"The Tigers Bride" and Use of Inanimate Objects

Since we had a discussion about Disney's use of inanimate objects in their "Beauty and the Beast" story, it reminded me of the strange objects used in Angela Carter's tale, "The Tigers Bride." When the girl gets settled in to the Beast's home, her serving maid is actually a soubrette from an operetta that rolls into her room on wheels. The valet explains to her, "nothing human lives here." This statement not only referred to the maid but also to the Beast himself who she suspected was not human. He wore a mask, meticulously painted with a human face. But back to the creepy serving maid. Unlike Disney's fun, adorable objects that are brought to life, this doll-like helper on wheels carries a looking glass in one hand and a powder puff in the other, and she is always trying to put the powder on the girl's face. The female narrator of the story says something very profound in regards to her maid. She said, "That clockwork girl who powdered my cheeks for me; had I not been allotted only the same kind of life amongst men that the doll-maker had given her?" (Carter 62). The story began with this girl being lost in a card game by her dad. The winner of the card game was the inhuman creature called the Beast. He also objectified her and was only interested in getting to see her body naked. None of the male figures in her life seemed to care about her one bit. She was an object to be won or lost, used and tossed aside, like money or any material good. That's why she compares herself to the doll-servant. She said that among men, she had only been allowed a life like this fake replica of a woman. I wonder if all women feel this way at some time in their life? I had a job years ago in a male-dominated company. I worked hard there and got some big accounts for the company, but the males superior to me took credit for my work. Angela Carter might be making a point here about something that is still prevalent in our society today. Women are still quite often seen as objects and used as if they were serving-dolls. Have you ever been in a restaurant and heard a man call the waitress "honey" or "sweetie"? Ironically, sometimes men even call women "doll", which goes right along with Angela Carter's comment in her story! If we heard a woman call a male waiter by one of these names we would think it was weird, but we put up with this behavior from men. Especially older men, it seems, get away with this! So I think we have to be careful not to allow men to allow us only a doll-like existence. Thankfully, I think the situation is getting better with today's generation of men. At least I hope so...