Babel
Li é a u es plu ielles
31 | 2015
The Masculine Sou h
“Sexless And Whi e” : T ansg essing Gende
Bounda ies in Ca son McCulle s’s The Ballad o The
Sad Ca é (1951)
Inès CASAS
Elec onic e sion
URL: h p://jou nals.openedi ion.o g/babel/4070
DOI: 10.4000/babel.4070
ISSN: 2263-4746
Publishe
Uni e si é du Sud Toulon-Va
P in ed e sion
Da e o publica ion: 1 Janua y 2015
Numbe o pages: 63-73
ISSN: 1277-7897
Elec onic e e ence
Inès CASAS, « “Sexless And Whi e” : T ansg essing Gende Bounda ies in Ca son McCulle s’s The
Ballad o The Sad Ca é (1951) », Babel [Online], 31 | 2015, Online since 30 Ap il 2016, connec ion on 26
Ap il 2019. URL : h p://jou nals.openedi ion.o g/babel/4070 ; DOI : 10.4000/babel.4070
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“Sexless And Whi e” : T ansg essing
Gende Bounda ies in Ca son
McCulle s’s The Ballad o The Sad Ca é
(1951)
Inès CASAS
1 Th oughou he li e, Ca son McCulle s emained a sou he n woman whose imagina ion
was ozen in collision wi h socie y’s expec a ions. She could no en ision accep ance o
womanhood, because she ne e ound i he sel . She displayed an ambi alen sexuali y
and equen ly iden i ied wi h he masculine. She he sel explici ly s a ed his
ambi alence by decla ing o New on A in, “I was bo n a man” (Kenscha 221). I is his
iden i ica ion wi h he masculine which s imula ed he imagina ion o explo e he
de ini ions o masculini y and eminini y in The Ballad o he Sad Ca é (1951). McCulle s’s
no ella is a e lec ion on ambi alence abou eminine iden i y, a p oblem which is indeed
an exp ession o p o ound discom o wi h he adi ions o sou he n womanhood. The
dominan discou se’s equi emen s o submissi eness and es ain o he sou he n lady
adi ionally discou aged he pu sui o p o essional, a is ic o poli ical goals. These
es ic ions imposed on women p oduced a ea ha being emale and da ing o achie e
was, as Louise Wes ling pu s i , “ o become a kind o eak,” and hus “ he gi l who insis s
on ollowing he ambi ions almos ine i ably pays he p ice o shame and guil as an adul
… because she has abandoned he amilia bounda ies o he gende ” (Sac ed G o es 113).
This has been pa icula ly ue in he Sou h, and McCulle s highligh s he ho i ying
dimensions o such a p oblem as she explo es eminine independence in he po ai o
Amelia E ans and how she—and he ela ionships wi h Lymon and Ma in Macy— e eals
a challenge o masculini y. In his cau iona y ale abou he dange s ha be all a woman
who ansg esses adi ional gende oles, McCulle s idicules bo h he my h o he
sou he n lady and adi ional no ions o manhood. She does so by c ea ing a gian
Amazon who embodies bo h woman and man and has a ela ionship wi h a simila ly
ambiguous igu e and who illus a es McCulle s’s belie ha ambigui y p o ides he ideal
way o expe iencing he wo ld.1
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2 C i ics such as Louise Wes ling, Louis D. Rubin, and Ca oline Ca ill ocus on models o
gende in e sion and a e o he opinion ha he sexual dynamics in he no el ep esen
an in e sion o gende oles and adi ional he e osexual pa e ns. The only escape o he
opp essi e posi ion ese ed o women in he no el’s sou he n se ing seems o be he
app op ia ion o male powe and he iden i ica ion wi h men, o masculini y p omises
eedom, powe and s a us. Miss Amelia’s “masculini y” ep esen s he d eam o
independence, he only al e na i e ques ioning he es ic ions imposed on women by
he sou he n communi y. Howe e , behind his al e na i e is he no ion o male
engeance which iumphs in he s o y’s conclusion, as he o me ly in incible Amazon is
le sh unken and imp isoned in wha is he collapsing shadow o he old ca é. The
plo line, hen, de elops Miss Amelia’s all om masculine au ho i y o emale aliena ion,
o as Sand a M. Gilbe and Susan Guba pu i , “ om a woman wa io o a helpless
madwoman” (No Man’s Land 111). In his Sou h ha de ines and classi ies in e ms o
duali ies and opposi ions (male- emale, s ong-weak, powe ul-powe less), he e is no
oom o sexual ambi alence. These emales who challenge con en ions and ques ion
gende ba ie s, he e o e, a e e en ually p essu ed in o con o ming o some kind o
socially sanc ioned womanliness, as is he case wi h Mick Kelly in The Hea is a Lonely
Hun e (1940), o punished o ansg ession, as in The Ballad o he Sad Ca é.
