本文分為三部份。第一部份概述分為兩部份，首先簡論有關安琪拉卡特的小說成就與學界評論並提出卡特另一未受論者議及之寫作特色，即哥德式驚悚小說傳統，除引述卡特本人有關哥德式驚悚傳統與其寫作有關之論述外，並連結其與卡特所作有關後現代及女性主義之言說的關聯，概述第二部份則建構本文的理論架構，探討晚近哥德驚悚小說最新評論發展，連結其與後現代思潮之相互激盪，並將之連結在卡特特有的女性主義文化批判上。本文第二部份為文章主體，依短篇、長篇小說、及哥德驚悚小說傳統中數項特質，揀選討論卡特早、中、晚期著作有關此一驚悚式突顯女性性別實質經驗的小說呈現文化批判。文章最後一部份為總結，歸結出卡特所勾勒的女性性別驚異式經驗，亦為後現代社會中的性別認同建構式詫異經驗。

Angela Carter is a most controversial feminist writer in contemporary literary scene as her writing handles many gender and cultural issues in a unique subversive, even provocative way. Critics have discussed the political (in)efficacy of her feminist views and the significance of her revisionary writing strategy, but as to what really constitutes the unsettling power, the sharp edge of Carter’s writing, besides the enunciation of different feminist stances, critics have so far offered rather little in-depth analysis or new angles. With regard to this, the essay seeks to establish a critical model of reading Carter’s horrific power by bringing in, or rather shedding light on, a narrative tradition that Carter has employed all along—the Gothic tradition—to the existing critical perspectives on Carter’s writing, i.e., feminism, postmodernism, among others. The author argues that there exists an intricate dialectic between Carter’s feminism, postmodern practice, and her use of the Gothic, that her Gothic view underlies the horrific power of her speculative writing, and moreover, her writing exhibits a space which is not just postmodern, full of the joy of depthless play, but also a fearful space of the Gothic where the play is haunted by its play.