User:Braden Marchelewski/sandbox

Introduction
The fictional character of the grandma in The Werewolf plays a significant role in portraying modern day society and is written by English novelist Angela Carter. She adds a spin off twist to the normal fairy tale and instead carries significant underlying meanings within fictional characters such as Little Red Riding Hood and the grandma. The Werewolf is a short story written within a book called The Bloody Chambers and the depiction of the grandma is far different to the grandma in the normal fiction of the Little Red Riding Hood.

Other short stories

 * The Tiger's Bride
 * Puss in Boots
 * The Company of the Wolves
 * Wolf Alice

Awards
In 1979 The Bloody Chamber won an Cheltenham Festival Literary Prize.

Summary of story
The short story is of a girl and her grandmother living in a misogynistic and judging society were people who have a different appearance, are treated badly. This is evident in the grandmas portrayal within The Werewolf. The girl travels in the woods to visit her sick grandma who is then encountered by a vicious wolf. The girl ends up seizing  "her knife on the beast"  who ends up being her beloved grandmother. This leaves a wart on her grandmothers hand which she then gets stoned to death by the northern villagers. This short story is significant for portraying the the judgmental views on the grandmother and speaks volume for the judgmental society that this story evolves around off and the society we perhaps still live in today. Carter always has an underlying meaning she is trying to express in her short stories which is usually portrayed to show her own feelings reflected onto the readers so that they feel a similar way.

Critics Reception
Most critics suggest Carter has very unsual ways of expressing her ideas whereas others think shes goes about it correctly as evidenced below through the critics thoughts. Some critics such as Lau, Kimberly J argues Carter has “unexpected characterisations of feminine sexuality”. . This could be seen through the spin off of the grandmother turning into the wolf. As previously stated Carter's reasoning for the “unexpected characterisations of feminine sexuality” is to speak volume for the society that the grandmother lives in. She is judged and "pelted with stones" because of her difference in appearance. Through the fictional character of the grandmother the readers are able to understand that the characterisation of the grandmother is too highlight the misogyny and judgments people hold in modern day society with ageing and looks. Although the grandmother is the antagonist her role as a character is significant as the grandma being killed, due to her differences in appearance, mirrors todays society as people who are too old to be pregnant are swapped out with younger women and are proposed as now useless.

Another critic by the name of Hélène cixous, ( who is a feminine theorist ) claims that “feminine writers have no womanly reason to pledge allegiance to the negativity”. This critic suggests Carter is correct as she is a feminine writer and through the grandmother turning into a wolf we see she is presented as a victim much like the innocent girl. This innocent characterisation of the grandmother despite her change in appearance proves Helene's critic to be correct. Helene also suggested women "do not deny" which is starkly contrasted in The Werewolf as the the girl denies the wolf and threatens the wolf which ends up to be her grandmother. '''This portrayal of the grandmother speaks volume for modern day society, we reject and stereotype people because of their differences in appearance.

Patricia Dunker suggests that the women and girl victimisation in The Werewolf is a “process by which women are taught fear… as a function of their femininity”. . Patricia Dunker suggest the  grandmothers characterisation is supposed to be fragile and feminine which goes against other critics such views as the grandmother should be a sign of wisdom and strength, rather then having judgmental views thrown at the character. The purpose of the grandmothers character is to depict modern day society. The grandmother in the traditional Red Riding Hood serves the purpose of the plot whereas in Angela Carters version she is a depiction of the consequences to stereotypes and judgmental views.