Fe/male Indentity: The Movement Towards An Androgynous Society ...
My Understanding of Angela Carter


Posing Questions ...

> Does the regulation of sexuality produce male and female identities within a proportional binary relation?

> What social practices and conventions might produce sexuality in this form?

> To what extent is gender identity interpreted as a relationship between sex, gender, sexual practices and desires?

WOW .... these are some heavy questions. Yet, they are the questions Angela Carter undoubtedly raises in her books, as well as questions we, as a sexually segregated society, should reflect upon. Trying to find answers to these questions is tough, especially when the road to truth is often paved with sarcastic bumps and curves. Still, this has led to my overall fascination with this author's perspective on how and why cultural societies structure sex roles and gender identities. So, I have decided to study a few of her short stories, "The River People" from The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman, "A Souvenir of Japan," and "Reflections" from Fireworks: Nine Profane Pieces_for the purposes of this term project/paper. Ultimately, my goal is to demonstrate how Carter advocates an androgynous society. Hopefully, my findings will prove accurate and concrete. For a more detailed explaination of my intentions, see Precis, Draft Three (down below).

Beauvoir, Freud, and Irigaray ... !?!

Understanding some of the theories of Simone de Beauvoir, Sigmund Freud, and Luce Irigaray are instrumental to my analysis. Therefore, I will briefly touch on their theories here, since they pertain to my paper.

Simone de Beauvoir ...

believes that "one is not born a woman, but rather, becomes one" (Butler Gender Trouble 8). In order to assimilate this idea thoroughly, Carter sets up duelistic cultural societies in her short story, "Souvenir of Japan." These two cultural societies are England vs. Japan. Within the confines of the narrator's Western European society, she is considered feminine, yet, in Japan, she is atypical. Carter purposefully exaggerates the narrator's perception of herself in order to establish that idea that culture, not biology, determines sexual gender.

Sigmund Freud ...

believes that men attribute phallic traits to mother figures. Therefore, Carter purposefully writes Desiderio's interactions with Mama as a way to expose this myth. She also explores Freud's discourse on the fetish (which is more deeply examined in my Final Research Paper).

Luce Irigaray ...

believes that women "comprise a sex which can not be singularly represented" (Butler Gender Trouble_9). Since she believes that the exclusion of the feminine enables our masculinated society to gain total control. In "A Souvenir of Japan," Carter sets up a parody of Iragary's male dominant society.

My Comments

I would like all of those who read my web page to know, that I am by no means saying that Angela Carter's ideas are this cut and dry. Much of what Carter advocates can be taken in many different ways, mine is only one of many. So, I hope you enjoy what my paper offers. Open your minds, forget your sex, and immerse yourself in Androgyny At Work In The Texts Of Angela Carter (just press the link!).

My Links

Bibiliography 1 My annotated bibliography as a Microsoft Word file.

Robinson, "The Anti-hero as Oedipus: Gender and the Postmodern Narrative."

Precis, Draft Three

Androgyny At Work In The Texts Of Angela Carter