The Snow Child
In this tragic narrative of a child, stripped of innocence, coerced by societal double standards, Carter
adds a final, more sinister message: that even female identity is characterised by phallic authority.
The idea of a thorn tearing the Countess’ skin and being lined upon the stem of the rose, could be
interpreted as a wider metaphor, for modern female identity ‘stemming’ from origins located in
male phallic authority. As a result, the Countess is unable to reclaim her own ‘rose’ and sexuality, as
it is inherently lined and attached to the very male gaze, she sacrificed the snow child to.
In this tragic narrative of a child, stripped of innocence, coerced by societal double standards, Carter
adds a final, more sinister message: that even female identity is characterised by phallic authority.
The idea of a thorn tearing the Countess’ skin and being lined upon the stem of the rose, could be
interpreted as a wider metaphor, for modern female identity ‘stemming’ from origins located in
male phallic authority. As a result, the Countess is unable to reclaim her own ‘rose’ and sexuality, as
it is inherently lined and attached to the very male gaze, she sacrificed the snow child to.
