The Courtship of Mr Lyon
Based on Beauty and the Beast, this is a story that relies on a dichotomy (a wide contradiction) between the two main characters - Beauty and Mr Lyon.
Story Summary:
The story begins with the scene of a young woman in her kitchen, wondering where
her father is. This opening scene is significant in two ways - the fact that Carter has played to a
gender stereotype in placing Beauty in the kitchen, creates a preconceived idea
about the character of weakness, due to her reliance on a male figure; here represented by Beauty's father. Also, the fact that the narrative changes from third person, "Outside her kitchen window" to first person, "I hope he'll be safe" perhaps acts as Carter's hint to the audience that the characters, and the surroundings are not all that they appear to be. This is further reinforced by Beauty being surrounded by snow; implying innocence and purity via pathetic fallacy. The audience soon find out, however, this does not represent her
character.
It turns out, however, that Beauty's father has broken down, and whilst looking for a rose for Beauty - hi, "girl-child", has stumbled across a large old house. After entering the house, he was met by a spaniel, who, "busily shephered him" into a room where the man could eat, drink and warm up. The fact that throughout this phase of the book, lion imagery is consistent acts possibly to create a sense of dramatic irony when the identity of his host is reveiled.
As he leaves, the man tries to steal a rose for Beauty, as this is, "all she wanted." The Beast sees this, and allows the man to take the rose for Beauty, but in return she must come for dinner.
At the dinner, the Beast says he will help Beauty's father with his money troubles, and for Beauty to remain at the Beast's house, with him and his spaniel. Beauty is upset at this, but does so because it will help her father, and she "loves him dearly".
At first, Beauty does not settle into the Beast's house, but soon learns to like it, and to like the Beast. The development in their relationship is shown when he, "flung himself at her and buried his head in her lap [...] and then with a flood of compassion [she] understood: all he is doing is kissing my hands." However, whenever the Beast touches Beauty, she still, "would retreat nervously back into her own skin."
Whilst living with the Beast, Carter's stereotype of Beauty is developed further, through her passing the day reading, doing embroidery or walking in the gardens.
All of these pastimes often being seen as feminie and perhaps, 'dainty', as many are often in literature such as Jane Austen's novels, when describing the heroine.
Soon, though, Beauty's father calls her to London, and the Beast begs her to come back and visit him, saying, "it will be lonely here without you." However, Beauty cannot, "bring herself to touch him of her own free will."
As she lives in London, Beauty sends the Beast white roses - a sense of irony created by Carter here? Beauty is using something 'perfect' to represent herself to the Beast, implying that she still believes herself
perfect. However, Carter soon shows the reader Beauty's new found arrogance; perhaps the idea that
London has corrupted her innocence. The quote, "she smiled at herself in mirrors a little too often, these days" would represent Beauty's change accurately.
The Beast's spaniel, however, comes to find her and claws at Beauty's door to show her that she has broken her promise - she has not returned to visit the Beast. The spaniel looks matted and dirty - perhaps representing Beauty's internal characteristics at this point in the story - and howls until Beauty understands she must follow it. She scribbles a note to her father, and leaves.
The note that Beauty, "scribbles" is a key point in the story, as it shows her ability to leave someone she, "loves dearly" without a second thought. The use of the word, "scribbles", also implies a lack of care, making it sound almost child like.
The opening sentence to this part of the story could be seen as a represenation of the Beast's feelings - "It seemed December still possessed his garden", and due to the Beast meeting Beauty in the winter, some may think that this 'December' could be Beauty; who has been cold and dark to the Beast.
As Beauty finds the Beast on his death bed, she cries and promises never to leave him if he lives - "If you'll have me, I'll never leave you."
Then, in a fairytale fashion, as, "her tears fell on his face", the Beast transforms into a handsome man.
To conclude, the story ends in the present tense (the rest has been the past tense) and in the third person;
perhaps meant to be the role of the onlooking reader, as "Mr and Mrs Lyon walk in the garden; the old spaniel drowses on the grass, in a drift of fallen petals."
