A Free Woman in an Unfree Society : An Analysis of How Angela Carter Challenges Myths of Sexuality and Power in “The Bloody Chamber” & “The Company of Wolves”

Abstract: With the use of gender criticism, this essay analyses the myths about women and how they and men use their sexuality to gain power in Angela Carter’s “The Company of Wolves” and “The Bloody Chamber”. Accordingly, this essay incorporates the theoretical frameworks of Simone de Beauvoir’s “Must We Burn Sade” and The Second Sex as well as Angela Carter’s The Sadeian Woman. The primary myths that are included in this essay are the “good girl” and the “bad woman” myths which are introduced by de Beauvoir. By understanding the role of these myths and consequently how they affect both men and women’s perceptions of themselves and one another, this essay provides insight on Angela Carter’s complex characters. The essay concludes that the characters are associated with contrasting, and occasionally combined, myths which in turn affect how they gain power.