Angela Carter Powerpoint

Essay- Angela Carter's Magical Portrayal of the Female's Journey to Freedom

In the late 1960's, a wave of feminism was sweeping the world. In the United States, several women's rights groups were campaigning for equal rights with men (according to Information Database). Their ideas slowly began showing up in other regions of the world, and eventually, most of the female population was demanding independence and equal treatment. Their quest for equality, though perilous, eventually led these strong-willed women to defy what had previously been accepted as a social norm. They broke free from their repressed roles in the home, disregarded the previously-accepted superiority of men, and developed their own opinions on what was acceptable, and what was not.

            Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus is the tale of the evolution of a woman, Sophie Fevvers, who denies the norms of females in her society. Carter uses Fevvers' independence to portray a very feminist perspective on society. In Fevvers' story, she "creates a discursive space that poses a threat to the security of a male-dominated society organized according to false categorical distinctions which are supported through oppression and exclusion" (Nikandam). While the male characters in the novel take on the over-powering, suppressive role, the women break free from this suppression in order to become the strong, independent women they want to be. Symbolism and metaphors allow the novel to portray a magical-realistic atmosphere, through the uncertainty and manipulation of time, as well as the uncertainty of Fevvers herself; is she fact or fiction? This bildungsroman shows her journey to discover the answer to that question, but her search leads her much deeper than that. As her journey progresses, she comes to answer the question that has followed her throughout her travels; who is the true woman beneath the feathers?

This journey to independence is also seen in Carter's The Magic Toyshop, wherein a fifteen-year-old girl, Melanie, loses her parents, and she and her two younger siblings move in with their unfamiliar uncle, his wife, and her two brothers (Finn and Francie). Melanie, along with the rest of the household, finds her uncle to be very controlling and overbearing; to such a point, even, that nobody in the house is truly capable of becoming the person that they want to become until Uncle Phillip's power is eliminated. Melanie's journey to break free from this power, much like Fevvers' journey, is told through the use of symbols and the creation of a magical realist setting. She soon discovers that, in order to achieve the mature and independent life that she desires, she must shed her coat of innocence and escape from the power held over her.  In both of these fairytale-esque stories, Angela Carter develops strong female characters through the use of influential minor characters, symbolism and a magical-realist approach to non-traditional gender roles.

Fevvers’ development of personality began in her childhood, and Carter uses Fevvers’ background as one source of reason behind her need for independence and feminine freedom. Fevvers didn't grow up with a father figure. In fact, most of her childhood was spent completely around females. "I was reared by these kind women as if I was the common daughter of half-a-dozen mothers," (Carter 21). Of these many female parental figures, Lizzie is probably the most influential on Fevvers' viewpoints, as she's stayed with Fevvers since birth and continues to stay with her to the end of the novel. During Walser’s interview, Lizzie freely expresses her distaste for commitment to men. "Marriage? Pah!' snapped Lizzie in a pet. 'Out of the frying pan into the fire! What is marriage but prostitution to one man instead of many? No different!" (Carter 21). Lizzie has very strong viewpoints on men, and these viewpoints, since she's the main mother figure for Fevvers, have most likely rubbed off on her 'daughter'. "Lizzie does not believe that romantic love brings happiness" (Kilic). Because Lizzie is an independent female, and one that Fevvers viewed as strong and caring as a child (Much unlike any man she encountered before Walser), Fevvers subconsciously wants to be the same way, and thus throws out the fantasy of romantic love. Melanie, on the other hand, had both a mother and a father. However, neither of them were ever directly present in the novel, and when she moves in with her aunt and uncle her uncle's repressive mannerisms strongly contrast the caring appeal of her aunt, thus making Aunt Margaret, the female, a more ideal parental figure. "His authority was stifling. Aunt Margaret, frail as a pressed flower, seemed too cowed by his presence even to look at him," (Carter 73). Uncle Phillip is seen as the tyrant of the household, and Melanie's abhorrence of him is only furthered by his control over Aunt Margaret. While Uncle Phillip pays nearly no attention to the children, Aunt Margaret is left to take care of them on her own, making her the only "true" parental figure left after Melanie's parents die.  

            The presence of females who take on traditionally masculine roles assists the shift towards Carter’s ideal feminine culture. Along with Lizzie and Aunt Margaret, several other female characters serve as factors of personal development for the heroines in Carter's novels. In Nights at the Circus, the extensive presence of females isolates Fevvers from the male world, causing her to have a skewed view on the men of society.

"It was a wholly female world within Ma Nelson's door. Even the dog who guarded it was a bitch and all the cats were females, one or the other of 'em always in kitten, or newly given birth, so that a sub-text of fertility underwrote the glittering sterility of the pleasure of the flesh available within the academy. Life within those walls was governed by a sweet and loving reason. I never saw a single blow exchanged between any of the sisterhood who reared me, nor heard a cross word or a voice raised in anger." (Carter 39).

