' which portrays him to be a threat to the 'young girl' that he has lured to him in the forest. The female protagonist  breaks down the binary roles of the woman being the carer and the male being the one who provides the money. By showing the Erl-King to be 'an excellent housewife', she contradicts the idea of him being a threat to her and others and presents him as obtaining the passive role in their relationship, showing herself to be dominant over him.


How is the narrator presented?
Carter presents the narrator to be trapped by the Erl-King yet also by herself, as she comes across as a character of self-conflict in which her actions do not mirror her thoughts. The protagonist presents herself to be trapped by the Erl-King's 'green eye', the feature upon which her love for him exists. The narrator is already mentally caged by her false love for him and realises that she is to be kept in an 'osier cage' as she sees him 'weaving a cage' for her. When the narrator tells us that the Erl-king is 'an excellent housewife', she is presented as a strong individual, breaking down the binary roles of the male being dominant over the female as the male seems to be conducting the role of the female. She contradicts her thoughts by not going through with them, when the female narrator 'lies at the mercy of his huge hands', in this

Feminist theory- Stephen Martin critical essay questions and summary

What does 'derided' mean?
'Derided' means to express contempt for something or someone.


What is 'gynocriticism'?
Gynocriticism is the historical study of women writers as a distinct literary tradition. Gynocriticism as a result of the interrogative critiques utilised in post-structuralism and psychoanalysis.


Feminist theory reduced to 5 sentences

• Feminist theory is the belief that society is patriarchal and controlled only by men.
• Women are conditioned to accept the view of women in which they are and should be submissive to male dominance.
• The association between gender and other features- all things that go to make up our concept of what is 'feminine' and what is 'masculine'- is a cultural construct.
• Gynocriticism is criticism that deals with literature written by women in all its aspects.
• Female critics have also sought to redefine the accepted list of great works, rescuing large numbers of female writers from obscurity, and establishing quite large numbers of female writers as worthy of the attention hitherto denied them.

Reduced to 5 words


-Patriarchal
-Conditioned
-Construct
-Criticism
-Obscurity


Reduced to 1 word


-Patriarchal


119 word summary
Feminist theory by Stephen Martin outlines the idea that women are controlled and ruled by the male sex, that they are subordinated to men in all aspects of life, work and culture. It states that women are conditioned to accept and promulgate the view of women that allows them to be dominated therefore they become a factor of their own enslavement. Women are made in society’s gaze of how they perceive the perfect woman to be; passive, emotional and supportive. Throughout literature the odds have been stacked against women as it has been dominated by men writing for men. Feminist critics have sought to redefine the accepted list of ‘Great works’ and to rescue many female writers from obscurity.

Possible essay questions for 'The tiger's bride' and 'The Bloody Chamber'

'Angela Carter presents and emphasises the intense desire of women to become liberated through sexual acts in her collection of short stories The Bloody Chamber'


Using the critical anthology to support your argument, how far do these texts support or undermine this view?