teh snow child

Personal response to the snow Child

Due to the short simplistic style of the narrative it took a while for me to gather my thoughts, I was shocked the story had ended so suddenly! I think Carter used elements of the fairy tale genre effectively. The stark contrast between the gentle and sheltered nature of fairy tales traditionally used to send young children to sleep; and the incorporation of the dark theme of jealousy, attempted murder and necrophilia are relatable to the gothic genre, create a powerful tension which resulted in me feeling tormented. Unlike when reading Frankenstein and Macbeth were there is a strong sense of the steady progression of horror throughout I felt that Carter approaches the task of creating fear in a different way. Without any clear indication to the horrific event of the Count having sex with the dead girl the reader is taken unaware which in turn is more dramatic. Similarly to Frankenstein and in some respects Macbeth there is the notion that the victims and villains are not clearly defined, which is challenging for a reader to relate or empathise. This style of detachment differs from the way in which Shelley and Shakespeare explore gothic themes, as they both empathise on feeling sympathy towards different characters. There is a sense of voyeurism when reading the snow child which allows the reader to adopt a critical view of the power relationships which is more relatable to a feminist text rather than one from the gothic nature.