 The peaceful portrayal of an all-woman society further supports Carter's ideal feministic view of society. This isolation develops Fevvers' non-traditional outlooks on men as a group. Other all-female societies are present within the novel, in which men and authority in general are seen to be suppressive, such as in the House of Correction, where even the females who hold power are ultimately trapped by the suppression of their leader. "The wardresses were also trapped, women- for the House of Correction was manned exclusively by women- who lived barrack-style amongst those they policed, and were imprisoned by the terms of their contract just as securely as the murderesses" (Carter 214). Countess P. takes on the masculine leader position in the House of Correction, but as a result, the women of the house rebel and trap her forever. Because of her shift into a male role, she's viewed as repressive and is ultimately taken over so the women of the house can achieve their ideal free, all-woman society.

In The Magic Toyshop, the strength of the female characters is also shown when they break free from not only men, but from the suppression of authority in general. Aunt Margret's escape from this suppression is seen through the symbolism of her voice.  "With her voice she had found her strength, a frail but constant courage like spun silk. Struck dumb on her wedding day, she found her old voice again the day she was freed" (Carter 197). By leaving Uncle Phillip's toyshop, Aunt Margaret is able to speak again. Unlike women who must wait to speak when spoken to, she no longer is held back and can say and do what she pleases because she's freed herself from the male repression that previously prevented her from doing so.

            Sophie Fevvers also does as she pleases without conforming to what is “proper” for a woman. Carter uses Fevvers’ innovative social behaviors as a source of further support for breaking traditional societal ideology, and "seems to mock the typical Victorian notion that what makes a man a perfect mate is being a good woman" (Kilic). Fevvers denies most traditional female behaviors for her time period through her actions; she shows no particular interest in acting like a "lady", which enforces her denial of the traditional, suppressed female role, yet Walser still pursues her, not necessarily because she is a "good woman", but rather, because of his interest in her personality and unusual confidence. "Dislocating the conventional connection between the masculinist gaze and objectification or possession, Fevvers subverts notions of female object passivity by demanding to be looked at" (O'Brien). The fact that Fevvers is putting herself out there for the world to see is very non-traditional, as most women tend to stay behind the "curtains", such as the women in Ma Nelson's house during Fevvers' childhood. Her appearance and behaviors also mirror this out-of-the-norm personality.

            "At close quarters, it must be said that she looked more like a dray mare than an angel. At six feet two in her stockings, she would have to give Walser a couple of inches in order to match him and, though they said she was 'divinely tall', there was, off-stage, not much of the divine about her unless there were gin places in heaven where she might preside behind the bar. Her face, broad and oval as a meat dish, had been thrown on a common wheel out of coarse clay; nothing subtle about her appeal, which was just as well if she were to function as the democratically elected divinity of the imminent century of the Common Man" (Carter 12)

The description of Fevvers is somewhat intimidating; a description not traditionally given to women. She's also portrayed as an avid drinker, which was a behavior that, for women, went very much against social norms.  Melanie is slightly more of a conformist in her behavior; in the beginning, she sneaks out in her mother's wedding dress, musing on about how she wants to be married. However, the only aspect of marriage that seems to appeal to her is the marriage itself.  "Moonlight, white satin, roses. A bride. Whose bride? But she was, tonight, sufficient for herself in her own glory and did not need a groom." (Carter 16). While she longs for the maturity that comes with marriage, she, like Lizzie, doesn't feel the need for male presence. In addition, she finds marriage to be a strange excuse "just in order to lose your virginity" (Carter 13).

