The Erl-King

• Adapted from European tale
• Evil Creature who ensnares people
• Temptation; being drawn to her own death

"What you want will ultimately destroy you" 

Intertextual References: oooh how POMO

• Links to Goblin Market by Rossetti
• Emily Dickinson: "Light is sufficient to itself" + "Perfect Transparency must be impenetrable" 
• Red Riding Hood
• The Green Man, Personified Nature (Pagan)
• Othello: "Green eyed monster" envy, jealousy, etc. 

How is the Erl-King presented? 

• Before we even meet him 'The Erl-King will do you grievous harm' foreboding, ominous, first thing we hear about his character is negative, sets us up for the rest of the description, renowned for being monstrous 
• "Quite Green" links to Othello, and 'The Green Man' 
• "White pointed teeth" dangerous, wild animal, hints at carnal activity, sexual being
• "Lays me down on his bed... at the mercy of his hands" uses women for sexual purposes, controlling as he dictates her movements, makes females look vulnerable and victimised, contrast to the polar opposite (kinky, dominatrix, being like the Countess in TSC is hinted at resembling)
• "Birds in cages" keeps women in cages which is cruel, yet feeds and waters them, so obviously cares for them in some form, thinks of them as pets? his to control, shows the duality of his personality that the woman has come to accept about him, acknowledging her love for him, as well as the danger she is in.

How is the narrator presented? 

• Prose verse, flows like poetry at the beginning, over the top; RETROSPECTIVE?
• Addresses reader directly, we are the ones in the story, it's happening to us; shows us it's not just a story, but allegorical too, as Carter makes a point of saying it can happen, and is happening to all of us
• Switches to first person, we see how she sees, her illusion makes her optimistic, yet naive and the cause of her own destruction 
• Changes in narrative voice link to the confusion about where she is and what she feels about the forest, also links to how different the sides of her feelings are, one one side it's beautiful, but no it's full of dark, rotten nature and monsters. She loves and admires the Erl-King, but she understand he will kill her, she can't get away from him, destined for a life kept in a cage, yet she kills him at the end. Her thoughts are unorganised.
• Seen as weak and submissive as she adheres to the Erl-Kings commands etc. Seemingly fallen for his mystical charm, however kills him Porphyria's Lover style

Symbols in the Erl-King

• "Vertical bars" represents being trapped, forest is like a prison, foreshadows and links to the cages the Erl-King keeps the women in 
• "Green" symbolic of jealousy and envy
• "The Forest" symbolises mens mystery, the united view we have of them. 
• "Music" is symbolic of who is in charge; The Erl-King plays the pipe to show his dominance over the females in cages and the animals around him, but then at the end, the narrator - having killed the Erl-King - plays music on the freshly stringed violin, showing her dominant power in the situation now. The violin also cries out 'mother' reiterating the power over him that she has, and how she is now the creator of her own destiny.

Intertextual References 

• Red riding hood; we and the narrator suffer the same 'illusion' that Red Riding Hood gets trapped in, as we both get lost in the forest, thinking it's more magical than it is. The white pointed teeth of the Erl-King closely resemble those of the Wolf in Red Riding Hood.
• Dracula, has also been referred to, as the Erl-King bites the narrator on the neck, to show his control and dominant role over the female. It's quite a predatory thing to do, as the bite mark shows claim over the victim, something which the Erl-King had
• Goblin Market references have also been made, adding to the sexual connotations of the story. It adds the sexual element to the allegory also, proving how men dominate over women in both physical and sexual ways. The references to 'fruit' and 'blackberries' in the story take on a negative persona that also features in Rossetti's poem; the story of oppressed and victimized women 

In what ways is this a Gothic Narrative? 

• Because in the change of narration and the quote 'she will be trapped in her own illusion because everything in the wood is exactly as it seems' the line between reality and dream is blurred, creating the eerie and unknown fear that is commonly found in the Gothic. 
• The first thing we hear about the Erl-King is 'The Erl-King will do you grievous harm' creating our first impressions and hinting to some unknown danger. The fear of the unknown, links to the first bullet point, however the danger and threat of the Erl-King creates something physical to be afraid of. 
• 'Vertical bars of brass-coloured distillation' creates the image of a prison, showing the narrator cannot escape what will happen. This creates the Gothic theme of entrapment and also links to the girls being kept in cages.
• Gothic imagery has been used at the beginning of the story to create negative connotations of the forest, something that first looks and sounds beautiful. 'Tangled mist in the thickets' and ' haunting sense of the imminent cessation' both create a dark and bleak atmosphere most associated with the Gothic genre. The inescapable 'end' also adds to the feeling of entrapment and the psychological terror found in the Gothic. 
• The duality of the Erl-King's personality is another Gothic Feature. The fact he traps women in cages to show who's in charge and is capable of killing and ripping hearts out of living creatures shows his violent and commanding side, yet he still takes care of the women when in the cages; like a human would take care of their pet. This shows the duality of his character and actions, a duality that the narrator has come to accept, acknowledging the fact he both loves her and wishes to kill and entrap her. 
• The character of the Erl-King himself isn't human, adding the supernatural element to the story, as he derives from nature, and isn't described as an average man.