Lecture notes
Carson McCullers and the Southern Gothic novel
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- The University Of Stirling (UoS)
Carson McCullers role as a Southern Gothic novelist
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● The relationship between regionalism and Gothic through the lens ofMcCullers ‘Ballad of the Sad Cafe’, set in the American South.
● The Historical context related to a specifically Southern voice and form of the
Gothic voice.
● Outcast characters: Hunchback dwarf and eccentric androgynous women who
falls for him.
● A simple tale made gothic through the strangeness of the characters and their
bizarre love triangle.
● The ambiguity behind what happens in this small Georgia town becomes the
element giving the story its greatest power.
● Themes: Unresolved questions of love and affection, such an unrequited love
being draining and positive love being full of hope and future. For example
how Miss Amelia changes when she falls in love with her cousin, becoming
more generous and calm.
● Aspects of trust: Hunchback changes his person of admiration to Macy
breaking Amelias trust greatly.
● Marvins life of crime comes from the rejection of his wife, while the dwarf has
a fascination for ideal men driven by a self hatred of his deformity.
● All three characters are deformed emotionally and all hurt someone by
following their desires.
● A story of individual characters who never had their motivations explained.
● Elements of the Southern Gothic: common themes of bizarre, disturbing and
inconsistent characters, ambivalent gender roles, ruined backdrops, grotesque
situations with the attempt of exploring social issues and revealing the cultural
character of South America.
● The Grotesque is one of the most common themes of the Southern Gothic, and
these flawed characters are used to underline condemned aspects of Southern
culture without being excessively moralistic or judgemental .
● The three characters represent the symbols of spiritual isolation or loneliness.
● Amelia is not capable of taking up the conventional feminine role.
● The towns atmosphere: creates a feeling of curiosity by the abandoned house in
the middle of town, moving the characters and the town further from
civilization.
● The transformation of the house to a cafe means people socialising, so the cafe
brought life to the town
● McCullers shows us how the Southern Gothic is full of ravages of loneliness.
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