The Werewolf, By Angela Carter
Although there are many subgenres of horror fiction, including bizarro, fantasy,
surrealism, and magic realism, there are certain aspects that a story must encompass
to be considered, weird. Magic realism is a branch of fiction that is often mistaken to
be a work of the, weird. What differentiates the two genres explicitly include the
authors concentration on setting and overall atmosphere, and the embodiment of
themes that disrupt the readers perception of time, space, and their natural world.
The Werewolf, by Angela Carter exhibits strong characteristics of magic realism,
while H.F. Arnold s, The Night Wire, is a genuine work of, weird, fiction. William
Spindler, in an excerpt from his, Forum for Modern Language Studies, ... Show more
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In her book, Lies that Tell the Truth: Magic Realism Seen Through Contemporary
Fiction from Britain, Anne C. Hegerfeldt discusses modern authors who display
elements of magic realism in their work, Angela Carter being one of the
predominant figures. The Werewolf, by Carter, opens with a description of the
setting, familiarizing the readers of a world occupied by the supernatural. It is
described as an otherwise, normal country... their houses built of logs, dark and
smoky within, however, the people believe that, the Devil is as real as you or I. It
s not only the belief of the Devil, but they fear his physical form, the Devil holds
picnics in the graveyards and invites the witches. The introduction reveals the
ordinary existence of the Devil, witches, vampires, and werewolves. It has become
so customary that the townspeople, put out small votive offerings, to please them.
The narrative begins with a young girl being instructed to travel through the woods,
which is knowingly inhabited by dangerous creatures, to visit her sickly
grandmother, equipped only with a knife for protection. While travelling through the
woods, the girl is confronted by a werewolf, but manages to defend herself by
cutting off its paw. After arriving at her grandmother s house, she drops the paw on
the floor, but it has turned into the hand of her grandmother, who is then exposed of
being a witch. After calling for help, nearby