'The Erl-King represents the very essence of man; selfish, unthinking, innocent and destructive'

How far do you agree? 

The Erl-King, as a character, can be described in all of the terms used above; however is it fair to say these are the essences of man? Carter has used a deliberately loathsome approach in her display of men throughout her works, influenced by her anger at the oppression and degradation of females within society, and her practise of feminism. Men however can be kind and gentle, as shown through the Erl-Kings ability to love the women he then traps in cages.

‘How cruel it is, to keep wild birds in cages! But he laughs at me when I say that’ shows the audience that the Erl-King may not fully understand the harm he is doing by keeping the women in cages; he only wants to serve his selfish purposes and doesn’t care about the effects on other  people; making him an unthinking person. His laugh can be taken in a sinister way, showing the malice and spite in which he is fully aware of the harm he is inflicting on the girls.

The Erl-Kings innocence however can be questioned, as an innocent man wouldn’t sleep with various girls and commit acts similar to that of a supernatural being (‘you sink your teeth into my throat’). The ‘innocence’ can be taken in an ironic way, as the ideologies of society mean that women are criticised more than men, for doing similar actions. The Erl-King is not accused by any of the women, there is no character to point out his wrongs; he is allowed to continue until he is killed at the end of the story; bringing about his own destruction. ‘The Erl-King will do you grievous harm’ clearly states the destructive behaviour of the character, and his ability to charm and entice his victims.  

The Erl-King does adhere to these character traits as he is selfish in taking the purity of women, unthinking as to what that might do to their reputation and image, innocent as he is never blamed and destructive because of his actions. In allegorical terms he represents man; the story depicting the power struggle and gender roles within society. The Erl-King can be seen as a villainous character, possibly portraying Carter’s views on men in general.