Shadow Dance (1966)

Shadow Dance was Angela Carter's first novel, published in England by Heinemann in 1966. It was published under the name Honeybuzzard in the United States. Upon publication it was acclaimed by Anthony Burgess, who wrote that he "read this book with admiration, horror and other relevant emotions... Angela Carter has remarkable descriptive gifts, a powerful imagination, and... a capacity for looking at the mess of contemporary life without flinching."

Carter's novels Shadow Dance, Several Perceptions (1968) and Love (1971) are sometimes referred to as the "Bristol Trilogy".

Plot summary

A man named Morris Gray is out one night at a bar when he is accosted by a young teenager named Ghislaine. Once a beautiful girl whom Morris cheated on his wife with, she now bears a disfiguring scar running from her left eyebrow down the length of her body and Morris quickly flees from her and her suggestions that they resume their affair.

Morris heads home to his sickly wife, Edna, who passes on a message from Morris' friend, Honeybuzzard, saying he's gone to London, leaving the ramshackle shop which they co-own in Morris' care for the time being.

Morris and Edna's relationship is clearly strained and, leaving her in bed to rest, Morris goes into their living room and takes down a history book from the bookshelf in there. He retrieves from the book a hidden envelope containing scandalous photos Honeybuzzard took of Ghislaine and himself before her scarring and Morris proceeds to vandalise them all by drawing her scar onto each one. Disgusted at himself for doing this, Morris hides the photos back in the book and proceeds to fall asleep, experiencing a nightmare in which he attacks Ghislaine with a shard of broken glass, only for her to transform into Edna.

We learn that Edna describes Morris to people as a painter, due to his interest in painting, though he himself does not consider any of his art to be any good. He struggles to handle the love she dutifully gives to him, which he is unable to reciprocate. Edna would like to have a child with Morris, but he's unwilling to commit to raising one with her.

The next day, while Edna works a job at a cigarette factory, Morris spends her earnings at an auction sale buying junk with which to stock his and Honeybuzzard's store. Though they refer to it is an antique shop, most of its contents are acquired by bidding at these auctions or robbing recently vacated houses.

Morris meets an acquaintance, Oscar, at the auction and, though they don't get on very well, the pair do flee together when Ghislaine arrives unexpectedly.

In a dingy café, Oscar probes Morris to find the source of Ghislaine's disfigurement. Morris maintains to Oscar that she was attacked by a group of young hooligans after walking through town wearing nothing but an overcoat. However, she was actually scarred by Honeybuzzard, whom Morris directed her towards after her callousness upset him. As Honeybuzzard is quite self-obsessed, Morris hoped she would get a taste of her own medicine. Though he never expected Honeybuzzard to do what he did, Morris still harbours significant guilt for his part in Ghislaine's pain.

Days pass and the hot, spring weather intensifies Morris' depression. He spends his days hiding in places he thinks Ghislaine will never go and musing on how ardently he has resisted giving Edna the things she wants from a relationship: namely a strong, traditional husband and children.

One evening, Morris finally tells Edna about his interaction with Ghislaine in the bar. Though she first thinks he is preparing to leave her, once Edna realises Morris' disgust at Ghislaine's appearance, she demands that they take Ghislaine in and care for her during what must be a difficult time. It is only when Morris aggressively refuses to cooperate with this plan that Edna seems to show slight respect for him.

One morning, Morris sees a striking, aloof young woman enter the café he visited with Oscar previously. She's carrying a large, sleeping cat and is accompanied by an outrageously-dressed Honeybuzzard. The woman is introduced as Emily and it's clear she and Honeybuzzard began a relationship while he was in London.

Morris tries to warn Honeybuzzard about what's been happening with Ghislaine, but Honeybuzzard shows no interest in the topic until Oscar arrives. Oscar reminds them of Henry Glass, another of Ghislaine's past conquests, now happily married to a Finnish woman who speaks limited English. Oscar explains that Ghislaine visited Henry one night and, in despair after being turned away by him, tore her scar open and stuffed dirt into the wound, re-hospitalising herself in the process.

Though he says he appreciates the update, Honeybuzzard is more excited to share his recent purchases from a London joke shop with the two men, much to their dismay. Honeybuzzard further mocks Oscar before leaving with Morris and Emily to visit their antique shop.

The shop, situated in a rundown part of town, is worse for wear, though Emily soon sets about tidying parts of it up while her cat makes itself at home.

Honeybuzzard finds a letter there from Ghislaine expressing her love for him, which he says isn't nearly enough to earn his affection back. He burns the letter and starts unpacking all of his other joke shop purchases before getting bored and leaving Morris to finish the job. Instead, Honeybuzzard tries on outfits and constructs a doll in Morris' likeness, which he soon discards once something else catches his attention.

This, along with a short bout of rain, causes Morris to ruminate on various negative feelings he has for the people in his life. He ultimately suppresses these feelings and the trio go to the pub that evening.

There, they find Henry Glass distraught over his pregnant wife's suicide. Unable to understand Henry's explanation of the situation with Ghislaine, Henry's wife thought Henry had scarred the girl and became distraught at this possibility, resulting in her taking her own life.