Several Perspectives: Artistic Representation in the Works of Angela Carter

This paper argues for the importance of reading Angela Carter's works alongside the visual art that inspired her. Taking inspiration from the 2016 RWA exhibition Strange Worlds: The Vision of Angela Carter, I have analysed three of Carter’s written publications: Shadow Dance, The Passion of New Eve and The Bloody Chamber collection. In concurrence with these texts, I have scrutinised Carter’s pornographic polemic The Sadeian Woman, particularly as it relates to the iconography of womanhood, which I argue is a central focus in Carter’s oeuvre. In each chapter, I have examined the artistic period from which the narrative draws inspiration and identified the specific artworks that support this connection. Overall, this research will analyse Angela Carter in conversation with visual art to gain a greater understanding of her beliefs and the iconography that upholds the structures she seeks to criticise.