3 In he po ayal o Miss Amelia, McCulle s insis s on pe manen suspension o clea
gende iden i y and makes isible how such a s a e challenges pa ia chal socie y. Miss
Amelia does no i in o he ole he socie y deems app op ia e o he sex. She is
po ayed as a “g o esque Amazon” (Wes ling, Sac ed G o es 111), a “manly gian ess”
(Millichap 329); she has abno mal physical ea u es o a woman, as she is an imposing
igu e wi h hai y highs and “bones and muscles like a man” (Ballad 4)2 and sho -c opped
hai b ushed back om he o ehead like F ankie Addams’s in The Membe o he Wedding
(1946). Miss Amelia is, o he eyes o he sou he n communi y, a h ea o images o he
delica e, pe i e lady. Al hough he unambiguous name sugges s emaleness—unlike Mick’s
and F ankie’s—i seems o emphasize he disc epancy be ween a name which e okes
expec a ions o a ‘p ope ’ woman and Amelia’s masculine body. No wi hs anding he
s apping physique, which is complemen ed by means o d essing “in o e alls and gum
boo s” (5) and boxing, Miss Amelia iden i ies in o he aspec s wi h masculini y. She is he
cen al pe sonali y o he own and has g ea powe in he communi y: she manages o
become he iches pe son in own by displaying unsc upulous agg essi eness in
comme cial ansac ions, as she ope a es a p o i able gene al s o e in he building
inhe i ed om he a he , which g adually becomes he own’s only ca é. McCulle s
exagge a es Miss Amelia’s business in e es s and he desi e o con ol o make isible
he mechanisms in pa ia chal socie y ha seek o des oy he o he . As Ellen Ma lok-
Ziemann has pu i , “McCulle s has, hen, Miss Amelia impe sona e and mock ‘man’ like a
d ag king” (141). By o e emphasizing Miss Amelia’s imi a ion o man, McCulle s ac ually
exp esses he c i ique o ypically male (capi alis ) p ac ices.
4 Mo eo e , Miss Amelia shows g ea skill a masculine ades: she owns a ms in he
icini y, is adep a manual skills such as ca pen y, mason y, and bu che ing, and she
p oduces he bes whisky in he coun y. The mos imp essi e o all he powe s, howe e ,
is he abili y o heal he sick wi h sec e emedies om oo s and he bs. The only
excep ion o he healing powe s is ela ed o he ejec ion o e e y hing emale— he
unde lying ea ha unde mines he sense o sel and he abili y o con ol:
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I a pa ien came wi h a emale complain she could do no hing. Indeed a he me e
men ion o he wo ds he ace would slowly da ken wi h shame, and she would
s and he e c aning he neck agains he colla o he shi , o ubbing he swamp
boo s oge he , o all he wo ld like a g ea , shamed, dumb- ongued child. Bu in
o he ma e s people us ed he . (17)
5 These eelings o emba assed con usion e eal he e o o ejec and expel wha
h ea ens he sel : emaleness. As she dis inc ly senses how emaleness in ades he sel ,
she seeks o asse ha she is pa o he male wo ld by ouching he masculine appa el,
c aning he neck agains he shi o ubbing he swamp boo s oge he , as i o con ince
he sel ha emaleness does no exis . She ails and becomes a “dumb- ongued child.”
