When in the presence of the Marquis, the character is disturbed by her physical response to him and their first full sexual encounter. It is the character’s sexual response – a “strange, impersonal arousal” – that she fears. Through the use of the lexis “trembling” and the act of blushing “blood rushed to my face” Carter reveals how the character’s reactions could be either out of nervousness or anticipation” which shows how her physical reaction to the Marquis is both astonishing and bewildering.
The Marquis makes the character wait before doing anything sexual, “anticipation is the greater part of pleasure” which implies that he is making her wait to possibly increase her desire for him which reinforces his superiority and power over her, and this links to the theme of power and sexuality. Furthermore, the characters disturbing realisation that she, like the Marquis, is capable of almost anything is a moment of self-awareness, “I sensed in myself a potentiality for corruption that took my breath away”, but it is also a realisation of how far from corrupt she is, having conducted an “innocent and confined life”, which reinforces how nave and unexperienced she is.
Shown through her naivety and reluctance, “We’ve not taken luncheon yet; and, besides, it is broad daylight”, the character is evidently disturbed by her first sexual encounter with the Marquis as the ellipses suggests that the character could be thinking of reasons to not go through with the process of losing her virginity. As she is stripped in the “formal disrobing of the bride”, it shows the power that wealth has in their marriage, as if her losing her virginity is a “ritual from the brothel”, connotating that the person with the money is in control, this also links with the theme of wealth causing corruption.
Additionally, the Marquis’s desires are visual – he enjoys looking at her – her shocking revelation is that she appears to enjoy being looked at by him in this way, this is shown through the phrase, “when I had first seen my flesh in his eyes”. In the 1970s, this was a disreputable reaction for a writer to give to a female character towards a more dominant male character, as during the time, male chauvinistic attitudes were prominent, and women usually submitted to men. After losing her virginity, the character reflects on the moment with traces of violence involved, and this is shown through the aggressive verb “impaled” which suggests that the Marquis was brutal and vicious. The phrase “one-sided struggle” also suggests an aggressive action as it implies that she was in pain however he was not which reinforces the fact that there wasn’t any compassion or sympathy.
Through the use of the multi-clausal sentence, “He lay beside me, felled like an oak, breathing stertorously, as if he had been fighting with me” sets the fast pace of his aggression in the act and it also suggests the Marquis was so exhausted, he might have been “fighting” with her.
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