One significant part of the story that uses imagery is the description of the characters. One of the main characters in this story is Miss Amelia. Unlike other stories or novellas that tend to describe women characters as feminine, Carson McCullers gives Miss Amelia a masculine appearance. Miss Amelia has short hair that is always brushed back, she is dark-skinned, cross-eyed, and “a tall woman with bones and muscles like a man” (4).1 Miss Amelia is measured to be six feet and two inches tall. This is not the typical height of woman and they are usually shorter than men, but in Miss Amelia is an inch taller than Marvin Macy. Critical opinions of McCullers’ depiction of Miss Amelia vary. Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar focus on Miss Amelia’s …show more content…
After receiving the news about Marvin Macey’s extended stay, Miss Amelia suddenly is cold. To warm herself, she lifts the red dress that shows her hairy thigh (59). This action helps to show that she does not behave in a modest and respectable way. When Miss Amelia and Marvin Macy are fighting she was winning, at first, before Cousin Lymon intervened. This part of the novella there are different studies that show that show the gender hierarchy that takes place. Naomi Morgenstern states, “Miss Amelia is defeated (this is the story of sexual difference as sexual hierarchy), yet it is an unjust defeat: if it had been a fair fight, she would have emerged victorious.” Through this quote Naomi Morgenstern took a different approach, but through her approach we can see why McCullers wants to defy the society’s standards. It is clear without any interference Miss Amelia would have dominant over Marvin Macy; therefore, it is important for Cousin Lymon to interfere. These descriptions invoke a clear image of who Miss Amelia is, but they also show that women are not all the same and may not conform to society’s