In the old story the young girl was herself wealthy and living very comfortably and could have attracted any number of suitors yet she chooses the wrong match who in the long run be her worst mistake. Carter’s character was attracted to the wealth in order to secure her future as she had lived all her life in poverty with her poor mother, as her father had died in the world was leaving her young mother penniless. Though her mother had doubts about the Marquis being an appropriate match for her daughter she remains silent because she too felt that money would definitely make her daughter happy and provide her daughter the security that was lacking all her life. The suitor was never doubted, neither his appearance nor his age, nothing deterred …show more content…
There are various signs that signal at her impending fate. The gift the husband presents is a very telling symbol of his plans, his grandmother’s thick double stranded ruby choker, which she had purchased to celebrate her own escape from the guillotine. The portrait of the martyred Saint Cecelia who was decapitated, is another very telling symbol, of her inevitable fate. Though we know that Carter’s character is recollecting past events and so she has survived the …show more content…
The original story deals with how the young girl begs for time to pray giving time for her brothers to arrive and to rescue her from her being beheaded. The two versions are similar to this point, in Carter’s modern twist which is more feminist, the girl’s mother arrives in time to shoot the Marquis in a single shot. Both the female characters were unable to help themselves and relied upon outside help. In the old version on male help whereas in the modern version the mother drives down when she is unable to call her daughter to talk to