            Throughout the novel, Melanie clings to the innocence associated with virginity, which prevents her from fully becoming the woman who she desires to be. Carter uses Ma Nelson’s sword as a symbol to represent Fevvers’ innocence and security, and Edward Bear to represent Melanie's, and these symbols show these characters’ journeys to strength and maturity as the novels progress. While it was untraditional for Fevvers to put herself out for the world, the fact that she was strictly hands-off ["She was twice as large as life and as succinctly finite as any object that is intended to be seen, not handled. Look! Hands off! Look at me!" (Carter 15)] makes her all the more unusual and intriguing. This again links back to her childhood with Ma Nelson. "Ma Nelson, contemplating the existence of my two arms, all complete, now puts her mind to the question; what might the Winged Victory have been holding in 'em when the forgotten master first released her from the marble that had contained her inexhaustible spirit? And Ma Nelson soon came up with the answer; a sword" (Carter 37). The sword is a symbol of Fevvers' self-certainty, as well as her sense of security. When she holds it, she knows herself to be the freed "Winged Victory", who no one can touch nor harm. However, as her journey continues, Fevvers' loss of the sword, her innocence, and Ma Nelson all at the same time, pushes her further into the world of feminist thinking. "When she lost her weapon to the Grand Duke in his frozen palace, she had lost some of that sense of her own magnificence which had previously sustained her trajectory. As soon as her feeling of invulnerability was gone, what happened?" (Carter 273). Through this loss, Fevvers shifts from her previously care-free personality into a more vulnerable, distrusting female. However, by letting go of this symbol from her past, she becomes capable of fully growing into a strong woman. Melanie also clings to a relic of her past, which gives her a sense of safety and security. "'Excuse me,' she said, and opened her case to retrieve Edward Bear. She felt better when he lay on her pillow. She had lived with Edward Bear for ten years" (Carter 44). However, when Uncle Phillip sets the toyshop on fire, she discovers that she no longer finds comfort in innocence, but instead finds her safety in the presence of a male. "'Keep me safe,' said Melanie, holding Finn's coat as if she were drowning." (Carter 196). Then, as the Toyshop is finally destroyed, Melanie comes to truly realize the loss of her childhood innocence. "'My bear. He's gone. Everything is gone.' 'Nothing is left but us.' At night, in the garden, they faced each other in a wild surmise" (Carter 200). As the novel ends, Melanie's last thought is of the loss of her bear. By losing this childish innocence, she is able to finally begin to reconstruct herself as a new, more mature and independent person, and marriage (a once-abstract, very mature idea for her) suddenly seems much more conceivable for her because she’s truly no longer a child. 

            The use of time as a symbol throughout the novels also parallels the characters’ growth into independence, which aids in the development of a magical-realist setting.  When Fevvers begins to lose her sense of time, she starts breaking away from the restraints of performance life and the boundaries of society.

"'Something's going on. Something we wot not of, my dear. Remember we have lost our clock; remember Father Time has many children and I think it was his bastard offspring inherited this region for, by the length of Mr. Walser's beard and the skill with which he rode his reindeer, time has passed- or else is passing- marvellous swiftly for these woodland folk. 'Perhaps,' she mused, 'their time is running out" (Carter 272).

This loss of perception of time parallels Walser's break away from the boundaries of his former life into a new one. The fact that Fevvers doesn't have a clear grasp of time in this moment foreshadows her escape from societal restrictions as well. "Vera Anderyevna tentatively identified the figure of that of Father Time. 'But, wherever we go, we'll need no more fathers,' she pronounced. So they threw it away" (Carter 221). The fact that the murderesses also deny the concept of time after escaping from the House of Correction further supports the idea that in order to truly escape the restraints of traditional society, the idea of time must be thrown away. When Uncle Phillip is gone in The Magic Toyshop, Finn destroys the clock that Uncle Phillip made, and this destruction parallels the destruction of Uncle Phillip's tyranny.  "The stuffed cuckoo belted out thirty-one calls and then jerked back into the clock. The door slammed behind it with a dithering shudder. The ticking stopped. 'There goes the time,' said Finn, wiping his eyes. The day stretched before them with nothing to do" (Carter 185).

            Fevvers’ physical transformation in Nights at the Circus is also a direct representation of her change in character. The final aspect necessary for Fevvers' escape from traditional feminine roles is the loss of the portion of herself that she's uncertain about. When she loses her innocence and denies the concept of time, she also breaks her wing; something that previously defined who she was.  "Why, she broke her wing. Now she was a crippled wonder. Put on as brave a face as she might, that was the long and short of it" (Carter 272). At this point in the novel, Fevvers is finally beginning to come to terms with her new self. She knows that she's changed, but she's beginning to grow more confident in her acceptance of the woman she has become.

"She was ashamed to admit it; all the same, she felt as though her heart was breaking when she looked in the mirror and saw her brilliant colours withering away. But there was more to it than that. She knew she had truly mislaid some vital something of herself along the road that brought her to this place" (Carter 273).

 The loss of her hair dye, colors, and feathers reflects the final transition from the woman she was before to the stronger, more confident woman she is now.

