Tuesday, September 20, 2011
"The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" Reading Response 9/20
After learning about the author, Carson McCullers, and her life's issues with homosexuality and her heterosexual marriage, I began to see a lot of those undertones in the book. Biff Brannon intrigued me the entire time. His marriage with Alice obviously started with love and happiness, assuming from his his descriptions of their first years. When we were introduced to them, they fussed more than they had regular conversation. I thought that this was just from being together for so long, one gets sick of the other, but after her death Brannon acted strangely. He undoubtedly cared about the woman, and he didn't take her death lightly, he just handled it in a strange way. He decorated the room to his taste, he did what he enjoyed - collecting his newspapers and organizing them as such, and he seemed to take better care of himself. He was described as dressed nicely and he mentioned sewing more than once. He took pride in arranging flowers in the front window of his store so that they were beautiful, and seemed more gentle and relaxed. He mourned his wife's death and missed her, but he seemed to be enjoying life more without her. He wore her perfume, but was it because he missed her? He used her shampoo, but was it because he felt closer to her? He talks about being a "mother" and how he would care for adopted children like they were his own. I think motherhood would suit him. I think Brannon found a companion in Alice, but wasn't truly happy. Like Carson, I think he may have had another interest other than the opposite sex. Everything in the novel is up for interpretation, but the hints and vivid descriptions lead me to believe my theory is true.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
i so agree because as i said in my post Biff Brannon has a somewhat of a disconnection from his wife because his wife says he is a freak because he like freaks. Biff is a healthy person who has a strong connection to the physically deformed that to me shows inner weakness within him. Because of this weakness Biff has the inability to connect to his wife and is even more drawn away from society.
ReplyDeleteKorinn, I tend to agree with you. We didn't have time to talk about this angle in class, but it does seem to me that one of the fascinating parts of this novel is the way that McCullers plays with gender and gender identity -- and in 1939, no less! There are all those comments about Biff's making a good mother, and his interest in things that smell and look good. He dotes on people, too. I think the exploration of gender roles here is fascinating.
ReplyDelete