Research On Carnivalization In Angela Carter’s Novels

Angela Carter (1940-1992), one of the most original and well-known writers of the twentieth century from Britain, created nine novels, a large number of short stories and translated or edited fairy tales and folklores throughout her entire life. Her writing is a mixture of magical realism, gothic, feminism and other multiple styles. Her works have carried off many literature prizes and have been adapted to films or plays for many times. This author, whose works have been widely read and have great influence in western world, has not been put enough attention to in domestic academic researches, and yet have been studied more often abroad.This thesis chooses Angela Carter’s four novels, The Passion of New Eve, Nights at the Circus, The Magic Toyshop and Wise Children, as objects of study. Relying on Mikhail Bakhtin’s carnival theory, the thesis interprets these chosen texts thoroughly and comprehensively from a carnivalization angle, exploring concrete manifestations, profound meanings, artistic features and literature value of carnivalization in these works. The whole article is divided into three chapters, providing specific interpretation of Carter’s carnivalized novels at the levels of ideological contents, characterization, narrative and language respectively.In the first chapter, the thesis focuses on feminist Carter’s creation of a world with new gender relations in her writings. The chapter analyses that some female characters are trying to prove the subjectivity of female individuals and the group through the establishment of their own Utopia, in which male characters passively or consciously experience complete destroying and remodeling of their perceptions of gender and their own gender identities. Carter’s works subvert the traditional authority of the husband and the father, exploring coexisting factors which contain both overthrow and reconstruction, both destruction and regeneration in the strange carnivalesque space-time. These factors bring changes to the unequal statuses of men and women, and end up the old world in which the discourse of men was an official rule. They also bring possibilities to the development of new gender relationships. It can be seen from her carnivalesque works that Carter has feminist point of view which resists male-centered domination at the ideological level. While her writings have a strong impact on revolting male hegemony, they also reflect upon women themselves at the same time, deconstructing either gender hegemony model. It is revealed that Carter was trying her best to build harmonious relationship beyond dualism between men and women after deconstructing hegemonic discourse of both genders with the power of love and tolerance. Her novels look forward and seek actively to a perfect new pattern of gender relationship which combines openness with harmony.The second part of this thesis mainly focuses on many figures of grotesque body images in Carter’s novels and magnificent performance of these characters in a variety of carnival situations. The material body images of these marginal figures have double connotations of declaring death as well as giving birth. This chapter also describes that the grotesque figures get opportunities to release themselves free in the carnival. While performing, clowns wear masks to de-crown or downgrade loftiness and seriousness, get rid of all the fears of authorities and forces, and gain the ability to create new selves in the unbridled jokes and games. Other unusual characters with carnival spirit throw themselves into unfettered Plaza Carnival through their different forms of performance on various stages of art and life. They resist all oppression and limitation from the domination of official discourse, and break up the imprisonment of their subjectivity and freedom. Their carnivalesque personalities which contain both destructive and innovative power are carried forward to bring about infinite possibilities for themselves.The last chapter enters Carter’s works from the angle of the art of fiction, analysing narrative factors of dialogue and polyphony which are isomorphic with carnival spirit as carnivalization of literary genres. Multiple and changing narrative perspectives exist in Carter’s novels. Parallel dialogues and confrontations, processing between different characters or between characters and the author, are built up into a collection of multiple viewpoints and voices. This form of fiction with flexible and open narrative discourses breaks away from the narrative of unitary monologue, and also offers more dimensions to interpreting the works with multiple voices from various independent subjects and complex mutual relations. In addition, this chapter summarizes the features of miscellaneous and colorful narrative languages as well as the languages of the roles in the texts. The outstanding artistic features in the language of literature are distinctive marks of Angela Carter’s personal style. To some extent, Carter’s works are like a carnivalesque feast of languages, presenting satire simulations everywhere to mimic or make fun of classic works ironically and fearlessly rebel traditional literary styles in a new way. Large amounts of lively verbal slangs, folks, curses, obscene words, witticisms with fresh interest and inexhaustible vitality, which originate from the people and the popular culture, convey the inner carnival sense of the world in the works. These gorgeous comedies arouse laughter of characters inside the novels and readers outside the novels constantly, ruining monopoly and seriousness of the official discourse hegemony. The humorous and ironic elements not only rebel obsolete literary languages which have little vitality, but also open up changes into a swinging new style.Angela Carter’s novels can be described as remarkable carnivalesque works in terms of ideological contents, characterization, narrative techniques and language style. They demonstrate the nature characteristics of novels as a literary genre. Carnivalization in the novels and the carnivalesque literary spirit in Carter’s writing attitude, which bring open diversity and infinite possibilities to fictions in varied terms of contents and forms, embody the unique value of Angela Carter’s literary works.