Title: Wolf Alice
Author: Angela Carter
In: The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (Angela Carter)
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Classics, Dark fantasy, Werewolves
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Vintage
Year: 1979
5th sentence, 74th page: She grew up with wild beasts.

A feral child, whom some nuns have attempted to “civilize” by trying to teach her standard social graces, is left in the house of a monstrous, vampiric Duke when she cannot conform. She gradually comes to realise her own identity as a young woman and human being, and even develops compassion for the Duke, going far beyond the nuns’ stunted views of life.

Sometimes we just can’t conform to others’ beliefs of “normal”. But, that’s not always a bad thing, it’s just something that happens. And, in the case of this short story – that non-conformity led to a young, feral girl child being abandoned to an older, vampiric gentleman. What a way to punish someone for not doing as you expect them to! And, you know, there’s a lot of symbolism in the fact that the young, untrained girl is literally given away to an older man. One that is a blood-sucker to be more precise.

This was a great way to finish The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories – it is vivid, descriptive and just as wickedly twisted as the rest of the stories in this collection.

Image source: Goodreads

Title: The Werewolf
Author: Angela Carter
In: The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (Angela Carter)
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Classics, Dark fantasy, Werewolves
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Vintage
Year: 1979
5th sentence, 74th page: Here, take your father’s hunting knife; you know how to use it.

A tale of a girl who goes visit her grandmother, but encounters a mysterious werewolf on the way…

Oh Grandma, what big teeth you have! And now I shall cause you bodily harm and take your place.

This is possibly my favourite Carter retelling so far. Most of the fairytales, I genuinely enjoy, but Little Red Riding Hood is one that I never really related to. Possibly because I never go to see my own grandmother, and I can’t imagine skipping down a forest path to do so. Plus, what sane family would send their small daughter into the forest where wolves are known to roam? But, I digress. The very things that kind of frustrate me about the original are twisted to fit this fantastic retelling.

For only three pages, this was a really fun and kind of twisted story.

Image source: Goodreads

Title: The Company of Wolves
Author: Angela Carter
In: The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (Angela Carter)
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Classics, Dark fantasy, Werewolves
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Vintage
Year: 1979
5th sentence, 74th page: He strips off his shirt.

The wolf is described as an evil thing. The first story is about a witch that turned a whole wedding ceremony into wolves. She likes them coming to her cabin and howling their misery for it soothes her. The following story is about a young lady and a man that are about to have sex on their wedding night. As they get ready, the husband says he needs to stop and relieve himself in the forest. The wife waits and he never returns. Off in the distance you can hear a wolf howling. She then figures her husband will never return and marries a new man. With her new husband she bears children. Her first husband comes back and sees his wife and the story unravels… Later we meet a girl walking in the woods. She was loved by everyone and feared nothing. She made a deal with a hunter; whoever can get to the grandmothers house first wins. If the hunter wins she owes him a kiss. She lets the hunter win because she wants to kiss him. The hunter arrives at the grandmothers house but she’s frail and sick, holding a Bible for protection. The last thing she sees is the young man at the foot of her bed…. “See! sweet and sound she sleeps in granny’s bed, between the paws of the tender wolf.”

The ultimate story of seduction over the wild beast. Kind of a spin on Little Red Riding Hood but with a far cooler ending. After all, the big teeth ultimately lead to a happily ever after… of sorts.

The story doesn’t just tell the story about the young girl with the red hood though. It displays the wolf as an evil thing – it is a creature turned by witchcraft. It is a killer and the scariest thing in the woods. No one wants to cross the wolf. Yet, the most beloved, and innocent of all the village goes into the woods and somehow manages to find a way to belong in the company of wolves.

Image source: Wikipedia