The Effect of Setting in "The Bloody Chamber" Mary Anne Phillips 12th Grade

In The Bloody Chamber, Carter espouses setting as a tool which contributes towards the reader's emotional reaction when delving into the corrupt themes of her stories. We can therefore become more engaged with her stories as the settings allow ideas such as superstition and male desire to surround the characters. Within the stories, these features function as external displays of characters' faults.

The bedroom in The Bloody Chamber is symbolic and exemplifies the themes of male dominance and of a pernicious sort of female subjection in the story. This bedroom contains multiple mirrors, in which the narrator recalls watching “...a dozen husbands approach me in a dozen mirrors and slowly, methodically, teasingly, unfasten the buttons of my jacket...” an action which she seems to be reluctant to allow. Through the employment of multiple mirrors in the setting, the Marquis’ reflection is seen “a dozen” times, shedding light on his predatory approach. The imagery of multiple men asserts the idea that there is no escape for the narrator and that she must subject herself to the Marquis. She is in his house, in a room he has given to her; he is even ingrained in the walls “methodically” approaching her. Setting therefore has a...