The Bloody Chamber - The Tigers Bride, Task 3


1. 'The Devils Picture Books' refers to the cards held by the payers during their game. They are made to be objects of evil, as they often lead to people gambling and losing their money, which is referred to in the bible as 'The root of all evil,'
2. When the heroine calls the Beast, 'Milord,' the language used is seemingly old fashioned and comes across to the reader as mocking and sarcastic. This signifies the pride and wit of this female protagonist, as it is uncommon for women to mock men of such high status
3. White roses are often associated with romance, and also purity and virginity due to the colour. It is first mentioned in the previous story, 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon,' as is here shown to be a gift for the Fathers 'girl child,' signifying his love for her. Within this story, the roses are used more than once. Firstly, they are given as a gift to the narrator form the Beast, seemingly as some sort of gift, to 'reconcile' any hurt emotions she may feel at being lost to the Beast by her Father. They are then used shortly afterwards as a symbol of a forgiveness from the narrator to her own father, to say that she has forgiven his misdeeds. However, when she hands over the rose which has been bloodied from her pricked finger, this symbolises the brokenness of the apology, and will act as a reminder to the father of his actions as the rose is now stained and tainted, never to be the same, much like the narrators feelings for her father.
4. The verb choice of 'fleeced' suggests that they were 'swindled' out of a great deal of money, as they were overcharged and taken advantage of by the people of their new town. However, 'fleeced' also suggests that they were covered with a material, perhaps made blind and were not allowed to see the truth.
5. 'Gobble you up' is a line from another common fairy tale 'Three Billy Goats gruff' where a troll is trying to eat 3 billy goats as they cross the bridge trying to escape with their lives, they trick the troll, and in the end the troll is killed. Within this story, it could be said to have connotations of rape or assault, and is used as a threat to the narrator, suggesting that something sinister awaits her.
6. We are told that the Beast 'bought solitude, not luxury,' which tells us that the Beast thinks little of material possessions and appearances, and we can also see that the inhabitants of his home seem happy enough without the luxury, as the horse 'trotted' into the great hall. This suggests that the Beast is searching for something more than wealth to bring him happiness, perhaps a woman like he has summoned.
7. The phrase 'where the fruit and blossom grew on the bough together' is significant as it suggests the Beasts strong belief of nature and humans coinciding peacefully. It also suggests he feels as though animals should be treated as equals, showing that he has clearly been mistreated due to his animalistic nature and wishes he would be treated similarly to other humans even though he is not one.
8. The description of the soubrette machine suggests to the reader that the Beast does not like to have many human servants around, similarly to Mr Lyon from the previous tale, as it reminds him of his inhuman self. The Soubrette seems also to be a perfect image of femininity, and also is described to look the same as the narrator, which could tell of the Beasts pleasure of the female which may be why he wishes to see the heroine naked.
9. The narrator compares herself to animals as she states that she 'wished she had rolled in ray' so that she could be alike to animals in the way that they do not have to endure humiliating rituals such as this one. She also later goes on to say that she 'larruped and harrumphed' on her way to the stables, likening herself to a horse, perhaps suggesting her desire to be free and wild instead of confined to the Beasts home.
10. The phrase 'The tiger will never lie down with the lamb; he acknowledges no pact that is not reciprocal’ suggests that even though this being is a Beast, he would not bring harm to her as it was never his or her wish.