An Analysis of Gender Binarism in McCullers’The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

This paper provides an analysis of gender binarism in Carson McCullers’novel,The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter,situated within the socio-cultural milieu of Southern America.It examines the depiction of persisting challenges posed by binary gender paradigms and the portrayal of potential emancipation within the narrative.The analysis focuses on two central characters,interpreting them as contrasting cases.One character represents the paradox inherent in the rebellious endeavors,highlighting how these actions,influenced by Phallocentrism and a broader framework of hierarchical structures,might inadvertently reinforce gender binarism.The other character exemplifies a triumphant departure from the binary gender paradigm through striving to attain a state of equilibrium marked by the harmonious coexistence of gender differences.Through this analysis,the paper reveals the author’s dual perspectives in her exploration of gender binarism using these two distinct protagonists.At last,it employs the traditional Chinese philosophical concept of“harmony in diversity”in conjunction with feminist and gender theories to elucidate the encouraged path toward emancipation from gender binarism within McCullers’narrative.

Feminizing the Masculine Body in Carson McCullers’s The Ballad of the Sad Cafe

Mainly applying gender studies to the analysis of Carson McCullers’s The Ballad of the Sad Cafe,with the body as the focus,this paper explores how the masculine Amelia is feminized for the purpose of resolving masculinity crisis embodied by Marvin Macy and Cousin Lymon,concluding that the culturally constructed normative sex and gender dichotomy operates by disciplining otherness,causing gender identification trouble and disempowerment.

Spacial Discipline in Carson McCullers’s The Ballad of the Sad Café

Mainly applying Michel Foucault’s idea about spacial discipline plus gender studies,in particular,of the correlation between gender and space as well as the power hierarchy in the distribution of space,this paper analyzes the female protagonist Miss Amelia in Carson McCullers’s The Ballad of the Sad Café.This paper argues that Amelia utilizes space as a means of self-empowerment,challenging the conventional gender dichotomy sanctioned by patriarchal norms.However,her spacial transgression is seen as a deconstruction of gender conventionality and causes masculine crisis as embodied by the male characters Marvin Macy and Cousin Lymon.As spacial discipline is collaboratively exerted by Macy and Lymon on Amelia to“correct”her transgression,Amelia finally concedes defeat and submits to patriarchal gender norms.

Interpretation on the Ecological Feminism in Reflections in a Golden Eye

A growing number of commentators begin to read literary classics from the perspective of ecological feminism. In reading Carson McCullers＇ novel Reflections in a Golden Eye, readers can intensively feel its natural ecological properties regardless of the gothic image within it, or think the ＂image＂ refers to the relationship between human and nature, the relationship between women and nature, and the relationship between women and patriarchy. From the perspective of ecological feminism, in this paper, the ecological view of nature in the novel to criticize anthropocentrism and paternalism is explored and analyzed.