On The Thematic Feature Of Angela Carter's Fiction

Angela Carter (1940-1992) is a famous feminist novelist of last century. Her masterpieces The Passion of New Eve and The Nights at the Circus are widely celebrated by Western critics. My thesis is engaged in the study of her unique thematic feature: the reconstruction of contemporary heterosexual relationship by means of man's rebirth. Jeff VanderMeer concludes that Angela Carter, undoubtedly, is a 20th Century original. No matter what one thinks of her writing, no one can argue that she is ever less than unique. Magic realism, Surrealism, Fantasy, science Fiction, Gothic, Feminism, Post-modernism –all of these categories apply, and yet all are one-dimensional in their application to Carter; none of them, with the possible exception of surrealism, encompass the full spectrum of her accomplishments. Moreover, her literary position is no less extraordinary. Paul Barker wryly recalls that she dies untimely, and everyone suddenly bursts out weeping. The obituaries give her better notices than anything she ever received in her lifetime. Her books sell out within three days of her death. She becomes the most read contemporary author on English university campuses. Her last story, finished during her final illness, sells 80,000 copies in paperback. She has arrived. But she is dead. During her short lifetime, Carter shows the world her surprisingly prolific ability with nine novels, three collections of short stories, four collections of children's stories, two collections of journalism and one controversial critical essay -The Sadeian Woman -the most relevant to an appreciation of her novels. As for her fiction, Brian Finney points out that Carter infuses her work with humor and wonderfully profane wisdom. At the heart of her fiction lays a sturdy, non-didactic Feminism. Attracted by such an unusual writer, the author of this thesis focuses on two of her masterpieces The Passion of New Eve and The Nights at the Circus, which share the same thematic feature that marks Carter's persistent contemplation of the reconstruction of the heterosexual relationship. Through the analysis of these two novels, the author pleasantly finds out that Carter has her particularly designed strategy to solve the problems imposed on man and woman by patriarchy. After taking these three steps: first, man's rebirth through refusing patriarchal ideology; second, the embryo of genuine heterosexual love; third, the reconstruction of the patriarchal heterosexual relationship, the only world that we ever know has no other way but advances towards a more harmonious and more enjoyable state. The detailed analysis of the thematic feature is far away from the ultimate goal of this paper, it is just an introduction of Angela Carter to the native critics since most of them have not drawn due attention to such an influential feminist writer. This paper consists of six parts: Introduction presents Lorna Sage's comment on Carter's remarkable revision of biblical and Greek myths. Carter's "new wine in old bottles"has greatly enriched her imagination and sharpened her presentations of the contemporary world from thespeculatively feminist viewpoint. These myths betrayed are rather a better method which serves Carter's exploration of theme. After questioning the nature of contemporary heterosexual relationships, Carter shakes her head to the feminist separatists'constructions of Woman's Town in Beulah and the female Utopia in Siberia. She then proposes that love is "the source of all opposition to the emancipation of women". In order to nourish desirable and genuine heterosexual love, man has to abandon his deep-rooted patriarchal ideology and experience the rituals of rebirth. After that, the nature of contemporary heterosexual relationships can be changed in favor of woman, and then, man and woman can reconstruct the heterosexual relationships on just and human terms. Chapter one first traces Angela Carter's life experiences in different stages and enumerates her main works. Her magnificent revision of Biblical birth myth in The Passion of New Eve and Greek myth of Leda and the Swan in The Nights at the Circus follows. The re-telling of these two novels comes at the end. Chapter two explores Allen G. Johnson's comments on the features of patriarchal social structures. After that, the author in the present thesis respectively states and illustrates Evelyn's cruel treatment of Leilah and Walser's attempt to debunk Fevvers. The illustrations verify that Evelyn's and Walser's inhuman attitudes towards their counterparts obviously result in thedisastrous impact of the patriarchal ideology. And then, Carter's questioning of the nature of contemporary heterosexual