The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter

When I had asked to review Angela Carter’s The Passion of New Eve for my thesis, I never knew that I’d have to enter a world of words in scientific imagination, Gothic realism, magical realism and feminism through one single novel. 

Published during the early waves of feminism, Angela Carter's The Passion of New Eve portrays a world dominated by women. A satire on America, in terms of gender, the novel begins as the protagonist Evelyn, arrives at New York to take up his new job. He spends his evenings devoted to the shows of Tristessa de St Ange, the American silent movie star. The English professor with male chauvinistic views develops an intimate relationship with Leilah, an exotic young African-American nightclub dancer. Soon, Leilah becomes pregnant and Evelyn leaves her.


Evelyn's flight takes him to the subterranean female city of Beulah. There the Mother Goddess of the city forcefully transforms Evelyn into Eve, the woman he always lusted for. The wicked mother tries to impregnate Eve with Evelyn’s sperm and the new eve with lost machismo somehow escapes from the city.

The new Eve falls into the hands of poet Zero, a male cult leader with slavish wives.  She experiences the pain of rape and oppression of a female by men in the society. Eve tries to be an obedient wife. During the pass of time, Zero leads Eve on a search for the silent film star Tristessa, an embodiment of beauty, sorrow, and loneliness. Zero obsessively hates Tristessa, because he believes Tristessa’s beauty had made him infertile.  

Zero and his dungaree-clad harem finally find Tristessa in her glass palace. To the group's utter shock; they discover that Tristessa is not a female but a transsexual male. Zero forces the new Eve to have a relationship with Tristessa. From that moment the new Eve experiences the true feminine feelings. Tristessa and the new Eve escapes from Zero and after a number of obstacles the new Eve finds the new land for women.

The role reversal is central to this scientific novel with an undertone of feminism. Carter equally criticizes the machoism of male race and the uncivilized notions of women's movement through this satire. The end of the novel is quite symbolic since the new civilized land for women dawns upon the female race just like Eve starts her search for a new land at dawn. The Passion of New Eve is a sensual novel full of foods and smells and colors, which acts upon the readers' senses like a psychedelic drug. This is not always an appealing novel, but it is always interesting.