6 Miss Amelia’s ejec ion o con en ional no ions o womanhood is e iden in he e usal o
accep he diminished s a us o woman, as she esol es no o play he physical pa o a
woman in he ma iage o Ma in Macy. Macy is good-looking and p o o ypically
masculine, “a all man, wi h b own cu ly hai , and slow-mo ing, deep-blue eyes … [and]
he lazy, hal -mou hed smile o he b agga ” (46). This po ayal o Macy as a hype -
masculine sou he n cowboy s u ing a ound own sugges s o Sa ah Gleeson-Whi e a
“ca ica u e o ideal Ame ican masculini y” (48-49). McCulle s cas s his masculine
quali ies in an e il, des uc i e ligh h oughou he s o y, o he is also iolen and
iciously lus ul. He is he de il male— he Sa anic is sugges ed by his ed shi and he
ac ha he ne e swea s—who has uined he ende es young gi ls in he egion.
Pe haps o his eason i is e en he mo e i onic ha he alls o a manly woman.
7 When Miss Amelia ma ies him, he whole own is elie ed, expec ing ma iage o so en
he cha ac e and physique “and o change he a las in o a calculable woman” (30).
Howe e , du ing he en-day ma iage, she ails again in he pe o mance o he “p ope ”
woman. The b idal gown ha Miss Amelia wea s a he wedding looks idiculous on he ,
since i is “a leas wel e inches oo sho o he ” (37); as she dons his d ess, she e eals
wi h he body he a i iciali y o eminini y and is u e ly aliena ed by i . Thus, she keeps
making an “odd ges u e,” and as she ies o each “ o he pocke o he o e alls … he
ace [becomes] impa ien , bo ed, and exaspe a ed” (37-38). Mo eo e , almos as i ying
o escape he cons ain s o eminini y, she hu ies “ou o he chu ch, no aking he a m
o he husband, bu walking a leas wo paces ahead o him” (38), and on hei way home
she alks abou wo k and ea s him like a cus ome . A e he b ideg oom ollows he
ups ai s o bed on hei wedding nigh , she igno es him:
Wi hin hal an hou Miss Amelia had s omped down he s ai s in b eeches and a
khaki jacke … She slammed he ki chen doo and ga e i an ugly kick… She poked
up he i e, sa down, and pu he ee up on he ki chen s o e. She ead he
Fa me ’s Almanac, d ank co ee, and had a smoke wi h he a he ’s pipe… Tha was
he way in which she spen he whole o he wedding nigh . (31)
8 Du ing he ensuing en days o hei abo i e ma iage, she sleeps downs ai s and
con inues o igno e he husband unless he comes wi hin s iking ange, when she socks
him wi h he is . Accep ing he eminine pa in he ma iage would ha e mean
enouncing he masculine sou ces o he s eng h; he en aged eac ion o Macy’s o lo n
a emp s a lo emaking clea ly exp esses he insul hey ep esen o he p ide. Miss
Amelia’s sense o sel ejec s he con en ional pa ia chal de ini ion o womanhood, since
she eels ha he compliance wi h i would imply he loss o he au onomy. The e o e, a
“no mal” he e osexual ela ionship, ans o ming he in o a “calculable woman” is ou o
he ques ion. Miss Amelia d i es Macy away h ough he humilia ion o his masculine
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p ide, an ac which lea es he ic o ious in he “Amazon i gini y” (Wes ling, Sac ed
G o es 123).
