Reflections in a Golden Eye (novel)
Encyclopedia
Reflections in a Golden Eye is a 1941
novel by American
author Carson McCullers
.
It first appeared in Harper's Bazaar
in 1940, serialized in the October–November issues. The book was published by Houghton Mifflin
on February 14, 1941, to mostly poor reviews. The book was dedicated to the Swiss journalist and travel writer Annemarie Schwarzenbach
.
. A more direct inspiration came from a chance remark which her husband Reeves (an ex-soldier) made to her about a voyeur who had been arrested at Fort Bragg (North Carolina)
- a young soldier who had been caught peeping inside the married officers' quarters.
The writing took place in Fayetteville, North Carolina
. After only two months of arduous writing Mccullers finished the book and put it away in a dresser. "I am so immersed in my characters that their motives are my own. When I write about a thief, I become one; when I write about Captain Penderton, I become a homosexual man. I become the characters I write about and I bless the Latin poet Terence
who said 'Nothing human is alien to me.'"
of Georgia
. Private Ellgee Williams is a solitary man full of secrets and desires. He has been in service for two years and is assigned to stable duty. After doing yard work at the home of Capt. Penderton, he sees the captain's wife nude and becomes obsessed with her.
Capt. Weldon Penderton and his wife Leonora, a feeble-minded
Army brat, have a fiery relationship and she takes in many lovers. Leonora's current lover is Major Morris Langdon, who lives with his depressed
wife Alison, and her flamboyant Filipino
houseboy Anacleto, near the Pendertons.
Capt. Penderton, who is a coward and a homosexual, realizes that he is physically attracted to Pvt. Williams, unaware of the private's attraction to Leonora.
and at Fort Benning
when people speculated about the source of McCullers' weird tale.
According to author Michael Bronski, McCullers tackles the topics of "homosexuality
, sadism, voyeurism
, and fetishism
[while exploring] the boundaries of eroticism
, outsider status and the fragility of normal
in Reflections in a Golden Eye."
Reflections in a Golden Eye is considered by Anthony Slide
, a modern scholar, to be one of only four familiar gay novels of the first half of the twentieth century. The other three novels are Djuna Barnes
' Nightwood
, Truman Capote
's Other Voices, Other Rooms
, and Gore Vidal
's The City and the Pillar
.
. It stars Marlon Brando
, Elizabeth Taylor
, Julie Harris
, Robert Forster
and Brian Keith
.
1941 in literature
The year 1941 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Frank Herbert marries Flora Parkinson.*F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished work, The Last Tycoon, is edited and published by Edmund Wilson.-New books:...
novel by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author Carson McCullers
Carson McCullers
Carson McCullers was an American writer. She wrote novels, short stories, and two plays, as well as essays and some poetry. Her first novel The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter explores the spiritual isolation of misfits and outcasts of the South...
.
It first appeared in Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
in 1940, serialized in the October–November issues. The book was published by Houghton Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...
on February 14, 1941, to mostly poor reviews. The book was dedicated to the Swiss journalist and travel writer Annemarie Schwarzenbach
Annemarie Schwarzenbach
Annemarie Schwarzenbach was a Swiss writer, journalist, photographer and traveler.- Life :Annemarie was born in Bocken, near Zurich, Switzerland...
.
Conception
McCullers wrote the piece in 1939, originally using the title "Army Post". She said the story had germinated when, as an adolescent, she had first stepped upon the alien territory of Fort BenningFort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
. A more direct inspiration came from a chance remark which her husband Reeves (an ex-soldier) made to her about a voyeur who had been arrested at Fort Bragg (North Carolina)
Fort Bragg (North Carolina)
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
- a young soldier who had been caught peeping inside the married officers' quarters.
The writing took place in Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....
. After only two months of arduous writing Mccullers finished the book and put it away in a dresser. "I am so immersed in my characters that their motives are my own. When I write about a thief, I become one; when I write about Captain Penderton, I become a homosexual man. I become the characters I write about and I bless the Latin poet Terence
Terence
Publius Terentius Afer , better known in English as Terence, was a playwright of the Roman Republic, of North African descent. His comedies were performed for the first time around 170–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought Terence to Rome as a slave, educated him and later on,...
who said 'Nothing human is alien to me.'"
