We can read Angela Carter as both entertaining and a critique of constructions and presentations of power, gender, sexuality and construction of gendered identities. First we will consider the oppressive and destructive power of patriarchy which is the social system in which men are regarded as the authority within the family and society. Afterwards in the next chapter we will investigate how Carter's heroines succeed in constructing their femininity and their gendered identities.

Let us look at a typical piece of Carter' s writing The Magic Toyshop and its specific focus on critiquing the oppressive power of patriarchy that is represented through the oppressive character of Uncle Phillip. The novel narrates the story of Melanie and her two siblings who are moved after the sudden death of their parents to the strange domain of the puppet maker's house, Uncle Phillip, where their freedom is snuffed out by his...