Task 1:
- Leonine - something that resembles a lion or lions
- Fugue - a composition where a short melody is introduced by one part and taken up by others (music) Or a loss of awareness of one's identity often caused by changing from a person's usual environment (psychiatry).
- Rococo - a style of art that influences furniture or architecture characterised by ornamental late baroque style of decoration with asymmetrical patterns.
- Minimalistic - someone who practices minimalism
- Chamber Music - instrumental music played by a small ensemble with each person to a part, usually in the form of a string quartet.
- Florid - refers to a person having a red or flushed complexion. Or something being excessively intricate or elaborate.
Task 2:
Angela Carter- Angela Carter was born in 1940 on 7th May and died on the 16th February 1992.
- She was born in Eastbourne during World War Two and was therefore evacuated to Yorkshire where she lived with her grandmother. She then attended school in south London, before leaving for university in Bristol. Carter also lived in Tokyo for two years and after this explored the US, Asia and Europe.
- Carter is seen to be linked with Jane Eyre as she was going to publish a sequel to the book where Adele is a grown woman, wanting to seduce her own father Mr Rochester.
- Genres Carter has written are - magic realism, gothic, short stories, feminism
- She was ranked 10th in The Times 50 great writers since 1945.
- Carters influences include - real life experiences that she had and incorporated within her work along with writers such as Shakespeare, Coleridge, Poe, Dickens, Wordworth and Blake.
Task 3:
Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales- Charles Perrault was born on 12th January 1628 and died 16th May 1703.
- Perrault invented and provided a ballot box so that future elections could be decided through this.
- His most famous book was called Tales of Mother Goose.
- This was published in 1697 in Paris, France.
- For the basis of his book he used previously written fairy tales, but added to them by using events and images from around him to influence him.
- Within this book there were 8 tales published.
- The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales were first published in 1812 in Germany, the second edition was later published in 1819.
- There were 211 tales published.
- The Brothers Grimm drew their influence from Charles Perrault.
Task 4:
Charles Baudelaire- Charles Baudelaire was born April 9th 1821 and died August 31st 1867.
- He lived and worked in Paris, France.
- Baudelaire is unlike his other poetic romantic predecessors as he used influence from urban life in Paris within his work rather than typical romantic settings.
- The Flowers of Evil is his most famous poetry collection and was published in 1857.
- The themes of this collection include sex and death, whilst also touching on lesbianism, sacred and profound love, metamorphosis, melancholy and lost innocence which lead to Habas and Flaubert calling it ''putrid' and 'unyielding as marble'.
- One interesting fact about Baudelaire is that he was a heavy drink and drug taker throughout the years, addicted to opium and hashish. Another fact is he tended to sleep prostitutes and from this caught syphilis which may have had some influence on his death.
Task 5:
Marquis de Sade
- Books written by Marquis de Sade include; Justine, Juliette, Aline and Valcour, The 120 Days of Sodom.
- Marquis de Sade focuses on the pleasure of the senses due to him being a libertine and having no regards to moral principles, therefore showing that sexual preference for him did not matter as he believed he could be with whoever he wanted.
Essential Vocabulary:
- Aesthete - someone who appreciates and is sensitive to art and beauty.
- Aigrette - a headdress worn by a person, made up of white feathers from an Egret and gems.
- Avarice - extreme greed for wealth or material gain.
- Baroque - a European style of architecture, music and art during the 17th and 18th centuries, characterised by detail and mannerism.
- Bier - a stand/frame on which a coffin or corpse is laid before burial.
- Billets-doux - a love letter.
- Carillon - refers to a set of bells played by using an automatic mechanism similar to a piano roll.
- Carnal - sexual needs and activities.
- Catafalque - a decorated frame that raises and supports the coffin or casket.
- Chthonic - relating to or inhibiting the underworld.
- Dolorous - the feeling or expression of sorrow or distress.
- Eldritch - weird, sinister, ghostly or unearthly.
- Enfer - translates to hell from French,
- Gourmand - a person who enjoys eating, often eating too much.
- Immolate - to kill or offer something as a sacrifice, usually by burning them or it.
- Importunate - being persistent to the point of annoyance.
- Interdiction - is a military term for an authoritative prohibition.
- Jinn - refers to an Arabian mythology in which there is an intelligent spirit, able to appear in human and animal form having a good or bad influence.
- Lisle - a smooth, tightly twisted cotton thread mainly used for hosiery and underwear.
- Loge - a separate private box within a theatre OR the front section of a theatre balcony.
- Loquacity - when a person is very talkative.
- Lustratory - to purify by means of ceremony.
- Missal - a Roman Catholic Church prayer book containing texts used in the Mass throughout the years.
- Nacreous - having a pearly appearance.
- Parure - a matched set of jewels worn together by those of the upper class.
- Sacerdotal - relates to priests or priesthood, for example sacerdotal robes.
- Sadomasochistic - the deriving of pleasure, especially sexual gratification from physical or emotional abuse.
- Sardonic - scornfully or cynically mocking someone.
- Trousseau - the possessions a bride collects on her wedding day such as clothes, linen and accessories.
- Vellum - a fine parchment made from the skin of a calf, lamb or kid.