9 In his pa ia chal socie y, McCulle s seems o sugges , an in ima e (sexual) ela ionship
be ween a woman and a man, in which bo h pa ne s can sus ain hei au onomy, is only
possible i man’s powe is diminished. Fo his eason, Miss Amelia’s second pa ne ,
Cousin Lymon, is physically and men ally minia u ized, and he lo e ela ionship which
un olds be ween hem makes gende dis inc ions e en mo e opaque. Con a y o Macy,
Cousin Lymon ep esen s no h ea o he powe o sense o sel : he is a sickly, de o med
man whose wa ped, childlike o m indica es his masculine impo ence jus as Amelia’s
g o esquely masculine appea ance exp esses he inabili y o unc ion as a con en ional
woman. He “ unc ions as child, pe , and a he eminine companion” (Wes ling,
“Tomboys” 120); in ac , his eminine appea ance mee s he equi emen s o a lady-pe i e.
Wi h him, Miss Amelia eels sa e in e ealing a ec ion, o he poses no h ea o sexuali y
o domina ion. Hence, in hei ela ionship, he e is an in e sion o con en ional oles o
male and emale, which is hin ed a by hei “ill-ma ched and pi i ul” conjunc ion in
physical e ms: “Miss Amelia was a powe ul blunde buss o a pe son, mo e han six ee
all—and Cousin Lymon a weakly li le hunchback eaching only o he wais ” (25). Miss
Amelia is, he e o e, physically dominan and p o ides a li ing o he household, while
Lymon is “ he pampe ed ma e who s u s abou in ine y, is inicky abou ood and
accommoda ions, and gads abou own socializing and gossiping” (Wes ling, Sac ed G o es
123). In hei in ima e con e sa ions be o e he pa lo i e, Miss Amelia si s wi h he long
legs s e ched be o e he hea h con empla ing philosophical p oblems and eminiscing,
while Cousin Lymon si s w apped in a blanke o g een shawl on a low chai and cha e s
endlessly abou pe y de ails. A his s age, e en i , as Cons an e González G oba no es,
hey a e s ill “mu ually complemen a y” (142), McCulle s applies hea y i ony o gende
dis inc ions seemingly based on s e eo ypes.
10 Thei ela ionship is ma ked by a lack o s uggle in which each pa ne seeks o sus ain
hei au onomy, as he e is no place o submissi eness. Thei union is ini ially ega ded
wi h bewilde men , con usion, and disapp o al, indica ing he inabili y o pa ia chal
socie y o accep he blu ing o gende bounda ies. Bu McCulle s no only elucida es
how a suspension o hose bounda ies h ea ens pa ia chal socie y, she also explo es an
ideal sense o pe sonal ul ilmen . No h ea ened by an “o dina y” he-man like Macy,
Miss Amelia’s acial ea u es and manne s so en, and he e o s o sus ain he
masculini y seem no longe necessa y. Many c i ics ha e been puzzled by Miss Amelia’s
and Cousin Lymon’s ha monious union and he ques ion o a possible sexual ela ionship.
Some ha e discussed Miss Amelia’s omboyishness as a ejec ion o eminini y in gene al
and c i icized he ailu e o accep he e osexuali y. I ha e decided o a oid cons ic ing
ques ions o sexual p e e ence in his pape and keep his issue suspended— hus
delibe a ely a oiding he numbe less s udies ha ha e ead McCulle s’s wo k in lesbian
e ms, such as Lo i Kenscha ’s “Homoe o ics and Human Connec ions: Reading Ca son
McCulle s ‘As a Lesbian’” (1996). Ne e heless, I ag ee wi h Ga y Richa ds in he belie
ha o label Miss Amelia a lesbian on he basis o he gende ansi i i y is e oneous
(189): she is la gely di es ed o an o e sexual iden i y, bu she lo es a pe son o he
opposi e sex.
