On The Gender Transgression In Carson Mccullers' Works

Carson McCullers is one of the most important American writers in the 20th century. She comes to be known as a talented writer with the publication of her first novel The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter. Her latter literary works, The Ballad of Sad Café, The Member of The Wedding, and Reflection In A Golden Eye, are also highly appreciated by the reader and the critical circle.Though critical responses to McCullers and her works are quite extensive in foreign literary circles, the study of McCullers and her works is still quite limited in China. The early studies of McCullers are mainly focused on the theme of loneliness, or the gothic elements in McCullers'works; however, a comprehensive study of her characters in their gender roles is still lacking.This thesis would mainly focus on a group of androgynous characters in McCullers'three novels, dwelling on how these androgynous characters are suffering in a society with conventional binary gender standards, and thus displays how this society is strangling people from achieving their individual freedom.This thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter One is a general introduction to the life of McCullers, the literature review of McCullers'works, and a general survey of the theory of androgyny. Chapter Two to Four are a detailed analysis of four androgynous characters in McCullers's three works---The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, The Ballad of Sad Café, and The Member of the Wedding. In these three novels, apparently representatives of McCullers'literary works, this thesis would focus on four seemingly absurd androgynous characters. By exploring the progress of each character's gender transgression development and the life tragedy these characters are facing, the thesis intends to illustrate how the prescribed gender roles have harmed the development of individuals. Chapter Five is the conclusion part.