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Literature and the Empowerment of Women

 

            Angela Carter chooses to adapt "The Tiger's Bride" from its original source, "Belinda and the Monster," retold by Italo Calvino, to reveal the empowerment of women in society. Carter is clear to point out that the heroine is not defined by the actions of those that surround her, but rather by the characteristics by which she defines herself. Women in "Bellinda and the Monster" and, more specifically in, "The Tiger's Bride" are objectified specifically by the men in their lives, and through their trials the women become confident with a new attitude and self-confidence. .
             An important part in both stories is women's relationships with their fathers. The father in "Bellinda and the Monster" is portrayed differently from the father in "The Tiger's Bride." In "Bellinda and the Monster," Belinda's father loses her after stealing a rose from the Beast's garden. When the father loses Bellinda, he "fell to his knees and explained" his daughter wants nothing more than a rose as a present (Calvino 199). As opposed to Belinda's sisters wishes for expensive dresses, Belinda humbly asks for an inexpensive rose from her poor father. The soft spoken, kind girl avoids fighting with her father to eliminate havoc in their family. Many times, Belinda's wishes are subordinated to her other sisters. In contrast, Carter portrays the father in "The Tiger's Bride" as a selfish man. "The Tiger's Bride" introduces the father as a drunk with an obsession with gambling. He does not value the relationship he has with his daughter. He does not treasure her as a father should treasure a daughter. Unlike money and objects, a daughter is irreplaceable. The heroine explains, "Gambling is a sickness. My father said he loved me yet he staked his daughter on a hand of cards"(Carter 54). Although both women are taken for granted by their fathers' and used as barter, the father from "Bellinda and the Monster" loses his daughter because she insists on saving her family whereas the father in "The Tiger's Bride" carelessly bets his daughter at a hand of cards.


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