From Witch-Hunt History to Patriarchal Narrative: An Interdisciplinary Rereading of Angela Carter’s The Werewolf

Journal of Integrated Cultural Studies

JICS   Vol. 1, No. 1, 2026, pp.152-161.

Print ISSN: 3105-840X; Online ISSN: 3105-8418

Journal homepage: https://www.icsjournal.com

DOI：Https://doi.org/10.64058/JICS.26.1.14

从猎巫历史到父权叙事：安吉拉·卡特《狼人》的跨学科重读

田一言（Tian Yiyan）

摘要：安吉拉·卡特的《狼人》在重写童话《小红帽》的基础上，引入了猎巫意象与基督教文化符号，从而使文本的性别政治远超既有研究所强调的“女性主体性建构”。本文在回顾猎巫运动的历史语境及其厌女文化根源的基础上，关注卡特文本中被忽视的宗教元素与女巫叙事，通过小说中出现的系列意象及其隐喻，指出《狼人》所营造的善恶二元框架同时承载了父权制对女性的规训机制：祖母作为年老寡妇的“他者性”恰与历史上最常遭致迫害的女性形象重合，而小红帽则借助父权制象征（猎刀、村民的集体暴力）完成对“女巫”的清除，并最终因顺从社会正统而获得物质利益。卡特的讽喻性叙事揭示了女性在父权结构中的复杂处境：女性并非仅是被动受害者，也可能成为父权规范的维护者与代理者。《狼人》因此可被视为对女性合谋父权现象的深层批判，而非对童话传统的简单颠覆。

关键词：安吉拉·卡特；《狼人》；女性主义批评；猎巫运动；父权制

作者简介：田一言，华南农业大学珠江学院专任教师。研究方向：西方现代文学批评。电子邮箱：tianyiyangloria@outlook.com.

Title: From Witch-Hunt History to Patriarchal Narrative: An Interdisciplinary Rereading of Angela Carter’s The Werewolf

Abstract: Angela Carter’s The Werewolf, while rewriting the Grimm tale “Little Red Riding Hood,” incorporates witch-hunt imagery and Christian cultural symbols, thereby extending the text’s gender politics far beyond the established focus on “female subjectivity.” Drawing on the historical context of witch hunts and their misogynistic cultural foundations, this study examines the neglected religious elements and witch-imagery in Carter’s narrative. Through an analysis of the story’s symbolic motifs and metaphors, the article argues that the binary moral framework constructed in The Werewolf simultaneously encodes the disciplinary mechanisms of patriarchy. The grandmother’s “otherness”—as an elderly widow—corresponds closely to the demographic most frequently persecuted during historical witch hunts, while the girl (Little Red Riding Hood) eliminates the “witch” by mobilizing patriarchal symbols such as the father’s hunting knife and communal violence, ultimately gaining material benefits through her conformity to social orthodoxy. Carter’s satirical narrative reveals the complex position of women within patriarchal structures: women are not merely passive victims but may also function as enforcers and agents of patriarchal norms. Thus, The Werewolf should be read as a deep critique of women’s complicity with patriarchy, rather than as a simple subversion of fairy-tale tradition.

Keywords: Angela Carter; The Werewolf; Feminist Criticism; Witch Hunts; Patriarchy

Author Biography: Tian Yiyan, lecture at Zhujiang College, South China Agricultural University. Research Orientation: Western Modern Literary Criticism. E-mail: tianyiyangloria@outlook.com.

 Received: 2 Dec. 2025 / Revised: 27 Feb. 2026 / Accepted: 02 Apr. 2026 / Published online: 30 Apr. 2026 / Print published: 30 May 2026.