Melanie's transformation is also symbolized by the destruction of wings. The swan puppet, made by her repressive uncle, had held her back from freedom. But when Finn chops up the puppet and buries it, Uncle Phillip goes missing the next day. "She brushed her hair, removed the daisies and the feathers and put on her everyday skirt and her new sweater, which put friendly arms around her" (Carter 168). However, unlike in Nights at the Circus, the heroine in The Magic Toyshop isn't the only one strongly affected by the loss of a swan's presence.  "'You broke up his swan' said Francie in awe. His lips opened on all his teeth like a broken wall. He laughed hugely, rolling in his chair, and cried out again and again; 'He done it! Finn done it! Good on Finn! Good man!'" (Carter 184). Francie, who was normally a fairly quiet man, finds his voice when the suppression of the swan is destroyed. In his case, however, the swan does not represent the repression of males. Instead, it represents the repression of societal expectations; now that Uncle Phillip is gone, he and Aunt Margaret can freely practice the incest that they've kept hidden all of this time. "Aunt Margaret gradually softened amid the laughter. The sun came out in her face. For the first time since Melanie had known her, she seemed to be examining the possibility of her own tomorrow, where she could come and go as she pleased and wear what clothes she wanted and maybe even part her locked lips and speak. Or sing" (Carter 184). Aunt Margaret is also freed from the boundaries of society when the swan is destroyed. In addition, she, along with Melanie and Fevvers, is given the chance to escape from the chains of cruel men, and through the destruction of the wings of a swan, she can begin a new life of independence and freedom.  

            In Carter's novels, the women's journeys lead them to break free of the social norms of society, and by doing so, they are able to accept the feminine independence that they gained through their experiences. Though there was loss on their journeys, the loss aided them in growing more certain of who they are. They, as well as their companions and acquaintances, find freedom and strength in breaking away from the restraints of time and authority. These books conclude with "the possibilities of birth through death" (O'Brian), in which the characters, once free from their former suppression, are allowed to begin a new life of independence. Nights at the Circus, in the spirit of feminism, shows the start of a new age of independence for women by concluding with the word "begin".

AP Multiple Choice Answers

Men; AP Multiple Choice Answers

1. Answer- D. Despite claiming that men corrupt women and cause them to become closed off, the speaker of the poem ends by saying she will stay away from men "maybe", leaving the possibility of returning to the world of men open, which goes against what one would expect her to do after her experiences.

2. Answer- B. In the beginning the speaker knows very little about the world of men, but watches them through her window out of curiosity. After the shift in line 15, she comes to realize what men are really like and grows bitter towards them.

3. Answer- A. The key is not used to represent innocence, but rather, a symbol for the isolation from men that the speaker creates for herself.

4. Answer- C. Ending with the word "maybe" suggests that while she resents her past experiences, the speaker still has a curiosity towards men that she might risk pain for once more in order to satisfy.

5. Answer- C. Option I is not personification. The raw egg is a symbol for innocence and is not personified in that quote. Option IV is merely imagery; a description of what the men's shoulders look like.

Nights at the Circus; AP Multiple Choice answers

1. Answer- E. The passage says that the countess' "spectre of her own crime... came in at once through the open gate to haunt her", which personifies the spectre of her crime.

2. Answer- D. The passage sets the mood for the rest of the passage through the development of a cold, desolate setting (pathetic fallacy), and also foreshadows the uprising of the prisoners through the fact that something unusual is happening yet the countess in unable to discern what it is.

3. Answer- B. The countess doubts the guards will ever do what she has forbidden, she becomes nervous when she senses something unusual is going on, she's left to feel her own guilt after the prisoners escape, and she's surprised when they rebel against her, but she's never curious about anything within the passage.

4. Answer- C. The phrase "an army of lovers" is addressing both the prisoners and the guards when the uprising takes place. Earlier in the passage it also addresses longing and hope felt between the guards and prisoners, showing that their love was what ultimately led them to break out of the House of Correction.

5. Answer- E. The description of weather in the beginning reflects the countess' emotions, which is an example of pathetic fallacy. The passage begins with alliteration; "Silently, surreptitiously". It also foreshadows the prisoners' escape by stating the countess' inability to identify what's unusual about the situation. 

