Does death offer a resolution in 'The Bloody Chamber'?

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  • Created by: cora_ah
  • Created on: 27-05-16 19:03

Does death offer a resolution in 'The Bloody Chamber'?

Advantages

  • The Marquis has to die to save the narrator and end his long history of femicide, thus keeping other women safe in the future.
  • His death puts the story within the category of 'closed Gothic' as the chaos/strife is eventually resolved.
  • 'We lead a quiet life, the three of us.'
  • 'The castle is now a school for the blind.'

Disadvantages

  • The red mark on her forehead is a permanent reminder of her ordeal and her marriage to the Marquis
  • The narrator is ashamed of the mark, which could be argued that she can never properly move on.
  • 'I am glad he cannot see it...because it spares my shame.'

Evaluation

The death of the Marquis is in keeping with the Gothic convention that the patriarchal tyrant is defeated. 

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