11 Lymon, none heless, is d awn o he c uel masculine s eng h o Ma in Macy. As Sa ah
Gilbe and Susan Guba pu i , “ he no-man Lymon, who as he ake hing ecognizes he
eal hing, weds himsel o he he-man Ma in” (“Figh ing” 150). Clea ly de ined gende
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iden i ies a e used as con as o heigh en he po en ial o ambigui y, and Ma in Macy’s
e u n unc ions as such. In ac , he inal ou come is b ough abou by he conspi acy
c ea ed by hese male cha ac e s agains Miss Amelia, a male engeance which dep i es
he o powe and s eng h. Unde s anding ha Macy’s e u n o own is a challenge and a
h ea o he powe , Miss Amelia’s s ained e o s o emain au onomous a e b ough
back as she begins p epa a ions o a (gende ) igh , aun ing Macy by wea ing he ed
d ess as a lag an eminde o his ailu e o make he ac he pa o a woman du ing
hei ma iage, and laun ing he inaccessibili y and independence. In his sense, Amelia’s
hype - eminini y by means o he ed d ess becomes a sub e si e and empowe ing
pe o mance o gende , which she uses a he mos c ucial poin s o he ex —when
powe is a s ake. While she wea s he d ess, she pokes he biceps cons an ly, p ac ices
li ing hea y objec s, and wo ks ou wi h a punching bag in he ya d. She appea s o be a
ease wi h he ambiguous beha iou , pe o ming “bo h a ‘p ope ’ woman, hus exposing
no ms o pa ia chy h ough mimic y, and a ‘p ope man’ h ough a d ag king ac which
mocks he cons uc ion o man” (Ma lok-Ziemann 153). Al hough his pe o mance o
womanhood does no aliena e he om he sel as he ole as a b ide did, Miss Amelia
becomes a masque ade when ac ing ou eminini y, which e eals he absu di y o s ic
gende ca ego iza ion. As Gleeson-Whi e s a es, “when a woman delibe a ely ac s ou he
eminine, he supposedly na u al and app op ia e posi ion, he agili y o gende
becomes mos appa en ” (50). In o he wo ds, in The Ballad o he Sad Ca é, McCulle s
depic s gende as pliable and inessen ial, in sum, as a masque ade.
12 In a inal ac o male engeance, Macy and Lymon join o ces o des oy he usu pe in a
igh . As Suzanne Paulson pu s i , by po aying he annihila ion o Miss Amelia a he
hands o wo male igu es, “McCulle s wa ns agains he g ea es dange o all: he dange
o losing one’s indi iduali y o he agg essi e male collec i e… Like blacks in he sou he n
communi y, Amelia is ic imized by whi e males. She is womanized and eminized” (194 ;
my emphasis). A he momen o Miss Amelia’s appa en iumph in his igh , likened o
he e osexual in e cou se, Cousin Lymon leaps ac oss he oom o aid his ado ed ube -
masculine iend. Miss Amelia is des oyed, and emains secluded in he o ice ha nigh
—he physical isola ion wi hin he w ecked house e lec s he in e nal de elopmen , as
he ca é s ands as a symbol o he “inne oom” o Miss Amelia’s subjec i e illusions.
13 Miss Amelia’s physical change a e he igh seems o co obo a e ha he e osexuali y
o ces women o accep womanhood. He oice changes and becomes as powe less as he
hand ha opens “ eebly and [lies] palm upwa d and s ill” (67); she le s he hai “g ow
agged” (69), which emphasizes he weakness; he body sh inks un il she is “ hin as old
maids when hey go c azy” (69); and he healing powe s a e diminished. She li es in u e
sel -imposed isola ion, as a “caged bi d” eminiscen o he sou he n lady, looking down
on he own om one o he windows o he o me ly popula ca é now boa ded up and
leaning “so a ha i seems bound o collapse a any minu e” (3). Th ough ambigui y,
Miss Amelia expe ienced ul ilmen . Once denied i , she e uses o be pa o pa ia chal
socie y wi h i s igid gende dis inc ions. Howe e , despi e he bleak ending, he idea o
suspension o gende bounda ies is s ill indica ed a he end o he ballad, o he s is a
ace which is “sexless and whi e” (3): Miss Amelia is s ill suspended be ween “p ope ”
eminini y and masculini y—she is nei he woman no man, simply “sexless.”