AP Multiple Choice Questions

Men; AP Multiple Choice Questions

1. The last word of the poem is an example of

a. Motif

b. Dramatic Irony

c. Pathetic Fallacy

d. Situational Irony

e. Personification

2. At line 15 the speaker's tone shifts from...

a. Angry to innocent

b. Curious to bitter

c. Remorseful to loving

d. Joyful to depressed

e. Careless to passionate

3. The poem symbolizes innocence using all of the following EXCEPT...

            a. Key

b. Window

c. Curtains

d. Kitchen match

e. Egg

4. Based on the speaker's attitude toward men in the poem, the reader can infer that...

                a. She is married

                b. She will never associate herself with men again

                c. She is still curious about men despite her experiences

                d. She is uncertain about her past

                e. She believes all men are corruptive

5. Which of the following is an example of personification found in the poem?

                        I.   "the last raw egg in the world"

                        II.   "taste tries to return to the tongue"

                        III.  "the earth rights itself again"

                        IV.  "Their shoulders high"

a. I and II

b. II only

c. II and III

d. II, III, and IV

e. All of them

Nights at the Circus Prose; AP Multiple Choice Questions

1. The last sentence of the passage contains an example of

a. Motif

b. Dramatic Irony

c. Pathetic Fallacy

d. Situational Irony

e. Personification

2. The purpose of lines 1-5 is to...

                a. Provide background for the countess' childhood

                b. Set the mood of the story

                c. Foreshadow upcoming events

                d. Both b and c

                e. None of these

3. Within the passage,  Countess P. feels all of the following EXCEPT...

                a. Doubtful

                b. Curious

                c. Nervous

                d. Guilty

                e. Surprised

4. From the information given in the passage, we can infer that the guards...

                a. Were loyal to the countess before the uprising

                b. Had chosen to work in the House of Correction

                c. Were motivated by love

                d. Stole the countess' contracts

                e. Hated the prisoners

5. "Silently, surreptitiously, as the unacknowledged autumn changed to winter outside, a warmth and glow suffused the House of Correction, a glow so inappropriate to the season that the Countess herself felt the effects of the palpable change of temperature within, so she would sweat, yet she could not, no matter how hard she looked, detect a single visible change in the mechanical order she had laid down "

This sentence contains examples of

                                I. Pathetic Fallacy

                                II. Motif

                                III. Foreshadowing

                                IV. Alliteration

                a. II only

                b. IV only

                c. I and III

                d. I, II, and IV

                e. I, III, and IV

Prose Passage #2 Analysis

Angela Carter uses multiple symbols and motifs to portray the growth of characters throughout their journeys to freedom. The passage begins with pathetic fallacy; the movement into a colder, darker season reflects the mournful feelings of the inmates, but also foreshadows the oncoming rebellion. The Countess’ “revolvings” are somewhat like the hands on a clock, and when her rotations begin to become random, sometimes stopping for a long period of time, it also foreshadows the stopping of time that the Countess will also do once more later in the passage.

     The passage also provides insight into the mind of the Countess, to show her false sense of security, to show that her own overconfidence in herself is what leads to her downfall. Carter incorporates dramatic irony into the fact that she didn’t think that those she held power over could ever rise up against her, but those reading the passage know that the uprising is coming. This puts emphasis on the Countess’ ignorance; even the reader knows that something bad is going to happen! How could she not?

     Imagery and metaphors, which are used extensively throughout Carter’s writing, allow the reader to feel incorporated into the story. They provide a bleak picture to help get across the misery felt in the House of Correction. They also help to tell the story. Often, Carter’s depiction of the plotline is very vague, and instead of coming right out and saying exactly what happens, she uses quick images and describes feelings in short phrases, as if giving the reader a flashback to something they’ve never seen and requiring them to decode the images in order to gather the full story.

     Carter also uses symbols in a similar way, providing images that mirror the main ideas of the story. The clock, for example, is a symbol that reappears constantly throughout the book, and time is often repeated or stopped completely. The use (or absence) of the clock often determines the pace of the story, as well as the mood of the characters. When the clock is shot by the Countess, time is stopped, and, not ironically, at the same time the Countess is trapped and left to forever re-live the hour that her inmates escaped. When time is frozen, there’s often misery to go along beside it. However, when the inmates escape from the prison and go out into the world, they are freed from the strict guidelines set by the clock, so the loss of time also signifies freedom and independence.

Prose Passage #2

“Silently, surreptitiously, as the unacknowledged autumn changed to winter outside, a warmth and glow suffused the House of Correction, a glow so inappropriate to the season that the Countess herself felt the effects of the palpable change of temperature within, so she would sweat, yet she could not, no matter how hard she looked, detect a single visible change in the mechanical order she had laid down and, even though she gave up sleeping altogether and introduced a hysterical randomness into her revolvings, so that she sometimes made herself quite giddy and sometimes stuck sock-still for almost an entire minute by the authority of the clock, she never saw one suspicious thing.

      She never thought the guards might turn against her; did she not keep their contracts in a locked iron box in her watch-room? Had she not bought them? Were they not forbidden to discourse with the inmates? Did not the forbidden thing itself forbid?

     Her white eyes were now veined and rimmed with red. As she went round and round, she drummed nervous tattoos on the arm of her chair.

     The notes, the drawings, the caresses, the glances – all said, in various ways, ‘if only’, and ‘I long…’ And the clock ticked the time of another lifetime, another place, above the gateway that grew each day larger in their imaginations until the clock and the gateway that had signified the end of hope now spoke to them of nothing but hope.

     So it was an army of lovers who finally rose up against the Countess on the morning when the cages opened for the final exercise hour, opened – and never closed. At one accord, the guards threw off their hoods, the prisoners came forth and all turned towards the Countess in one great, united look of accusation.

