Within The Sadeian Woman Carter expresses equal concern with myth and fairy tale. She postulates that the negative stereotypes of women constructed in pornography derive from myth; "Flesh comes to us out of History" (Carter 1979,P6) Women in traditional fairy tales are consistently portrayed as passive, virginal victims that are dependent upon men for financial security and happiness. The 'princess' of the story more often than not is rescued from poverty through marriage and consequently 'lives happily after' in a grand castle upon the arm of a prince or king. In the case of the gothic fairy tale ,such as those written by the Grimm brothers and Charles Perrault , the female suffers extreme violence at the hands of men as punishment for 'impure' acts. If the female is not killed off in these tales she is rescued by another male 'the knight in shining armour' or succumbs to violence and empty sexual acts to posses power for herself and escape her entrapment. |
"Myth deals with false universals" (Carter,1979.p:6
These stereotypical female characteristics form those of De Sade's characters' in his pornographic novels Justine and Juliette. Justine's character represents that of the virtuous submissive princess whilst Juliette is the wicked sister that freely consents to empty sexual acts and murder to regain power from the male.
Much to the distaste of fellow feminists such as Andrea Dworkin and Susanne Kappeler, Carter draws positive insight from de Sade's pornographic extremes (Gamble,1997.p:99). She recognises that de Sade's pornography is powerful in highlighting gender binaries in and out the bedroom and as such creates an opportunity for change.
Carter famously defines this kind of pornographer as the 'moral pornographer':
‘The moral pornographer would be an artist who uses pornographic material as part of the acceptance of the logic of a world of absolute sexual license for all the genders, and projects a model of the way such a world might work. A moral pornographer might use pornography as a critique of current relations between the sexes. [...] Such a pornographer would not be the enemy of women’
(Carter,1979,P:
Carter believes Juliette sexually liberates women from imposed perceptions and expected behaviour.However, what troubles Carter is the the lack of compromise or transcendence between the two extremities displayed. Both Juliette and Justine fail to find their true sexual identity and happiness. Their behaviour and destiny is still determined by a struggle for power to escape male dominance. Gender binaries and inequality prevail. Furthermore, Carter notes that de Sade's extreme violence displays women as performative objects and thus reveals the shallow depths of sex, he highlights that it is "reduced to it formal elements"(Carter,1979,P:4). Sex in de Sade's novels fail to encompass a mutual affection that binds men and women together in a shared experience of bliss. It is rather a physical display of power that reflects the social status and inequalities of those performing the act (Carter,1979).
Following the study of de Sade, Carter began
"Looking for ways in which the tiger and the lamb or the tiger and lamb parts of the psyche can reach some sort of accommodation" (Atwood, P:120)
The Bloody Chamber was the result
Carter wrote a collection of short stories entitled The Bloody Chamber which combined both myth and pornography to create erotic fairytales that sought to liberate women (and men) from these conventional chambers. The remainder of the website wil be devoted to the analysis and application of Roland Barthes 'text of pleasure' that I believe Carter embraced in the composition of these stories to achieve a text that both men and women could lose themselves in and come together as equals..
These stereotypical female characteristics form those of De Sade's characters' in his pornographic novels Justine and Juliette. Justine's character represents that of the virtuous submissive princess whilst Juliette is the wicked sister that freely consents to empty sexual acts and murder to regain power from the male.
Much to the distaste of fellow feminists such as Andrea Dworkin and Susanne Kappeler, Carter draws positive insight from de Sade's pornographic extremes (Gamble,1997.p:99). She recognises that de Sade's pornography is powerful in highlighting gender binaries in and out the bedroom and as such creates an opportunity for change.
Carter famously defines this kind of pornographer as the 'moral pornographer':
‘The moral pornographer would be an artist who uses pornographic material as part of the acceptance of the logic of a world of absolute sexual license for all the genders, and projects a model of the way such a world might work. A moral pornographer might use pornography as a critique of current relations between the sexes. [...] Such a pornographer would not be the enemy of women’
(Carter,1979,P:
Carter believes Juliette sexually liberates women from imposed perceptions and expected behaviour.However, what troubles Carter is the the lack of compromise or transcendence between the two extremities displayed. Both Juliette and Justine fail to find their true sexual identity and happiness. Their behaviour and destiny is still determined by a struggle for power to escape male dominance. Gender binaries and inequality prevail. Furthermore, Carter notes that de Sade's extreme violence displays women as performative objects and thus reveals the shallow depths of sex, he highlights that it is "reduced to it formal elements"(Carter,1979,P:4). Sex in de Sade's novels fail to encompass a mutual affection that binds men and women together in a shared experience of bliss. It is rather a physical display of power that reflects the social status and inequalities of those performing the act (Carter,1979).
Following the study of de Sade, Carter began
"Looking for ways in which the tiger and the lamb or the tiger and lamb parts of the psyche can reach some sort of accommodation" (Atwood, P:120)
The Bloody Chamber was the result
Carter wrote a collection of short stories entitled The Bloody Chamber which combined both myth and pornography to create erotic fairytales that sought to liberate women (and men) from these conventional chambers. The remainder of the website wil be devoted to the analysis and application of Roland Barthes 'text of pleasure' that I believe Carter embraced in the composition of these stories to achieve a text that both men and women could lose themselves in and come together as equals..