Real Women Have Skins: The Enchanted Bride Tale in Her Body and Other Parties

Carmen Maria Machado’s story collection Her Body and Other Parties (2017) is steeped in folklore. The story “Real Women Have Bodies” draws on the folklore tradition of the animal or supernatural bride, featuring the disappearance of women despite attempts to retain them. As in enchanted bride stories, these women are associated with an article of clothing that functions as a skin. This essay argues that the story shifts the focus of the traditional story from men’s fears to women’s, while offering glimpses of possibility for women to resist and to care for each other, particularly in the context of queer relationships.