14 In his sense, The Ballad o he Sad Ca é p o ides he depic ion o a masculine Amazon
whose ansg ession o con en ional gende bounda ies b ings ca as ophic male
e ibu ion, which b u ally silences he . McCulle s ocuses on he e i ying e enge ha
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he law o he phallus in lic s on hose women who de y i s impe a i es. Speci ically, as
Sand a Gilbe and Susan Guba ha e pu i , she d ama izes he punishmen me ed ou o
a woman “who has a ogan ly supposed ha she could li e in a no man’s land— i s
wi hou a eal man, and hen wi h a dwa ish no-man” (“Figh ing” 148). In he no ella,
McCulle s sough o blu gende bounda ies; howe e , he ou come illus a es he
impossibili y o such a ision in he Ame ican Sou h, whe e no ambi alence is accep ed in
gende dis inc ions. By c ea ing an ambi alen he oine, whose iden i y is s uc u ed by
iola ions o gende no ms and ejec ions o sexuali y and whose pe sonal ealiza ion is
a ained h ough he ela ionship wi h a simila ly ambiguous igu e, McCulle s acu ely
challenges and exposes he cons ic ing no ms o pa ia chal socie y. She denounces he
insani y o con o ming o an e hical sys em ha denig a es women while admi ing
ma e ialis ic and agg essi e beha iou in men, denying classi ica ion in e ms o duali y
o bina y opposi ions and indica ing ambigui y as he ideal.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ca ill, Ca oline. “You Migh as Well Lis en o he Chain Gang: The Ballad o he Sad Ca é.”
Re lec ions in a C i ical Eye : Essays on Ca son McCulle s. Ed. Jan Whi . Lanham : Uni e si y P ess o
Ame ica, 2008. 33-45.
Gilbe , Sand a M. and Susan Guba . No Man’s Land: The Place o he Woman W i e in he Twen ie h
Cen u y. I. New Ha en : Yale UP, 1988.
Gilbe , Sand a M. and Susan Guba . “Figh ing o Li e.” C i ical Essays on Ca son McCulle s. Eds.
Be e ly Lyon Cla k and Mel in J. F iedman. New Yo k : G. K. Hall, 1996. 147-54.
Gleeson-Whi e, Sa ah. “A ‘Calculable Woman’ and a ‘Ji e y Ninny’: Pe o ming Feminini y in The
Hea is a Lonely Hun e and The Ballad o he Sad Ca é.” Re lec ions in a C i ical Eye : Essays on Ca son
McCulle s. Ed. Jan Whi . Lanham : Uni e si y P ess o Ame ica, 2008. 47-59.
González G oba, Cons an e. El Mundo No elesco de Ca son McCulle s. San iago de Compos ela:
Se icio de Publicacións USC, 1994.
Kenscha , Lo i J. “Homoe o ics and Human Connec ions: Reading Ca son McCulle s ‘As a
Lesbian’.” C i ical Essays on Ca son McCulle s. Eds. Be e ly Lyon Cla k and Mel in J. F iedman. New
Yo k : G. K. Hall, 1996. 220-33.
Ma lok-Ziemann, Ellen. Tomboys, Belles, and O he Ladies: The Female Body-Subjec in Selec ed Wo ks
by Ka he ine Anne Po e and Ca son McCulle s. Uppsala : Uppsala Uni e si e , 2005.
McCulle s, Ca son. The Ballad o he Sad Ca é. 1951. New Yo k: Hough on Mi lin Company, 2005.
Millichap, Joseph R. “Ca son McCulle s’ Li e a y Ballad.” The Geo gia Re iew 27.3 (Fall 1973) :
329-39.
Paulson, Suzanne Mo ow. “Ca son McCulle s’s The Ballad o he Sad Ca é: A Song Hal Sung,
Misogyny, and ‘Ganging Up’.” C i ical Essays on Ca son McCulle s. Eds. Be e ly Lyon Cla k and
Mel in J. F iedman. New Yo k : G. K. Hall, 1996 : 187-205.
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Richa ds, Ga y. Lo e s and Belo eds: Sexual O he ness in Sou he n Fic ion, 1936-1961. Ba on Rouge :
Louisiana S a e Uni e si y P ess, 2005.
