The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter: Summary & Analysis

'The Bloody Chamber' serves as the title story in Angela Carter's 1979 collection of fairy tales reimagined from a feminist perspective. In this narrative, the longest and most poignant of the collection, a young bride recounts her marriage to a wealthy Marquis, whose previous three wives all met mysterious and grisly fates in his castle's 'bloody chamber.' Plot Summary The story is narrated by a young woman traveling by train from Paris to her new home, accompanied by her husband, a Marquis with a dark history of three deceased wives. The Marquis' previous wives, an opera singer, a model, and a countess, all died in mysterious circumstances, and the ominous reputation surrounding him unsettles the narrator. Upon arriving at the island castle, the Marquis is immediately called away on business, leaving the young bride to explore the grand residence. In her husband's absence, she stumbles upon an out-of-tune piano in the conservatory, discovering a collecti…