The Mother in 'The Bloody Chamber'

Within this story, Carter uses the mother of the narrator to present a character that is seemingly free from the oppression of men. She is described as "indomitable" and "eagle-featured", which differs to the narrator whose husband looks at her like 'horseflesh'. The mother also "nursed a village through a visitation of the plague" and "shot a man-eating tiger'. Carter uses these descriptions to show how women can be both feminine and maternal, but also strong and masculine. This clashes with the concept of gender roles. The story raises questions about the idea that women are only truly women if they are feminine.

The mother breaks free from social conventions, marrying a soldier for love instead of marrying for money or status, and even keeps his revolver in her purse at all times. The mother marries for desire, and is not ashamed of it, and worries that her daughter is marrying the Marquis for the wrong reasons by asking her "Are you sure you love him?" When her daughter replies "I am sure that I want to marry him", the mother is disappointed. Her reaction foreshadows the danger the narrator is in.

The phone call to the mother is described by the woman as something to "look forward to". Carter is showing the importance of the relationship between mother and daughter. The mother is a symbol of strength in the story. The narrator tries to ring her mother after finding the previous wives but the line is dead. This emphasises the point of how men can isolate women from their families, and therefore have the ability to make them powerless.

In contrast to the original fairy tale 'Bluebeard', the heroine waits for her brothers to save her. In 'The Bloody Chamber' it is the mother. The description of her mother on the back of the horse is undoubtedly masculine. She is described as a "wild thing", holding a revolver, and through this description Carter is subverting masculinity as the mother saves her daughter instead of a man. The mother explains to the narrator that she knew she was in trouble as a result of 'maternal telepathy'. This gives women strength in something that would usually be used to oppress them.

Throughout this story the mother is used as a buffer between the extreme masculinity of the Marquis, and the naïve behaviour of her daughter. She displays masculine traits, but ultimately, it is the more feminine aspects of her personality that enable her to save her daughter.