The Bloody Chamber by Angela Cater, Research Paper Example

The Bloody chamber by Angela Cater openly talks of the gender  ills in our society. The Marquis, as narrated in the story, had already married three times and her third wife just disappeared mysteriously, ‘Marquis had been married before, more than once’. Even though the heroine knows about this, her strong affection towards him did not let her think twice. Despite the fact that she was much older than him, she just accepted the marriage, ‘He was  older than I. He was much older than I’. The heroine was just seventeen years old.

Despite the Marquis suspicious conduct and older age, the heroine did not mind because of his wealth. She wanted to live a luxurious life with him since she comes from a poor background. The events at the beginning of this story would undoubtedly tell that women are being subjected to violence unknowingly. The ‘bloody chamber’ as the writer frames it refers to the Marquis house within which women have suffered to death. His luxurious living lures them into the trap unknowingly. However, some life circumstances can make women land into dangerous situations that would have been avoided. The young heroine clearly knew the incredible happenings with her lover but the situation behind her family led him seek a rich man. Her mother doubted whether she really loved him; she asks, ‘Are you sure you love him’.

Even though we understand that women would wish to better their lives, looking for a rich man in marriage is not the solution. We may reason it out that the other three wives of Marquis had also fallen for him because of his wealth. The result of this was mistreatment and death. The young heroine also comes to say she feels as if in jail. ‘Into marriage, into exile. I would always be lonely.’ This sentiment indicates that she too faced trouble. Considering both sides of the situations, men contribute a lot to violence against women. Women are just innocent when they get into marriage. They come to realize it they made a mistake later. Most importantly, love should determine a marriage, not wealth.