Plot summary
The novel takes place at an Army base in the U.S. stateU.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Private Ellgee Williams is a solitary man full of secrets and desires. He has been in service for two years and is assigned to stable duty. After doing yard work at the home of Capt. Penderton, he sees the captain's wife nude and becomes obsessed with her.
Capt. Weldon Penderton and his wife Leonora, a feeble-minded
Feeble-minded
The term feeble-minded was used from the late nineteenth century in Great Britain, Europe and the United States to refer to a specific type of "mental deficiency". At the time, mental deficiency was an umbrella term, which encompassed all degrees of educational and social deficiency...
Army brat, have a fiery relationship and she takes in many lovers. Leonora's current lover is Major Morris Langdon, who lives with his depressed
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
wife Alison, and her flamboyant Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
houseboy Anacleto, near the Pendertons.
Capt. Penderton, who is a coward and a homosexual, realizes that he is physically attracted to Pvt. Williams, unaware of the private's attraction to Leonora.
Reception and critical analysis
After its publication in 1941 the novel caused some embarrassment in Columbus, GeorgiaColumbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
and at Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
when people speculated about the source of McCullers' weird tale.
According to author Michael Bronski, McCullers tackles the topics of "homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, sadism, voyeurism
Voyeurism
In clinical psychology, voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other activity usually considered to be of a private nature....
, and fetishism
Sexual fetishism
Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object, or from a specific situation. The object or situation of interest is called the fetish, the person a fetishist who has a fetish for that object/situation. Sexual fetishism may be regarded, e.g...
[while exploring] the boundaries of eroticism
Eroticism
Eroticism is generally understood to refer to a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such – an insistent sexual impulse, desire, or pattern of thoughts, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality and romantic love...
, outsider status and the fragility of normal
Normality (behavior)
In behavior, normal refers to a lack of significant deviation from the average. The phrase "not normal" is often applied in a negative sense Abnormality varies greatly in how pleasant or unpleasant this is for other people.The Oxford English Dictionary defines "normal" as "conforming to a standard"...
in Reflections in a Golden Eye."
Reflections in a Golden Eye is considered by Anthony Slide
Anthony Slide
Anthony Slide is a writer who has produced more than seventy books and edited a further 150 on the history of popular entertainment. He wrote a "letter from Hollywood" for the British Film Review from 1979 to 1994, and he wrote a monthly book review column for Classic Images from 1989 to 2001...
, a modern scholar, to be one of only four familiar gay novels of the first half of the twentieth century. The other three novels are Djuna Barnes
Djuna Barnes
Djuna Barnes was an American writer who played an important part in the development of 20th century English language modernist writing and was one of the key figures in 1920s and '30s bohemian Paris after filling a similar role in the Greenwich Village of the teens...
' Nightwood
Nightwood
Nightwood is a 1936 novel by Djuna Barnes first published in London by Faber and Faber. An edition published in the United States in 1937 by Harcourt, Brace included an introduction by T. S. Eliot.....
, Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
's Other Voices, Other Rooms
Other Voices, Other Rooms (novel)
Other Voices, Other Rooms is a novel written by Truman Capote published in January 1948. Other Voices, Other Rooms is written in the Southern Gothic style and is notable for its atmosphere of isolation and decadence....
, and Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
's The City and the Pillar
The City and the Pillar
The City and the Pillar is the third published novel by American writer and essayist Gore Vidal, written in 1946 and published on January 10, 1948...
.
Adaptation
A 1967 film adaptation of Reflections in a Golden Eye bearing the same name was directed by John HustonJohn Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
. It stars Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, Julie Harris
Julie Harris
Julia Ann "Julie" Harris is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1994, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame...
, Robert Forster
Robert Forster
Robert Forster is an American actor, best known for his roles as John Cassellis in Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool, and as Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, the latter of which gained him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.- Early life :Forster was born Robert Wallace...
and Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
.
External links
- Reflections in a Golden Eye page
- Online text of Reflections in a Golden Eye
- Book review from www.GoodShortNovels.com