2. Setting: The Train

 Choose one setting Carter uses and discuss how it is significant in the telling of the story.

The first setting introduced in The Bloody Chamber is the carriage she occupies on the train. This is significant as it shows us she is embarking on a journey (we later find out that journey is marriage) and travelling from her old life into her new one.

"Lit in a tender, delicious ecstasy of excitement has been used to describe the atmosphere of the cabin, adding a hint of sexual promiscuity to both the character and the location. "Impeccable linen" links to the richness associated with the upper class, giving us an insight into the lavish lifestyle the Marquis and his new wife will lead, taking the protagonist "away from girlhood" and into the world of marriage. The tone of sexuality is continued with the quote, "great pistons ceaselessly thrusting" creating a phallic symbol, linking to the couple consummating their marriage. Choosing to represent the male form instead of the female form, hints at it being the man's choice to engage in sexual relations so soon into their relationship, as "ceaselessly" doesn't sound like she has much choice in the matter; symbolising the patriarchal society of the victorian era, linking to the oppression of women and their feelings. This then also links to the protagonist "ceasing to be her (mothers) child" as losing your virginity is seen as the transformation from a girl into a woman.
 

The train can be seen as taking her to her "destination and destiny" which, when reading the rest of the story, we can see the destiny is one the Marquis has created for her, planning her demise in advance, just like the deaths of his previous wives. It also seems like her destiny is inescapable, as the train is used as a method of taking her from her previous life, into her new one. "Syncopated roar" can be described as 'a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm', which foreshadows how their relationship isn't as smooth and easy as some marriages can be. From these words we can see there is something not right with this picture from the beginning, as we can infer that the Marquis does not conform to the natural 'beat' of things, and has something twisted in his nature. This "roar" also links to the description of the Marquis, who is often depicted as a Lion; reinforcing the control he has over the protagonist.
 

"The train slowed, shuddered to a halt" has negative connotations as the train is almost personified; feeling dejected and afraid of its arrival instead of happy. This personification is then continued in the simile, "the train began to throb again as if in delighted anticipation". "Clank of metal" and "Silence of the night" are two juxtaposing sentences within close proximity of each other, creating a disjointed and eerie feel. The clanking of metal could be a reference to the decapitation that the Marquis intends to perform later on in the story, followed by the still silence of his latest wife's corpse. 

 

 

The gothic genre is then shown fully by the "cold window that misted over" and the "dark platform" she sees out of the window - highlighting the negative tones within the journey and her desitination, of which she then arrives at. It links to the gothic through the references to "cold" and "dark", which create an eerie atmosphere in a realistic place, adding to the psychologial terror found in the story.