Story Summary:
The story begins with the scene of a young woman in her kitchen, wondering where
her father is. This opening scene is significant in two ways - the fact that Carter has played to a
gender stereotype in placing Beauty in the kitchen, creates a preconceived idea
about the character of weakness, due to her reliance on a male figure; here represented by Beauty's father. Also, the fact that the narrative changes from third person, "Outside her kitchen window" to first person, "I hope he'll be safe" perhaps acts as Carter's hint to the audience that the characters, and the surroundings are not all that they appear to be. This is further reinforced by Beauty being surrounded by snow; implying innocence and purity via pathetic fallacy. The audience soon find out, however, this does not represent her
character.
It turns out, however, that Beauty's father has broken down, and whilst looking for a rose for Beauty - hi, "girl-child", has stumbled across a large old house. After entering the house, he was met by a spaniel, who, "busily shephered him" into a room where the man could eat, drink and warm up. The fact that throughout this phase of the book, lion imagery is consistent acts possibly to create a sense of dramatic irony when the identity of his host is reveiled.
As he leaves, the man tries to steal a rose for Beauty, as this is, "all she wanted." The Beast sees this, and allows the man to take the rose for Beauty, but in return she must come for dinner.
At the dinner, the Beast says he will help Beauty's father with his money troubles, and for Beauty to remain at the Beast's house, with him and his spaniel. Beauty is upset at this, but does so because it will help her father, and she "loves him dearly".
At first, Beauty does not settle into the Beast's house, but soon learns to like it, and to like the Beast. The development in their relationship is shown when he, "flung himself at her and buried his head in her lap [...] and then with a flood of compassion [she] understood: all he is doing is kissing my hands." However, whenever the Beast touches Beauty, she still, "would retreat nervously back into her own skin."
Whilst living with the Beast, Carter's stereotype of Beauty is developed further, through her passing the day reading, doing embroidery or walking in the gardens.
All of these pastimes often being seen as feminie and perhaps, 'dainty', as many are often in literature such as Jane Austen's novels, when describing the heroine.
Soon, though, Beauty's father calls her to London, and the Beast begs her to come back and visit him, saying, "it will be lonely here without you." However, Beauty cannot, "bring herself to touch him of her own free will."
As she lives in London, Beauty sends the Beast white roses - a sense of irony created by Carter here? Beauty is using something 'perfect' to represent herself to the Beast, implying that she still believes herself
perfect. However, Carter soon shows the reader Beauty's new found arrogance; perhaps the idea that
London has corrupted her innocence. The quote, "she smiled at herself in mirrors a little too often, these days" would represent Beauty's change accurately.
The Beast's spaniel, however, comes to find her and claws at Beauty's door to show her that she has broken her promise - she has not returned to visit the Beast. The spaniel looks matted and dirty - perhaps representing Beauty's internal characteristics at this point in the story - and howls until Beauty understands she must follow it. She scribbles a note to her father, and leaves.
The note that Beauty, "scribbles" is a key point in the story, as it shows her ability to leave someone she, "loves dearly" without a second thought. The use of the word, "scribbles", also implies a lack of care, making it sound almost child like.
The opening sentence to this part of the story could be seen as a represenation of the Beast's feelings - "It seemed December still possessed his garden", and due to the Beast meeting Beauty in the winter, some may think that this 'December' could be Beauty; who has been cold and dark to the Beast.
As Beauty finds the Beast on his death bed, she cries and promises never to leave him if he lives - "If you'll have me, I'll never leave you."
Then, in a fairytale fashion, as, "her tears fell on his face", the Beast transforms into a handsome man.
To conclude, the story ends in the present tense (the rest has been the past tense) and in the third person;
perhaps meant to be the role of the onlooking reader, as "Mr and Mrs Lyon walk in the garden; the old spaniel drowses on the grass, in a drift of fallen petals."
Symbols and themes
- Physical appearance: A sense of irony is created between the two characters, as the Beast is the character who shows 'inner beauty', when the reader may expect (due to gender stereotypes) that Beauty is the character who would display this.
- The white rose: representing purity and innocence; perhaps this is the only thing Beauty has ever asked for because it is what she feels she is missing.
- Morals: to 'not judge a book by it's cover' is essential in understanding both Beauty and the Beast.
