Blog entry 4: Beauty & the Beast

"The Tiger's Bride" and "The Swan Maiden" Challenge Patriarchal Norms

In Angela Carter’s “The Tiger’s Bride,” the beautiful young girl embodies a very strong female character. She is bold, proud and tough. On the other hand, all the male characters in the tale are bumbling and weak. Her father is overcome with his gambling addiction and drinking. When she sees him in the mirror he is weeping and she calls him a “self-deluding fool” (Tatar 67). The valet is anxious and trembling in every encounter. She calls him a “jigging caricature of a man” (67) as his only response to her witty remarks is “Are you not a woman of honour?” (69). This implies that his only counterargument to her strength is the patriarchal order that stands in their society. He has no other defense. The tiger, even, is shameful and pathetic. He is always hiding himself, unable to bear his own appearance. Also, he is embarrassed by his own request to see the young girl unclothed and cannot hold her eye contact.

However, with all these attributes considered, the young girl is still gambled away to the Beast by her father then ordered around by the valet. 

Carter’s main idea is that women cannot overcome the strict patriarchal order imposed by society, but it has made them stronger and men hide in these cultural norms.

“The Swan Maiden” also challenges a typically male-dominated order, but with an outcome that is opposite of that in “The Tiger’s Bride.” When the hunter sees the swan maiden he immediately wants to “possess” her or else he will have no happiness in life (79). This extremely aggressive maneuver towards love emanates the traditional male sex drive. When he steals her feathers to prevent her from transforming back into a swan, she realizes without hesitation and attempts to trick him. The hunter was to stubborn to yield, and ‘saves her’ by lending her his cloak and taking her home. Then they marry, because she is alone and has no money or other ability to leave. When he finally admits to his theft, she goes home without a second thought and leaves him to die shortly thereafter in sorrow and lonesomeness.

Even though she is stolen from, forced to marry and held captive for seven years, the swan maiden still manages to be victorious. This message not only speaks on behalf of virtue and honesty, but also a women’s ability to escape patriarchal restraints.