There is even a physical resemblance. Most of her important scenes take place in bleak late-autumn or winter landscapes, against which their drama stands out even more sharply. There is a lot of drama in Carter's stories, and many passionate, often perverse relationships. As she said in the afterword to her first collection, ''Fireworks,'' she liked ''Gothic tales, cruel tales, tales of wonder, tales of terror, fabulous narratives that deal directly with the imagery of the unconscious.'' In her stories, women turn into wolves, incest and murder are committed, the dead walk and people pass through mirrors into other worlds. It must be admitted that now and then Carter's love of elaborate language and extreme situations becomes oppressive, and there is a surfeit of blood and stormy weather.
Much Gothic fiction depends on a limited, old-fashioned repertory of characters.
Carter has a wider range. She weaves intricate fantasies around historical characters like Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Baudelaire, and there are also two about Lizzie Borden. Many critics agree that ''The Bloody Chamber'' is Carter's masterwork. Partly on this basis, some have claimed her as a feminist. But at times Carter's message is more ambiguous.