- The white rose: representing purity and innocence; perhaps this is the only thing Beauty has ever asked for because it is what she feels she is missing.
- Morals: to 'not judge a book by it's cover' is essential in understanding both Beauty and the Beast.
Gothic elements:
Setting in a castle: The Courtship of Mr Lyon is set in a castle, which not only links to Previous granduer but also Alien landscapes, which are both other elements of the gothic genre. This gives the audience a preconceieved idea as to the nature of the plot, which causes the actual outcome to be more effective in surprising the audience.
Mystery and suspense: Mystery plays a key part in the story - firstly through Beauty's father not knowing who his host was, and then the Beast keeping his true feelings towards Beauty a secret.
Supernatural events: The major supernatural aspect of the story is as it ends, with the Beast magically transforming from an animal into a man.
Overwrought emotion: Beauty's emotion throughout the story plays to this gothic element; with the development from her not being able to, "bring herself to touch him" to when her, "tears fell on her face like snow". This development acts to help to ccontextualise the change in Beauty's character.
Women in distress: Typical to Carter's style, in The Courtship of Mr Lyon, there are no females that appear to be in distress; but there are, however, males. Beauty's father is seen to be in distress as his car breaks down, and the Beast to be in distress as he lives alone. This allows an interesting variation from Carter's conformation to the gothic genre, as in this story she chooses to actively portray the female as the dominant character.
Women threatened by tyrannical male: Again, the gender roles have been swapped in Carter's version of Beauty and the Beast. Instead of Beauty feeling threatened by the Beast, the Beast appears to feel threateed by her leaving, telling her, "It will be lonely here without you", and begging her to come back and visit him.
Entrapment and isolation: Again, although there is evidence of isolation, it is not isolation of the female character, but of the male character - the Beast. The Beast also displays entrapment and isolation through him being trapped in his animal form, and so is being forced to be isolated from society.
Corruption of innocence: Beauty's innocence is what appears to have been corrupted in this story. At the beginning of the story, her father says that all she has ever asked for is, "one white rose", whereas as we near the end of the story, Beauty, "was learning, at the end of her adolescence, how to be a spoiled child". This shows us that Beauty's innocence has been corrupted through her father's wealth.
Mystery and suspense: Mystery plays a key part in the story - firstly through Beauty's father not knowing who his host was, and then the Beast keeping his true feelings towards Beauty a secret.
Supernatural events: The major supernatural aspect of the story is as it ends, with the Beast magically transforming from an animal into a man.
Overwrought emotion: Beauty's emotion throughout the story plays to this gothic element; with the development from her not being able to, "bring herself to touch him" to when her, "tears fell on her face like snow". This development acts to help to ccontextualise the change in Beauty's character.
Women in distress: Typical to Carter's style, in The Courtship of Mr Lyon, there are no females that appear to be in distress; but there are, however, males. Beauty's father is seen to be in distress as his car breaks down, and the Beast to be in distress as he lives alone. This allows an interesting variation from Carter's conformation to the gothic genre, as in this story she chooses to actively portray the female as the dominant character.
Women threatened by tyrannical male: Again, the gender roles have been swapped in Carter's version of Beauty and the Beast. Instead of Beauty feeling threatened by the Beast, the Beast appears to feel threateed by her leaving, telling her, "It will be lonely here without you", and begging her to come back and visit him.
Entrapment and isolation: Again, although there is evidence of isolation, it is not isolation of the female character, but of the male character - the Beast. The Beast also displays entrapment and isolation through him being trapped in his animal form, and so is being forced to be isolated from society.
Corruption of innocence: Beauty's innocence is what appears to have been corrupted in this story. At the beginning of the story, her father says that all she has ever asked for is, "one white rose", whereas as we near the end of the story, Beauty, "was learning, at the end of her adolescence, how to be a spoiled child". This shows us that Beauty's innocence has been corrupted through her father's wealth.
Characters
Beauty: Beauty's character represents, what would traditionally, be represented by a male character within a story. Carter has developed her character to be seen as 'beastly', with her showing traits of arrogance and materialism, as she dismisses the Beast because of his appearance; making her appear shallow - a trait which is not typical to females in the gothic genre. Due to this, she could perhaps be seen to have been the innocence corrupted in the story, but corrupted by money and the life her father can give her in London.
