the virgin

Angela Carter’s “Unicorn” and the Illusion of Empowerment Through Objectification
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Angela Carter’s “Unicorn” and the Illusion of Empowerment Through Objectification

“Q. What have unicorns and virgins got in common A. They are both fabulous beasts.” In the new collection of Angela Carter’s mostly forgotten, but viscerally affecting poetry, Carter perverts mythological symbols in order to subvert the mythology of femininity. Just as Simone De Beauvoir lamented that “one is not born, but becomes, a woman,” Carter’s…