     She took out the pistol she kept in her pocket and fired off shot after shot that banged but did not reverberate as they ricocheted off of the bricks and bars of that echoless chamber. Her firing scored one bull; she stopped the clock, shot the time right out of it, broke the face and stilled the tick forever, so, henceforth, when she looked at it, it would remind her only of the time that her time ended, the hour of their deliverance. But that was an accident. She was too stricken with surprise to aim straight, she wounded nobody and was easily disarmed, chattering away with outrage.

     They locked up her door, took away the key and threw it into the first snowdrift they encountered when they opened the gate. They left the Countess secured in her observatory with nothing to observe any longer but the spectre of her own crime, which came in at once through the open gate to haunt her as she continued to turn round and round in her chair.

(Carter 217-218)

Prose Passage #1 Analysis

Angela Carter uses symbols and dramatic irony to show the changes, both physical and emotional, that Fevvers is going through in her transition from innocence to maturity. The fact that Fevvers’ wing is strapped up and broken is symbolic of her feeling of loss in who she is. She’s molting and the roots of her hair are growing out; she’s undergoing a transformation in both a physical and emotional sense. The fact that Lizzie requires her to sit and rest when she wants to be out rescuing Walser also reflects the “bird-in-a-cage” tone that Carter is trying to set.

     Their uncertainty in the time (once again, the symbolic clock sets the pace and mood) that’s passed since they lost Walser also reflects the uncertainty that Fevvers feels, but foreshadows the freedom that she's beginning to find. Lizzie also personifies time, saying that “Father Time’s bastard offspring”-bastard having a very negative connotation- is the one who controls the time in this region. Time is said to be passing swiftly, though Fevvers had perceived it to be moving much more slowly, which shows once again her confusion and uncertainty.

     Through a sort of dramatic irony, we see that Fevvers is troubled greatly by the loss of Walser, though she even denies it to herself. She uses the lack of good food as an excuse for her frustration and misery, and later denies that Walser is the cause of her problems, telling herself he only made matters worse, but didn’t cause her misery. Carter, however, leaves her exact feelings very vague, and once again it’s up to the reader to make assumptions towards Fevvers’ true feelings, which are hard to discern from her excuses and thoughts of denial.

     Fevvers herself isn’t even sure what the cause of her misery is, which is seen when she internally questions herself. Carter provides insight into her thoughts to show that she’s just as uncertain as she’s appeared to Lizzie.

     Once again, the feathers and colors are used as a metaphor for the glamorous, yet fake, life she lived before becoming stuck in Siberia. By becoming lost physically, she’s also internally losing the life that she used to know and instead becoming a more independent woman, no longer held back by her image. This is also seen through the loss of her sword- a symbol of innocence and invulnerability- to the Grand Duke, as well as the loss of her Father Time clock. Once she lost all of these things, she also broke her wing- another symbol- the one thing that truly made her stand out and be special above other people. But, now that she’s lost her ability to fly, she begins to even question her own validity; she’s unsure if she’s even who she believed herself to be all along. Because she’s lost her bright appearance, her sense of security, her ability to fly, and her perception of time, she feels as though she’s hardly the person she used to be. This realization that her former self is gone is the turning point in her buildungsroman, and once she's shed the feathers of her old life she can become the true woman that she wants to be.

Prose Passage #1

“Fevvers, watching the fish boil, grunted she was glad somebody was happy. Her fractured wing, broken again in her last attempt to fly, was now securely strapped up with the Maestro’s fishing-lines, and Lizzie firmly prescribed, for the moment, rest, nourishment and more rest. She was utterly indifferent to her foster-daughter’s protestations that they must set off forthwith to rescue the young American from the clutches of the tribespeople.

     'He looked as though he'd made himself at home. Gone native in his garments, I noticed.' 'But it's not a week since we all parted company! You can't go native in a week!' 'I don't know if it is only a week since we lost him,' said Lizzie. 'Did you see the long beard he had?' 'I saw his beard,' assented Fevvers uncertainly. 'What do you mean you don't know if it is only a week. . .' Lizzie turned on the other woman a face solemn enough to have impressed even the Shaman.

'Something's going on. Something we wot not of, my dear. Remember we have lost our clock; remember Father Time has many children and I think it was his bastard offspring inherited this region for, by the length of Mr. Walser's beard and the skill with which he rode his reindeer, time has passed- or else is passing- marvellous swiftly for these woodland folk.

     'Perhaps,' she mused, 'their time is running out.'

     Fevvers was not impressed by these speculations. She spooned fish broth, tasted, grimaced, poked in the Maestro's cupboard and found no salt. The last straw. Lots of grub, but nothing fit to eat. Had she not been so proud, she would have broken down.