relationships emerges as this chapter approaches its end. Chapter three discusses Carter's persistence in searching for a reliable strategy to eliminate woman's sufferings. She first displays women's rebellions against patriarchy by way of feminist separatists'constructions of a women's town in Beulah and the female escapees'Utopia in Siberia. After diagnosing the diseases of Woman's Town, Carter declares that it is not smart to change man into woman, copying the model of female characters imposed by patriarchy and that it is not good to construct a rigid, marginal whole-female community, either. To the female Utopia, Carter accepts its progressive meanings in reconstructing the world into a fairer and better one, but she also throws her doubt on its realization since both sexes are inseparable in the course of human reproduction and the world's regeneration. To improve woman's position in the male-centered world, Carter empowers woman with surprising ability in speaking which activates her positive participation in the course of the reconstruction. Meanwhile, she highlights the significance of new Eve and Fevvers'refusal of patriarchy by way of counterdiscourse. In this way, woman can forcefully influence man and stimulate him towards his rebirth so that they can reach their ultimate goal of the reconstruction. According to these two novels, readers can see that Carter's contemplation of the reliable feminist strategy prefers the infusion ofthe Marxist feminism and the subversive utopian feminism. Chapter four consists of two sections. The first section covers the respective processes of these two men's rebirths. Evelyn's comes first. After Leilah's pregnancy and abortion, Evelyn determinedly cuts the tie with her. Fleeing away from his cruelty, Evelyn wanders into the desert where he is caught by Sophia and brought to Beulah. There, Holy Mother's obsidian scalpel declares his journey as a man comes to the end. After the complete plastic surgery, Evelyn has no courage to affirm the vertical change of becoming a woman. Extremely terrified by the coming motherhood, "New Eve"manages to escape from Beulah, and then, falls straight into the hands of Zero. In Zero's ghost town, "she"meets his other seven wives. Zero, the self-named Adam, repeatedly rapes her and turns her into a "Mrs Zero". Zero, the father and the owner of all the women living in the harem, shows "New Eve"all the negative features of patriarchal power and reminds her of her old self. Zero's brutal treatment towards his women painfully awakens new Eve to recognize her former self as a cruel violator on Leilah. Just at the moment of violation, "she"begins her journey to reconstruct herself psychologically. But "New Eve"does not become a true Eve, until the dream lover, Tristessa, revives and comes out of his secular glass mansion. By then, her genuine passion is enkindled by the lover. The enjoyment in living with the passionate lover at last makes her really accept her role of woman. Walser, the experienced journalist, cannot resist his interviewee'smagical power of storytelling; consequently, his rational self is severely attacked. To dig up the part-bird woman's secret that doubtlessly can delight his reading public, he decides to trace her. His journey begins as he chooses to sign up for a unanimous clown of the circus. From then on, Walser-the-clown experiences his different life with more feelings. Since he rescues Mignon from the paw of the tiger, he is permitted to penetrate the other clowns'life with a molten heart which once was as hard as stones. Just as he comes to terms with them, the train crash sends him away from the others. Lonely and void-minded, he encounters a Shaman in the far wilderness of Siberia. The apprenticeship of Shaman helps him return to his fragmented past and recognizes Fevvers on the different terms. He sees her as natural a creature as himself, taking for granted that it is nature that has equipped her with magical feathers just for her "woman on top"position. Among the Shaman tribes he takes his spirit journey to be reborn into a New Man. That skeptical self has departed into oblivion. Meanwhile, Fevvers in no way remains unchanged. Her splendor wings that mark her difference have begun to wither and threaten her whole identity. She has been always longing for Walser's return to tell her she is true. The gaze of the now beloved Walser rescues her from the edge of breaking down. This recognition, beyond doubt, is reciprocal and constructive. Section two illustrates the reconstruction of the heterosexual relationship constructed on the base of man's rebirth, and then, prosperously appraises woman's hopeful future as well as man's renewed life. Eve's recognition of...