The Marquis
surrounds the
narrator with mirrors,
turning her into a
pornographic image
reflected 12 times.
Carter emphasises the
objectification of women as
beautiful rather than strong.
when she becomes
aroused by this, she
realises how she is
also viewing herself as
only the way the
Marquis sees her.
"I caught sight of myself in the mirror.
And I saw myself, suddenly, as he saw me"
she looks into the mirrors
and realises how she is being
objectified by the Marquis
In the Gothic
mirrors are a symbol used
often in the Gothic genre,
often to represent:
sense of self
vanity
identity
an ethereal, ghostly other-world
The Courtship of Mr Lyon
by looking too often
in the mirror, Beauty
is transformed from
an innocent girl to a
spoilt young woman
she becomes obsessed with
her own physical image
"in front of the mirror, Beauty" the
adjective suggests that she is merely
beautiful, objectifying herself.
"was learning, at the end of her
adolescence, how to be a spoiled child."
"smiled at herself in the mirror
a little too often these days"
Carter uses
this to
highlight and
criticise
society's view
of women as
vain and
shallow
The Tiger's Bride
she looks into the mirror and sees her father's face rather
than her own- symbolising that she is treated as the
property of her father- reinforced by his losing her at cards
the 2nd time, she sees her father celebrating
the return of his wealth, and then realises
that she herself finds wealth unimportant
then can she be truly free from her father
and society's expectations to transform
into a strong, independent tigress
"send her back to perform the part of
my father's daughter", she distances
herself from society's expectations
Carter uses the image of the
'soubrette' contrasting with the
narrator to show how the view
of women weakens characters.
"glossy, nut-brown, rosy
cheeks, blue, rolling eyes"
the heroine needs to accept the animal
nature in herself in order to break free
of the social constraints upon her.
the mirror represents:
the contrast between the
heroine and the soubrette