Emma Peng on Angela's postmodern feminism and the gothic uncanny - complete Flashcards
what type of stance does Carter take on gender
an anti-essentialist stance
what is an anti-essentialist stance on gender?
Arguing that gender is not an intrinsic quality which gives women specific characteristics by virtue of being a woman
how does an anti-essentialist view of gender manifest itself in Carter’s fiction?
‘her gender performers are not only enthralled with their freedom to create themselves, but also haunted by the performativity in their freedom’
important part of quote = ‘haunted by the performativity in their freedom’
parody is a ___ trope
gothic
what did Angela Carter say about the 1970s in the afterword to Fireworks (1974)
‘we live in Gothic times’
This shows she feels the world is experiencing radical socio-cultural change at the time she writes
according to Peng, what is the sexual female a product of and what Gothic motif does this link to?
‘history and technology rather than as something natural’
the gothic motif of the ‘unnaturally created creature, Frankenstein’s monster’
what broader philosophical exploration does Carter’s use of the symbol of the mirror link to?
- to what extent is the self created using the mirror versus discovered within the mirror?
according to freud, when does the uncanny arise?
‘when there is a breach between fantasy and reality’ which cannot be easily reconciled
what quote shows the father of the countess in THLOHL lives on through the daughter
‘Nosferatu is dead; long live Nosferatu!’
how do we know that the countess’ desire to eat men is not authentic to her
- sum this up with a quote
the shadow of her ancestors lives on through her - she dislikes being a vampire
showing ‘she has no real sexual subjectivity even though she is a relentless practitioner of desire’ (Peng)
what do female vampires conventionally connote (For example in Dracula)
‘aggressive female sexuality’ and the male fear of the ‘threat of the New Woman’
what type of thinking does the cyclist represent and how does this affect the Countess
‘Enlightenment rationality’
which means he ‘exorcises her vampiric power with his rational eye’
how is the cyclist able to ‘exorcise’ the countess?
® ‘he sees but disbelieves what he sees, for the woman vampire is outside his belief system; what he sees instead is a sick girl’
summary:
- instead of seeing a vampire he sees a ‘sick girl’
although the cyclist’s blindness saves the countess, what does it do to him?
- his rationality makes him bind to the death and destruction awaiting him in the war
how does the countess represent a contraction in TLOHL?
she is both the Gothic damsel in distress and the aggressive female vampiric figure
- she is damsel in distress as she is waiflike and incarcerated
she is aggressive as she is a vampire and the ‘queen of terror’
how does Angela Carter demonstrate anti-essentialism through clothing in TLOHL
§ She ‘puts on her feminine identity as she puts on her mother’s bridal gown, which is the ‘only dress she has’ (from the lady of the house of love)’
how is the countess’ liberation at the end of the story undercut?
She is also trapped by fate, as her life follows the Tarot cards - and even though she is liberated from the curse, this liberation is prescribed for her by the cards of ‘Love and Death’
what is metalepsis
when common figurative phrases are used to describe characters in the story - sometimes this is literalised or simply employed by the writer
what is metafiction
fiction which is conscious of itself as fiction
what thing does metafiction disregard
- the need for the ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ (Coleridge)
what is fabulation in postmodern fiction? (give 3 characteristics)
- the use of magical realism
- a rejection of mimesis and verisimilitude
what is mimesis
the idea that art should reflect the world as it is
what is temporal distortion
the use of fragmentation and nonlinear narratives
what is paranoia in postmodern fiction
The belief that there is some hidden order behind the chaos of the world
Paranoia toes the line between delusion and brilliant insight in postmodern fiction