      Her misery was exacerbated by the knowledge that the young American to whom she'd taken such a fancy was so near to her and yet so far away. Exacerbated, but not caused. Her gloom had other causes. Did the speed with which she was losing her looks dismay her? Was it that? She was ashamed to admit it; all the same, she felt as though her heart was breaking when she looked in the mirror and saw her brilliant colours withering away. But there was more to it than that. She knew she had truly mislaid some vital something of herself along the road that brought her to this place. When she lost her weapon to the Grand Duke in his frozen palace, she had lost some sense of her own magnificence which had previously sustained her trajectory. As soon as her feeling of invulnerability was gone, what happened? Why, she broke her wing. Now she was a crippled wonder. Put on as brave a face as she might, that was the long and short of it.

     The Cockney Venus! she thought bitterly. Now she looks more like one of the ruins that Cromwell knocked about a bit. Helen, formerly of the High-wire, now permanently grounded. Pity the New Woman if she turns out to be as easily demolished as me.

(Carter 272-273)    

"Men" Analysis

In the poem “Men”, Maya Angelou uses varying sentence lengths and imagery to show how bad experience with love may alter a person’s perspective forever, but some still choose to return to similar experiences and try again. At both the beginning and end of the poem, Angelou uses curtains as a symbol for innocence and safety. She begins by saying “When I was young, I used to/ Watch behind the curtains”, but eventually curiosity draws her out from behind the curtains into the not-so-innocent world. Once she does so, the sentence structure of the poem changes from long, multi-line sentences to short sentences, only 3-5 words each. “Then/ they tighten up. Just a little. The/ First squeeze is nice. A quick hug/ Soft into your defenselessness. A little/ more. The hurt begins” (Angelou). The short sentences give the poem a flashback-like feeling, where the speaker only reveals certain quick images, leaving the rest for the reader to infer on their own, as if the speaker’s afraid or ashamed to speak of what happened. It also causes the pace to speed up, inducing a more panicked voice. The use of metaphors, such as the egg, also help give the reader a better picture of what Angelou is trying to get across; the women are innocent and fragile, and while men are big and strong, the women are easily broken. She also uses the simile “your mind pops, exploding fiercely, briefly/ Like the head of a kitchen match” (Angelou). Once again, even though the woman is portrayed as something less innocent now, she’s still weak, as kitchen matches aren’t extremely dangerous or explosive. Finally, the speaker returns to the curtain metaphor, saying that this time she’ll “simply/ stand and watch/ maybe” (Angelou). The final word, “maybe”, ends the poem with somewhat of a contradiction; the entire poem she’d been speaking of how awful men were and how she’d never go back, but the slight hint that she would go back shows her uncertainty over the whole experience.

            In “Nights at the Circus”, by Angela Carter, this same uncertainty is seen through Fevvers’ painful past with men. Fevvers grew up in Ma Nelson's house, which was "a wholly female world within" (Carter 38). Like the speaker in the poem, innitially, Fevvers' only experience with men was from "behind the curtains" (Angelou) of the house, but as Fevvers grows older she eventually becomes more exposed to the world of men through Madame Schreck and joining the Colonel's circus. "And the curtains have never been opened in all my memory of the place, nor could a single one of the cother girls recall when those curtains had last been opened, either. . . So we threw open the curtains" (Carter 49). This point in the novel is where Fevvers finally has to leave behind her childhood, though she takes Ma Nelson's sword with her wherever she goes as a sense of security.

            "Wrench out a/ Smile that slides around the fear" (Angelou) is describing when women let their guard down, then the man moves in to hurt them, but they play innocent at first and pretend to not know what's going on before they get hurt. This is like Fevvers' encounter with the Grand Duke, when she feels uneasy around him, but doesn't leave. "the hairs on her nape rose and the Grand Duke turned to her a satisfied smile, as if, all along, he intended her to be afraid of him. For the first time in her life, she refused champagne" (Carter 188). While the Duke is trying to hold power over her, Fevvers tries to not let him win, but she can't overcome his strength. " when the Grand Duke's arms tightened around her, she realized he was a man of quite exceptional physical strength, sufficient to pin even her to the ground. . . flushed out Nelson's sword from its hiding place in her corset" (Carter 191). His destruction of her sword, the one item that makes her feel secure, finally gives him complete power over her. "Now she was defenseless. She could have wept" (Carter 191). From this point on in the novel, Fevvers, like the speaker in the poem, is transformed. She's uncertain as to who she is, but she vows that she's learned her lesson. "But this time, I will simply/ Stand and watch./ Maybe" (Angelou). The "maybe" at the very end, however, addresses uncertainty towards going back to men. Fevvers and the speaker both relapse slightly after their bad experiences, and contemplate perhaps trying at love again, though they're uncertain. "Can you love? he demanded of her in a great, rhapsodic rush as she rose up out of her curtsey. When she heard that, her heart lifted and sang" (Carter 291).

