What is the link between the metaphor of a beast in Angela Carter's fiction, radio and screen works and the concepts of repression and liberation in postmodern gothic fiction?

Abstract

This study investigates the link between the metaphor of a beast in Angela Carter's fiction, ration and screen works and the concepts of repression and liberation in postmodern gothic fiction. It examines the western patriarchal history and culture and it comments on how Angela Carter works these themes into her narratives. The study looks at how Carter's writing arose amid the period ripe with misogyny and how it influenced the male perception of the female, particularly in regards to the creation of the female beast. Furthermore it examines Angela Carter's radio and screen versions of The Company of Wolves (1996) and the radio play Puss in Boots (1996) debates how the fairytale structure feeds into this previous discussion. Carter's radio script of Vampirella (1996) brings into question the idea of the male gaze and whether or not it affects both women and men. Through exploration and analyses of the female leads of The Company of Wolves and Carter's The Magic Toyshop (1996), this study deliberates on the male gaze's relation to the female beast and possible origins of both.