Thoughts on power levels

Women and men are portrayed in a variety of power levels within this collection of texts. Those females that are seen to be more powerful (such as the narrator in the final paragraphs of The Erl-King) have gained these powers after transforming themselves due to the negative actions of men. There is a change in the mind-set of the female narrator which in this text is displayed through the change of narrative perspective. This suggests that women need to change in order to gain equality, when the real cause of this oppression is the male dominance, so surely a change for the males should also be targeted within the literature?

Well a change other than murder...

This also conveys the idea that men cause women to transform into this more violent nature through their actions of oppression (this is also seen in The Bloody Chamber when the mother kills the Marque) to 'lower them to their level' so to speak. Furthermore, it suggests that women have to accept the more violent traits of the male in order to gain equality (and maybe power?) over males. Therefore would it not also make more sense for Carter to suggest how males could remove these violent traits rather than encouraging females to also use these more violent and oppressive acts in order to gain equality?

But, then again, not all males are presented as purely attempting to force women into a violent murderer in order to survive them. For example, the piano tuner in The Bloody Chamber is presented as a 'good' character than remains equal with the narrator. This could be argued because he has been freed from the obsession that men apparently find regarding women's looks, this could be an attempt by Carter to suggest that a fairer less aesthetic society is not only beneficial for women, but also creates a better life for men.