| Angela Carter, one of the most important British authors in the second half of the twentieth century, is famous for her "demythologizing business" by rewriting classic works of myth and thus subverting the patriarchy. She is a controversial figure in critiques. It is significant that all Carter's works are tinged with the Gothic. By employing the theories of Female Gothic, the Uncanny by Sigmund Freud and Feminism, this study focuses on her unique use of the Gothic in a feminist way, which carries on the tradition and further develops the genre in the postmodern era.This thesis is divided into five parts. Chapter One serves as a general introduction to Carter's artistic achievements, the critiques on her works as well as her Gothic and feminist ideas. Chapter Two discusses Gothic settings in Carter's short stories, pointing out her use of darkness and labyrinth, especially of the lock image reveals patriarchal oppression on women who undergo anxieties in such settings. Chapter Three focuses on Gothic incidents, including death and haunting, which can be interpreted in light of the Uncanny. Carter's special interest in women's exposure to mirrors is conspicuous. This theme explores how women realize the differences between what they are and what they are supposed to be and thus go on the journey to constructing subjectivity. Chapter Four analyzes Gothic characters depicted by Carter. Automatons and vampires in her stories possess much autonomy, and by representing new images of powerful females, Carter deconstructs the heterosexual power relation in the narratives. Chapter Five is the Conclusion summing up Carter as a Gothicist and feminist ahead of her time. The Gothic genre in her stories becomes a means of engaging with other perspectives and genres, and her feminist thoughts are more subversive than those in the traditional female Gothic. In this sense, Carter develops the Gothic genre in the postmodern era.
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