Cousin Lymon Deformity

In Southern Gothic literature, physical deformities in a character often represent morals that differ from what is commonly accepted. In Carson McCullers’ The Ballad of the Sad Café, although Cousin Lymon’s appearance indicates his tendency toward mischief in the beginning of the novella, his declining health serves to indicate the unraveling of his moral compass.
Throughout the novella, Cousin Lymon is referred to as “the hunchback” in order to continually draw attention to the “grotesque” characteristics of his body (McCullers 2, 4, 5, 6). In the beginning of the novella, Cousin Lymon attempts to prove that he is kin to Miss Amelia by presenting her with a grainy picture of two young girls. Although this is not inherently malicious, it is mischievous (McCullers 2). Perhaps he is only trying to find a roof to stay under for a while;

Frequently, he steals money and trinkets from the shop. (McCullers 22) Miss Amelia must have certainly noticed these deeds, but she never seems to address it. Her lack of action is significant because in the beginning of the novella, it was made clear to the reader that material wealth is the most important thing to Miss Amelia; she never reprimands Cousin Lymon, and this signifies her love for him (McCullers 2). Still, Cousin Lymon continues to drain her of everything she has to offer.
As time wears on, the townspeople begin to theorize that Cousin Lymon has consumption, which often causes one to progressively wither away (pg 33). In The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, McCullers depicts the townsfolk as being vaguely omniscient; when they start to believe that there may be something more to his physical condition than what is immediately apparent, one could say that this signals to the reader that there is a deeper anomaly in Lymon’s moral compass. The degenerative nature of consumption could also correlate to the deterioration of Lymon’s