Wes ling, Louise. Sac ed G o es and Ra aged Ga dens: The ic ion o Eudo a Wel y, Ca son McCulle s and
Flanne y O’Conno . A hens, Geo gia : Uni e si y o Geo gia P ess, 1985.
Wes ling, Louise. “Tomboys and Re ol ing Feminini y.” C i ical Essays on Ca son McCulle s. Eds.
Be e ly Lyon Cla k and Mel in J. F iedman. New Yo k : G. K. Hall, 1996. 155-65.
NOTES
1. I ha e decided no o discuss sexuali y in his a icle o a oid cons ic ing ques ions o sexual
p e e ence when de ining he ca ego ies o masculini y and eminini y.
2. I will he ea e e e o his edi ion o The Ballad o he Sad Ca é by page numbe only.
ABSTRACTS
In he ea ly decades o he wen ie h cen u y, he dominan discou se’s equi emen s o
submissi eness and es ain o he sou he n lady s ill discou aged he pu sui o p o essional,
a is ic o poli ical goals. These es ic ions imposed on women p oduced a ea ha being
emale and da ing o achie e was o en u e in o dange ous e i o y— o ansg ess. Ca son
McCulle s’s own si ua ion was an ex eme example o he pligh o he sou he n emale; she
delibe a ely d essed in men’s clo hes, laun ing he and ogyny while she was w i ing The Ballad o
he Sad Ca é (1951). He p o agonis ’s ansg ession o con en ional gende bounda ies and he
ailu e o pe o m no ma i e eminini y e en ually b ings abou ca as ophic male e ibu ion,
which b u ally silences he and isola es he om he communi y. McCulle s ocuses on he
e i ying e enge ha he dominan law o he phallus in lic s on hose women who de y i s
impe a i es, and d ama izes he punishmen me ed ou o a woman who has “a ogan ly”
supposed ha she could li e in a no man’s land. The ou come o he no ella illus a es he
unaccoun abili y o such opaque iden i ies in he con empo a y Ame ican Sou h.
Pendan les p emiè es décennies du XXe siècle, les exigences du discou s dominan de la
soumission e de la e enue auxquelles é ai soumise la emme du Vieux Sud la dissuadaien de
pou sui e ou objec i p o essionnel, a is ique ou poli ique. Les con ain es qu’on lui imposai
lui aisaien c aind e que le ai d’ê e emme e d’ose agi pou éussi signi ie ai s’a en u e
su un e ain dange eux e ainsi ansg esse . La si ua ion de Ca son McCulle s es un exemple
ex ême de la si ua ion de dé esse à laquelle é ai con on ée la emme du Vieux Sud ; elle
po ai délibé émen des ê emen s d’homme, exhiban ainsi, au cou s de l’é é 1941, son
and ogynie, alo s qu’elle éc i ai The Ballad o he Sad Ca é (1951). Le ai que l’hé oïne ansg esse
les limi es con en ionnelles du gen e e qu’elle échoue à joue le jeu de la no me éminine la
mènen inalemen à un châ imen masculin désas eux, qui la édui b u alemen au silence e
l’isole de sa communau é. McCulle s me l’accen su la e anche e i ian e que la loi phallique
dominan e in lige aux emmes qui dé ien ses impé a i s, e me en scène la puni ion p odiguée à
la emme qui a ai supposé, de açon a ogan e, qu’elle pou ai i e dans un no man’s land.
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L’issue de ce e nou elle illus e le ai que des iden i és si opaques ne peu en ê e expliquées e
que, pa conséquen , une elle ision ne peu exis e dans le Vieux Sud con empo ain.
INDEX
Quo ed pe sons: McCulle s (Ca son)
Keywo ds: sou he n li e a u e, pa ia chy, masculini y, sou he n lady, ansg ession
Mo s-clés: socié é pa ia cale, masculini é, emme du ieux sud, ansg ession
AUTHOR
INÈS CASAS
Uni e sidad San iago Compos ela
“Sexless And Whi e” : T ansg essing Gende Bounda ies in Ca son McCulle s’s T...
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