The Establishment of Female Authority of Voice in The Company of Wolves

HE Jin-hua

The Company of Wolves is one of the most famous short stories written by Angela Carter， which is adapted from Charles Perraults fairy tale， Little Red Riding Hood. As a feminist writer， Carter realizes the misunderstanding and distortion of female images in traditional fairy tales in the shadow of patriarchal dominance. In The Company of Wolves Carter remained the main characters and plot of the original work， but she creatively fulfilled the story with her feminist thoughts， such as the new image of the protagonist， the unexpected plot and ending. In this novel， the smart and sexy Little Red Riding Hoods journey to the forest deserves our attention， for which is no longer an ordinary visit to her grandmother， but a wonderful adventure as well as an inevitable way for female to establish their authority of voice.

Keywords： The Company of Wolves， female， desire， authority of voice

Introduction

In The Company of Wolves， perhaps the most prominent feature of Carters LRRH that differs from the previous ones is the notion of agency versus passive action. This kind of agency changes womens position from object to subject， allowing them to create their own story so as to establish female authority of voice. In my opinion， this novel shows us three ways to establish female authority of voice.

1. The Awakening of Individual Consciousness

In The Company of Wolves， the LRRHs experiences embodied the awakening of her individual consciousness， which is the first step to the establishment of female authority of voice.

The protagonist in Little Red Riding Hood is portrayed as ignorant， gullible and obedient. However， in Caters version the LRRH is no longer a naive girl like the traditional tale， and “she has her knife and she is afraid of nothing” （Carter， 1993， p. 139）. Despite her parents warning， she sets out into the woods and he chooses to take the journey even knowing the risks. All her doings of her own accord！

When the Wolf does show himself on the path， the LRRH is surprised， not because she meets a wolf， but she encounters “a fully clothed one， a very handsome young one” （Carter， 1993， p. 139）. Instantly， she is attracted by the werewolf and started to walk with him. At this moment， the LRRH is like a woman， who is full of fantasies for love and eagers to own a perfect lover. “Soon they were laughing and joking like old friends.When he offered tocarry her basket， she gave it to him although her knife was in it because hetold her his rifle would protect them” （Cater， 1993， p. 139）. In face of the LRRH is genuine and honesty to the handsome young man， but it turns out to be a fraud.

“To some degree， by introducing the ferocious wolf and the mysterious forest in the first part of The Company of Wolves， it implies the dander of the society… The forest is a symbol of society which only belongs to men， while the wolves symbolizeevil men who seduce and destroy women” （林鴻， 2015， p. 145）. Thus， living in such a society， women are inevitably hurt by man. The LRRH in The Company of Wolves is also deceived by the werewolf， but she still differs from the traditional woman. Thats because she pursues love out of her own will and she dares to accept the bad effect of her wrong decision. Like a new woman， she takes active actions to express her feelings and establish her own female authority of voice.

2. The Awakening of Sexual Desire

Different from the bashful image of female in traditional fairy tale， the LRRH in The Company of Wolves is obviously a pretty young woman， who is willing to embraceher sexual awakening and becomes the agent to her own story.

The story paints her in a much more feminine and sexual light from the very start： “a sealed vessel， a magic space the entrance to which is shut tight with a plug of membrane， her breasts have just begun to swell， her cheeks are anemblematic scarlet and white and she has just started her womans bleeding” （Carter， 1993， p. 138）. Her body is as is， but as she walks through the forest， meets the Wolf and makes the journey to her grandmothers house， she is already transformed. Her desire has been awakened and she responds to it by taking charge of it.

In The Company of Wolves the LRRH is always taking active steps toward her sexual desire. “When she the Wolf promises a kiss to her， she desperatelyhopes the Wolf win the wager. Therefore， she dawdles on the path of flowers in order to guarantee the Wolf does so. What drives her is not the werewolfs male authority， but her desire for him” （Lee， 2012， p. 134）.

However， her ultimate moment of agency comes at the end. After arriving at the grandmothers cottage， she instantly sensed something bad had happened. At this moment， the LRRH decides right then that “her fear did her nogood， she ceased to be afraid” （Cater， 1993， p. 143）. She quickly kept calm， and though of solutions to make sure her security. In her mind， “she knew she was nobodys meat” （Carter， 1993， p. 144）.

The young woman sheds her red shawl， which is a symbol of oppressive sexuality， of forbidden desire and tosses into the fire willingly； her request of instructions from the Wolf deeply erotic and full of agency as she removes each article of clothing. When she is done， fullynaked by the fire as her clothes burn， “then went directly to the man with red eyes in whoseunkempt mane the lice moved； she stood up on tiptoe and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt” （Carter， 1993， p. 144）.