- Vicuna - an animal that is a wild relative to the llama leading to fabric being made from the fleece of this mammal.
- Viscera - the organs contained within the abdominal cavities such as the intestines.
- Voluptuary - a person devoted to luxury and sensual pleasures.
Basic Questions:
1. Carter presents the ruby choker as being 'clasped round' the woman's throat, suggesting that the choker is some sort of control collar used by the Marquis to show his power due to the patriarchal society they live in. The word 'clasped' presents a violent image that the choker is made to be worn by the woman again her will, this is done to show the Marquis' wealth and to present her as his property rather than a person.
2. The narrator describing herself as an 'exile' once married suggests that she is now the Marquis' property as she will no longer be able to return home, due to her belonging to her husband because of the patriarchal society that contributed to this.
3. The girl is given confidence and power as she realises that it is her innocence and nativity that draws the Marquis to her, allowing her to decide on how she will act in the future. The giving of the keys also allows the girl to feel as if she has power, as she can control where she goes and what she does during her husband's travels.
4. The usual 'hero' structure is altered on page 33 as the woman is presented as being her own heroine that is able to think of a way to prolong her killing, rather than having a male figure as her rescuer. This therefore goes against the social views of the time as Carter is challenging the hierarchy that would have been evident during this era.
5. The Duke's view of woman is purely negative as he only sees them as physical objects that he will eventually kill. There is no emotional connection with the Duke and woman as he sees himself as having ultimate power over this sex ,for example 'he made me put on my choker' suggests he only wants to use the woman as a symbol of his wealth and materialism rather than for love.
2. The narrator describing herself as an 'exile' once married suggests that she is now the Marquis' property as she will no longer be able to return home, due to her belonging to her husband because of the patriarchal society that contributed to this.
3. The girl is given confidence and power as she realises that it is her innocence and nativity that draws the Marquis to her, allowing her to decide on how she will act in the future. The giving of the keys also allows the girl to feel as if she has power, as she can control where she goes and what she does during her husband's travels.
4. The usual 'hero' structure is altered on page 33 as the woman is presented as being her own heroine that is able to think of a way to prolong her killing, rather than having a male figure as her rescuer. This therefore goes against the social views of the time as Carter is challenging the hierarchy that would have been evident during this era.
5. The Duke's view of woman is purely negative as he only sees them as physical objects that he will eventually kill. There is no emotional connection with the Duke and woman as he sees himself as having ultimate power over this sex ,for example 'he made me put on my choker' suggests he only wants to use the woman as a symbol of his wealth and materialism rather than for love.
Developed Questions:
1. The description of the Marquis' and the woman's first sexual encounter is erotic and violent, as the woman herself describes there as being no 'finesse about it'. This shows that there is no romance included in this encounter as the way it is described when he 'stripped (the woman), gourmand that he was' suggests he is only after pleasure rather than a deep relationship. The word 'gourmand' links with the idea of violence and erotica as it shows the reader he is hungry for sexual gratification and therefore creates a pornographic image.
2. The language used to describe the painting is pornographic and erotic, symbolising the violence between the Marquis and woman as the painting describes a scene like their first encounter which was dark and graphic.
3. On page 15 Carter uses the colours; white, black, purple, pink, ruby, all of which link with the Gothic as they represent something dark and mysterious as they describe the setting around her.
4. The phrase 'All the better to see you' comes from the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, used to remind the reader that this is still a fairy tale, with a hidden message. This phrase is also used to show the nature of the Marquis as it suggests he is similar to the Wolf within the fairy tale, as he is beast like and violent just as the character is in Little Red Riding Hood.
5.
Complexed Questions:
1. In the story appearance in the form of looks is important as they allow the reader to create an image of each character, for example with the Marquis we are told he has a 'dark mane'. This gives the reader the impression that he is beast like, due to him having a mane similar to a lion which then leads to the nature of the man being hinted at. His looks are also addressed when his eyes are described as having 'absolute absence of light', which suggests their is no soul to the man and that inside he is dead presenting a typical Gothic element.The woman's looks however are rarely mentioned however, she is described as being 'the frail child within (the white dress)' which is important as it suggests she is still naive and not fully grown. This means her relationship with the Marquis is not a mature one and therefore they are both using one another for either pleasure or wealth. As well as looks being considered, clothing is equally as important in the story. One of the main items to be looked at is 'a choker of rubies, two inches wide.' which is given to the woman after she is married. This may be seen as a sort of control collar used by the Marquis to oppress his wife and keep his power over her, foreshadowing his actions later on in the story as we learn the people made to wear the choker are killed.
Magic Realism:
- A genre/aesthetic style where magical elements are natural within a realistic environment or setting.
- Characteristics of this genre include: Fantastical elements - fantastical events are shown in a realistic way with fantasy traits given to characters. Real world settings - typical settings used to show the magic underneath the real world Authorial reticence - the author deliberately withholds information, enhancing the story as it gives the impression that fantastical events have no taken place. Heightened awareness of mystery - a major theme in magic realism writing. Political critique - criticisms of society are made through having an alternative world that corrects the reality of the viewpoints.
- This genre is not only present in literary works, but also film and visual arts.
- Magic realism first originated in Latin America during the 1920s as the art movement of the time influenced literary projects.
