Following the motif of traditionally gendered fairy tales, Angela Carter's retelling of Beauty and the Beast, called "The Courtship of Mr. Lyon," depicts males as powerful and females as willingly in their service.

This is a gentle story of a beast redeemed from his loneliness and his hideous looks by the love of a young woman with a pure heart. In it, the two male characters, Beauty's father and the Beast, are active. Beauty's father is broken by problems as the story opens, but he rallies, gets his car repaired, dares to steal a white rose from the Beast, and moves on to London to fight a legal battle. He shows agency and initiative.

The Beast is a wealthy, powerful, and commanding male. His household is ordered around his needs and desires. He can order Beauty's father to bring Beauty to his home, and he can provide the father with good legal help.

The two female characters, Beauty and the spaniel, occupy subordinate positions. Their main roles are to be ornamentally lovely and to service the needs of the males in their lives. They are willing to sacrifice themselves for their men: Beauty will do anything for her father, and the spaniel is half dead by the time she finds Beauty in London to take her back to the dying Beast.

In a very traditional manner, Beauty is rewarded with marriage when she promises to sacrifice herself to stay with the Beast forever if he lives. She ends up, in a stereotypically female way, wrapping her life around his.

The story thus suggests that men are meant to have power and command, while women find fulfillment by serving their needs.

Other stories in The Bloody Chamber show female empowerment and challenge traditional gender roles, but this is not one of them.