The Importance of Positioning in the Construction of Power: An examination of three short stories by Angela Carter, and the corresponding film The Company of Wolves Frances Bolling College

“The Werewolf”, “The Company of Wolves” and “Wolf Alice”, three short stories by Angela Carter, recreate and transform, the traditional story of “Little Red Riding Hood”. The Company of Wolves, a 1984 film directed by Neil Jordan and co-written by Carter, incorporate these stories and adapts them for the screen. Despite the different mediums, both Carter’s short stories and Jordan’s film examine the power of storytelling; portraying stories as a way to construct meaning and either re-enforce or question social norms. Also central to these works is the examination of gazing and the male gaze. Both gazing and storytelling are portrayed as means of power because they dictate how males and females are positioned and portrayed within society. Carter’s preoccupation with the positioning of women in fiction can be seen in her choice to re-write a fairy tale and is also evident in the folk tales incorporated in her short stories which are retold by Granny and Rosaleen in the film. Through the examination of storytelling and gazing, Carter and Jordan suggest that the positioning of female characters created by these elements is central in the construction and portrayal of power.

Carter describes fairy tales as stories “put together…out...