GOTHIC

Elements of a gothic genre in The Bloody Chamber:

• Romantic literature because of the obvious love stories throughout the short stories
• Influenced by the past e.g. Angela Carter was influenced by Charles Baudelaire and The Grimm Fairy Tales (which were over 100 years ago)
• Setting has an atmosphere of horror/dread/deterioration e.g. in The Tiger's Bride the male protagonist lives in a run down manor house, that looks abandoned
• Plot blurs fantasy and reality e.g. in The Bloody Chamber, the names of characters are also the names of real people
• Plot is usually pursuit, entrapment and escape like in The Erl King.

MEN

• Protagonist is isolated e.g. The Beast in The Courtship of Mr Lyon
• Usually of high social rank e.g. all the men apart from The Erl King are upper class because they are desirable to women
• Striking physical presence
• Consists of actions not feelings (the usual gender binaries)
• Villain is evil e.g The Erl King

WOMEN

• Victims (the usual gender binaries) e.g. all the women in all of her short stories
• Dark haired women over power the men by threatening them sexually

THEMES

• Sublime and Supernatural - The Courtship of Mr Lyon, The Tiger's Bride, Puss-in-Boots, Lady of the House of Love, The Werewolf, The Company of the Wolves and Wolf-Alice
• Madness, Secrets and Lies - all of the short stories
• Fear - all of the short stories
• Savagery - the male characters (The Erl King)
• Doubles/Opposites