A Threshold Study Of Carson McCullers’s Novels

Threshold is a space,stage or state which is “betwixt and between”.The concept of threshold is derived from folklore and cultural anthropology,and developed in sociology and psychology.Therefore,when threshold is applied to literary research,it has been endowed with multiple and profound humanistic connotations.American Southern female writer Carson Mc Cullers(1917-1967)is a novelist who is good at threshold writing.In her works,there are rich threshold representations,covering multiple categories from concrete to abstract,from physics to psychology,and perception to cognition.This thesis tries to address to the following questions: 1.What threshold types can we find in Mc Cullers’ s novels? 2.How are these thresholds manifested in her novels,and what are their similarities and differences? 3.What are the deep connections between these thresholds and the Southern culture,history,and society?To answer the above questions,this study is conducted as follow: firstly,Mc Cullers’ s creative life and existing research are introduced,with a finding that the existing research shows scholars’ attention to the characteristics and representations of threshold in her works,but lacks a systematic research;secondly,starting from the concept of threshold in anthropology,a brief introduction to the definition and basic characteristics of threshold,and the representations and classification of threshold in literature are expounded;then,the specific thresholds in Mc Cullers’ s novels are classified into physical thresholds,thresholds of selves and worlds,and sensing body as a threshold the three of which are analyzed progressively---from the physical to non-physical,from outside to inside,exploring the social and personal crises behind these various thresholds;finally,based on the writer’s experience and the background of the times,conclusion is made.It is found in the study that Mc Cullers is a unique writer who writes literary thresholds in the living threshold,and the rich threshold representations constitute her multi-leveled threshold writing.The threshold in mentality of the southern townspeople characterized by uncertainty and sense of unbelongingness,is brought by their liminal experience living in a transitional South.This comes from the writer’s own threshold experience,and her ambivalence towards the South: a love-hate sentiment towards the traditional South and a feeling of longing and fear for the transitioning new South.On one hand,she is at ease in the shelter of her southern hometown,but at the same time wants to break free from the shackles of the southern traditions;on the other hand,she is deeply fascinated by the modern city life in her life,but doubts the prospect of urban industrialization in the South.