“The Tiger's Bride” by Angela Carter offers a very particular look at the customs of patriarchal society. At first it seems like a normal tale with its portrayal of women as objects of men, but as the tale develops, the reader finds himself in an entirely different realm of humanity; one where a woman can define herself without the constraints of social masculinity or femininity. By reversing the traditional binaries of male and female, Carter successfully demonstrates her ability to unmask the embodiment of women as objects and abolish the sexist structures of society. From the beginning of "The Tiger's Bride", the female protagonist is immediately seen as a woman. object of men. In this male-dominated society she is not seen as a person in her own right, but only as a thing that can be bought and sold for the pleasure of men. He clearly knows his value in this culture when he says, “You must not think that my father valued me less than a king's ransom; but no more than a king's ransom” (Carter 156). His father was unable to resist his gambling addiction, even after losing all his physical possessions. The only thing of value he has left is his daughter, so he decides to bet with her too. Unfortunately, he loses it during his last card game with The Beast: “I have lost my pearl, my priceless pearl” (157). She is bet by her father as a mere object. Carter objectifies the heroine even further through his use of diction. Men use words like “pearl” and “treasure” when referring to her during the gambling transaction. Carter continues to reveal the objectification of women when the heroine is introduced to the showgirl. She uses the figure of the maid to personify society's impression of femininity. The showgirl has...... middle of paper......s The Beast embraces his bestiality when he reveals his true self to her during their ride. He embraces his new found self by actually transforming into a tiger, so he can live freely alongside the Beast. Through her animal conversion, the narrator is able to free herself from the objectification and sexist structures of patriarchal society. At the end of "The Tiger's Bride," Carter manages to transform binary opposites - male and female - into similar beings through the use of animals. Women must learn to let go of their socially bound identities; they are not objects of men. They need to make a name for themselves and know their self-worth. Instead of trying to be like men, women must transform themselves into equals to men. Works Cited Carter, Angela. "The Tiger's Bride". Burning Your Boats: Collected Stories. New York: Penguin, 1995. 154-69. Press.