Beast: The Beast represents the opposite of what a reader may expect him to; with Carter appearing to try and make him appear gentle and loving. These character traits are shown when the Beast licks Beauty's hands, sitting at her feet, making him vulnerable and subjective to her. These are all the typical traits shown by females within the genre, and supports the idea of this story being based on a dichotomy between these two characters.
Father: Beauty's father is key in the story, as he does not only provide a comparison for the Beast in how he treats Beauty, but his character also allows Beauty to show how she can leave him when the Beast needs her - showing the overwrought emotion that is typical to the genre.
Spaniel: The spaniel in the story represents the moral that you shouldn't judge people by their appearances; but by who they are.
Beast: The Beast represents the opposite of what a reader may expect him to; with Carter appearing to try and make him appear gentle and loving. These character traits are shown when the Beast licks Beauty's hands, sitting at her feet, making him vulnerable and subjective to her. These are all the typical traits shown by females within the genre, and supports the idea of this story being based on a dichotomy between these two characters.
Father: Beauty's father is key in the story, as he does not only provide a comparison for the Beast in how he treats Beauty, but his character also allows Beauty to show how she can leave him when the Beast needs her - showing the overwrought emotion that is typical to the genre.
Spaniel: The spaniel in the story represents the moral that you shouldn't judge people by their appearances; but by who they are.
Possible help:
http://www.gradesaver.com/the-bloody-chamber/study-guide/section2/
Analysis and summaries on each of the stories in The Bloody Chamber
Journal - "The logic of the same and difference" Anny Crunelle-Vanrigh http://books.google.co.uk/booksid=mcLy81hgirIC&pg=PA129&lpg=PA129&dq=intertextuality+in+the+courtship+of+mr+lyon&source=bl&ots=zxlC0Pm-N6&sig=-Nf1bW4jNiEAaqaWhpHupp4W8i8&hl=en#v=onepage&q=intertextuality%20in%20the%20courtship%20of%20mr%20lyon&f=false
Analysis and summaries on each of the stories in The Bloody Chamber
Journal - "The logic of the same and difference" Anny Crunelle-Vanrigh http://books.google.co.uk/booksid=mcLy81hgirIC&pg=PA129&lpg=PA129&dq=intertextuality+in+the+courtship+of+mr+lyon&source=bl&ots=zxlC0Pm-N6&sig=-Nf1bW4jNiEAaqaWhpHupp4W8i8&hl=en#v=onepage&q=intertextuality%20in%20the%20courtship%20of%20mr%20lyon&f=false
Intertextuality
Although the story is based on Beauty and the Beast, the nature of the third person narrative allows it to be linked to other stories in the fairytale genre, due to it's "once upon a time" feeling; which is typical to this genre.
The opening paragraph to The Courtship of Mr Lyon demonstrates this pont perfectly, with Carter having included references to not only Snow White, but also Cinderella: "Outside her kitchen window, the hedgerow glistened as if the now possessed a light of its own...This lovely girl, whose skin possess that same, inner light so you would have thought, she, too was made all of snow, pauses in her chores to look out at the mean country road."
During the Beast's transformation into Mr Lyon, there is also an aspect of Alice in Wonderland that Carter has included; "On the table, a silver tray; round the neck of the whisky decanter, a silver tag with the legend: Drink me, while the cover of the silver dish was engraved with the exhoration; Eat me, in a flowing hand."
The opening paragraph to The Courtship of Mr Lyon demonstrates this pont perfectly, with Carter having included references to not only Snow White, but also Cinderella: "Outside her kitchen window, the hedgerow glistened as if the now possessed a light of its own...This lovely girl, whose skin possess that same, inner light so you would have thought, she, too was made all of snow, pauses in her chores to look out at the mean country road."
During the Beast's transformation into Mr Lyon, there is also an aspect of Alice in Wonderland that Carter has included; "On the table, a silver tray; round the neck of the whisky decanter, a silver tag with the legend: Drink me, while the cover of the silver dish was engraved with the exhoration; Eat me, in a flowing hand."