The wildness of the ending， in which wolves are “howling in concert as if dementedor deranged （Carter， 1993， p. 144） is a representation of her own sexuality being let out， being released and howling at the moon. She sheds the shawl of propriety like she does thered one. Unlike Perraults girl， who suffers rape and is faulted by her own weakness， Carters protagonist “refuses to be a victim of sexual aggression and activelybuilds a sexualrelationship with the werewolf based on the recognition of her own sexual desire” （Lee， 2012， p. 132）.

By taking an active step towards sexual desire， a female is not a victim or object. By doing so， an independent sexual woman can differ from the traditional， subversive woman and speak for herself. “For Cater， then the virginal， sexuality precocious nymphet is not so much desired object of patriarchal protection but， rather autonomous desiring subject as bestial as the stranger-wolf” （Lau， 2008， p. 88）

3. Breaking Down the Binary Opposition Between Male and Female

Fully aware of the strength of their own desires， modern women are no longer afraid of mens desires， rather they show understanding andsympathy for them. Thus， men and women move towards mutual understanding. （武田田， 2010， p. 118）

In The Company of Wolves， the LRRH changes the traditional images of woman， especial her attitude towards love. When the LRRH encountered the werewolf in the forest， she was attracted by his handsome appearance instantly. In face of romantic love， the LRRH showed her genuineness， liberty and initiative. They talked to each other and walked together. “They were laughing and joking like old friends” （Cater， 1993， p. 139）. When she had a bet with the werewolf and knew the award was a kiss of him， she was happy and let the wolf win on purpose. Upon arriving her grandmothers house， the wolf frightened her “all the better to eat you”（Cater， 1993， p. 144）. She knew she was in danger， but she kept calm quickly. Because “She knew she was nobodys meat” （Cater， 1993， p. 144） and its no use to be afraid. Therefore， it is not difficult to find that the wolf and the LRRH are in a state of equal dialogue. “The male discourse represented by the wolf does not cover up the female discourse represented by the girl， and there is a tension and relaxation of communication between the two” （汪偉， 2015， p. 436）.

In this novel， the wolf suffers changes as well. Represented as an animal with base instincts and not a lot of discerning thoughts in Perraults version， the creature is painted by Carter as a larger conflict of male sexuality. Lee writes on Carter： this ferocious image of the wolf as the ruler of the dark forest signifies the intimidating realm of the primitive， libidinal and unknown that borders on the realm of the civilized and common （Lee， 2012， p. 137）. He is a beast， yes， a man with urges and desires and often impulses that are not controlled， but when Red Riding Hood assumes the nature and power of her own sexuality， he is somehow“tamed”， forced to make room for the opposing nature of her sex to stand next to him， “between the paws of the tender wolf” （Carter， 1993， p. 145）. As Lee arguments： recognizing her sexuality and agency， the girl becomes an “external mediator” who transforms the werewolf from an aggressive predator into “a gentle lover” （Lee， 2012， p. 140）.

Conclusion

By rewriting the story of Little Red Riding Hood， Carter wants to convey that if women want to live in harmony with men， they must learn to share mens rights and have their own authority of voice. Indeed， Carter is redefining the basic associations of women in fairy tales， innocence is inferior to knowledge， sexuality is empowering not degrading. Such deconstructions convey liberating realities for women that they can live independently of patriarchal dominance or exist simultaneously through mutual desire. In short， in order to change womens passive position in sexual relationship， women should establish their own authority of voice， for which the LRRH in The Company of Wolves gives us some clues.

References

Cater， A. （1993）. The bloody chamber and other stories. USA： Penguin Books USA Inc.

Lau， K. J. （2008）. Erotic infidelities： Angela Carters Wolf Trilogy. Marvels & Tales， 22（1）， 77-94.

Lee， S.-J. （2012）. Metamorphoses in and between Charles Perraults “Little Red Riding Hood” and Angela Carter “The Company of Wolves”. Feminist Studies in English Literature， 20（1）， 117-145.

林鴻. （2015）. 一曲女性覺醒與解放的頌歌—從兩組女性形象析安吉拉·卡特《與狼為伴》中的女權(quán)思想. 巢湖學(xué)院學(xué)報(bào)， 17（01）， 144-147+160.

武田田. （2010）. 生態(tài)女性主義思潮中的溫馨小品—論《與狼為伴》中的兩性欲望與自然之關(guān)系. 北京林業(yè)大學(xué)學(xué)報(bào) （社會(huì)科學(xué)版）， 9（04）， 116-120.

汪偉. （2015）.《與狼作伴》中的女性欲望書寫. 遼寧工程技術(shù)大學(xué)學(xué)報(bào) （社會(huì)科學(xué)版）， 17（04）， 435-439.