"Men" by Maya Angelou

When I was young, I used to
Watch behind the curtains
As men walked up and down the street. Wino men, old men.
Young men sharp as mustard.
See them. Men are always
Going somewhere.
They knew I was there. Fifteen
Years old and starving for them.
Under my window, they would pauses,
Their shoulders high like the
Breasts of a young girl,
Jacket tails slapping over
Those behinds,
Men.

One day they hold you in the
Palms of their hands, gentle, as if you
Were the last raw egg in the world. Then
They tighten up. Just a little. The
First squeeze is nice. A quick hug.
Soft into your defenselessness. A little
More. The hurt begins. Wrench out a
Smile that slides around the fear. When the
Air disappears,
Your mind pops, exploding fiercely, briefly,
Like the head of a kitchen match. Shattered.
It is your juice
That runs down their legs. Staining their shoes.
When the earth rights itself again,
And taste tries to return to the tongue,
Your body has slammed shut. Forever.
No keys exist.

Then the window draws full upon
Your mind. There, just beyond
The sway of curtains, men walk.
Knowing something.
Going someplace.
But this time, I will simply
Stand and watch.

Maybe.

"Shantung" Analysis

In the poem “Shantung”, Denise Riley uses symbolism and casual language to show the repression and insincerity of high-class society, especially for women, and the true feelings behind the lavish mask of wealth.

            Shantung is a type of silk cloth; using this as the title adds to the feeling of luxury that’s created through the speaker’s language. However, Riley’s poem muses over the troubles that are caused and covered up by extravagant lifestyles. The first-person perspective, along with casual, yet elevated language, help to reflect the personality of the speaker. The use of phrases such as “come on everybody. Especially you girls” (Riley) and “My friends! Some answers” (Riley) set a friendly, open tone, and makes the reader feel more personally connected to the speaker. This gives insight towards the speaker’s background as well; she’s probably wealthy, because she has time to speak and gossip with her friends, rather than having to work to earn a living.

            However, the friendly, generally joyful tone is often contradicted by the dark topics that the woman speaks about. She says ‘How much mascara washes away each day/ and internationally, making the blue one black” (Riley). The mascara is used to symbolize the fakeness of high-class society, which, when washed away, leaves something darker than it was before. Riley’s stating that being rich corrupts people. This statement is further backed up when the speaker, after addressing her friends, suddenly says “Each day I think of something about dying/ Does everybody? Do they think that, I mean,” (Riley). The sudden mention of a gloomy topic shows that, while the speaker is surrounded by luxuries like wristwatches and silk and makeup, inside she’s becoming depressed, but the riches cover up her depression so no one sees.

            In Angela Carter’s “Nights at the Circus”, Fevvers also begins to question the sincerity of her lavish lifestyles, and as she does so, her change is symbolically reflected by her altered physical appearance. "Every day, the tropic bird looked more and more like the London sparrow as which it had started out in life, as if a spell were unraveling" (Carter 271). In the poem, it also states "mascara washes away" (Riley), like the color of Fevvers' hair and wings. "Making the blue one black" also reflects the depression and uncertainty that Fevvers shows as a result of her transformation. As the colors get darker in the poem, the colors of Fevvers' wings and hair change, and her confidence and feeling of self-certainty lessen. This feeling of being unsure is also seen in both the poem and the novel through the symbolic use of time. In the poem, it says "unstrap my wristwatch. Lay it face down" (Riley), showing that the speaker is trying to eliminate the feeling of time passing. Time is also stopped in Nights at the Circus, when Walser first interviews Fevvers and the clock strikes midnight several times. Fevvers also eventually loses her Father Time clock. "Something's going on. Something we wot not of, my dear. Remember we have lost our clock; remember Father Time has many children and I think it was his bastard offspring inherited this region" (Carter 272). The women in these pieces have somehow lost their ability to perceive time (thus losing their own self-confidence) and, as a result, must escape from the rich lifestyle they once knew in order to become the woman they truly want to be and re-gain that ability to move forward in time. 

"Shantung" by Denise Riley

It's true that anyone can fall

in love with anyone at all.

Later, they can't. Ouf, ouf.

How much mascara washes away each day

and internationally, making the blue one black.

Come on everybody. Especially you girls.

Each day I think of something about dying.

Does everybody? do they think that, I mean.

My friends! some answers. Gently

unstrap my wristwatch. Lay it face down.