ANGELA CARTER The Tiger's Bride (1979)
Historical Questions
I. "My father lost me to the Beast at cards." Compare the representation of the father in "The Tiger's Bride" with two to three other versions of the story. Begin by analyzing the plots of the stories: How does the father lose his daughter to the Beast in other versions? What similarities and differences do you find with the way the father loses the heroine in Carter's version? Then, focus on the language and details used to describe the father. In what ways are these similar? In what ways different? Explore the effects of Carter's language on readers familiar with other versions of the story. How do you respond to her representation of the father? Why did you react in the ways you did? Why do you think Carter portrayed him as she did? In what ways might Carter's repre¬sentation of the father affect your reading of other versions of the story?
2. In many of the versions included in this chapter, the Beast makes vari¬ous requests of the heroine. Yet none seem as explicitly sexual as what she is asked in "The Tiger's Bride," even though in some versions she becomes intimate with the Beast early on in the story. Develop a symp¬tomatic reading of La Bestia's request in "The Tiger's Bride" in which you explore it as a symptom of (a) issues that were unarticulated but still present in one or two earlier versions, and (b) tensions or issues in sexual relationships today. For example, why does La Bestia ask to look at the heroine? Why does she find this request so shocking? Why does he show himself to her? What contemporary issues in male-female rela¬tions today might such actions be symptomatic of?
3. In the other versions we have read, the Beast is transformed into a human form. In this version, the heroine is transformed into a beast. How do you interpret this transformation, and what does it imply about the strength or submission of Carter's Beauty. Compare and contrast the interplay of the themes of female self-denial and autonomy in Carter's version with those in two other versions. Be sure to explain how (or whether) definitions of autonomy and self-denial have changed over time and what definition of these terms you are using.
4. Objects can have different meanings attached to them when they are placed in different contexts. This version of Beauty and the Beast has its share of treasure chests, expensive objects, lavish living quarters, and gifts from the Beast, and yet, because the Beast does not transform into a prince, these objects do not get to be used by the couple. They do not form part of Beauty's reward for loving the Beast. The only person who gains use of some of them is the heroine's father. Compare the values regarding social class embedded in this version with two or three other versions. Then ana¬lyze the effects on you of Carter's representations of social class and wealth, exploring why the story has the effects on you that it does.
Cultural Questions
1. Zipes quotes Sylvia Bryant who argues that Carter's "The Tiger's Bride" constitutes a "challenge to the Oedipal myth;' which guided Bettelheim's interpretation that the Beast is a symbol of the young girl's fear of sex¬uality. Focusing on three or four specific passages from "The Tiger's Bride and on relevant passages from Bettelheim, explore whether you think the story does challenge the Oedipal myth. If so, explore the effects.