Historical Context
The 1950s emerged as a golden era of economic prosperity for America, where the nation basked in an unparalleled wave of financial expansion. The engine behind this boom was fueled by increased governmental investment in defense projects, home loans, and social programs, alongside a burgeoning appetite for consumer goods. As productivity soared, the United States, home to just 6% of the world’s citizens, astonishingly churned out half of the globe’s manufactured products. Between 1945 and 1960, the median family income surged, doubling in just fifteen years. Meanwhile, the birth rate escalated, hitting its zenith in 1957, with a newborn arriving roughly every seven seconds. Amidst this economic fervor, the social fabric of America was subtly evolving.
Individualism versus Conformity
A silent tension simmered beneath the surface of 1950s American society, as the pressure to conform to mainstream values mounted. The age-old archetype of the rugged individualist seemed to fade into the shadows, overshadowed by a populace increasingly eager to blend in rather than stand apart, as some social commentators lamented.
In 1950, sociologist David Reisman of the University of Chicago and Nathan Glazier presented their work, The Lonely Crowd, positing that American individuals were turning to societal institutions and mass media for their life cues, forsaking personal introspection. Despite a collective yearning to belong, many felt isolated and detached from the very groups they sought to join. Echoing this sentiment, William Whyte’s The Organizational Man critiqued the post-war ethos, suggesting that Americans now labored predominantly for corporate gain, stifling the creativity and pioneering spirit once synonymous with American identity. In The Affluent Society, John Kenneth Galbraith critiqued an economy driven by consumerism, voicing concern that private wealth might overshadow the imperative for advancements in education, healthcare, and critical social services.
Sexual Values in the 1950s
In a groundbreaking revelation of 1948, Indiana University's Alfred Kinsey published his seminal work, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, which unveiled a candid survey of male sexual habits. Astonishingly, this scholarly work became a bestseller, revealing that premarital sex and homosexuality were far more prevalent than conventionally acknowledged. By 1953, Kinsey’s Sexual Behavior in the Human Female further stirred the pot, igniting cries of alarm among traditionalists who feared a collapse of conventional sexual morals in favor of a society excessively fixated on sex.
Indeed, the nation’s stance on sexuality was undergoing a transformation. Films began to push the boundaries of explicit content; by 1956, the Motion Picture Association of America revised its code—first established in the 1920s—on permissible cinematic content. This newfound liberty allowed movies to delve into controversial subjects like prostitution, abortion, and premarital intimacy. Literature also mirrored these shifts, as Grace Metalious’s Peyton Place purportedly unveiled the secrets of a typical American town. Meanwhile, rock and roll music became a vessel of sexual expression, both sonically and in its spectacle, epitomized by the legendary swivels of Elvis Presley’s hips.
Literary Style
Setting and Dialogue
The play unfolds over three acts, with the final act unfolding in two compelling scenes. Every moment of drama and dialogue is confined to a single, intimate setting—the living room of a home nestled on a quaint apple farm in New York. This singular location demands characters to exit and enter the stage, unlike a film where the camera seamlessly transitions between varied locales. Crucial events and dialogues take place beyond the confines of the living room, with the audience witnessing only their consequences. For instance, Phillip's tragic suicide occurs out of sight, at a pond nearby, its impact reverberating through the second scene of the third act. This deliberate limitation cloaks the full truth of the suicide...
(This entire section contains 370 words.)
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in mystery, mirroring the play’s broader narrative approach.
The initial two acts brim with dialogue, each line peeling back layers of the characters’ inner worlds—their anxieties, pasts, and aspirations unfurling with each exchange. Only in the third act, split into two scenes, do we witness the most significant events. The revelation of Phillip's death, Mollie's tentative contemplation of a new life in New York, and her courageous steps toward a future with John mark a pivotal shift from the shadows of her former marriage.
Comedic Moments within Tragedy
McCullers’s interplay of humor within a fundamentally tragic narrative—a tale of familial fracture, marital disintegration, battling addiction, mental illness, and a grievous suicide—has been a point of much discussion. Critics often describe her comedic touch as awkward, yet its strategic placement within the play invites further exploration.
Consider a tense exchange between Mother Lovejoy and Phillip, centered on the question of "what's the matter with" Phillip, where humor emerges unexpectedly. Mother Lovejoy laments his refusal to take a job she found at the "Feed and Guano Store." Meanwhile, when Mollie enters, burdened by groceries and tears from the predicament with her ex-husband, young Paris innocently queries why she’s weeping. Mollie dismisses her tears, turning instead to humorously chide him about the gastronomic perils of consuming pickles and cake together. Such comedic interjections, contrasting sharply with underlying discomfort and sorrow, may have been McCullers’s way of softening the sting of the more painful moments.
Compare and Contrast
1950s: As the sun sets on the urban landscape, a new era dawns for middle-class families, seeking the serene embrace of suburban life. In a remarkable surge, 85% of the thirteen million new homes constructed during this decade rise in these leafy havens.
Today: The 2000 U.S. Census reveals a subtle transformation in where Americans call home. While the suburban population has swelled by 14% over the past ten years, this growth is not uniform. In fact, 37% of suburbs have either stagnated or dwindled in numbers. Meanwhile, cities, like phoenixes, rise from the ashes, with nearly three-quarters experiencing a population increase throughout the 1990s.
1950s: The literary world is set ablaze by Peyton Place (1956), a sensational best-seller and cultural milestone. Grace Metalious’s gripping novel unravels the hidden truths and scandals of a fictional New England town, daring to present teenage and adult sexuality with unprecedented frankness. Its cinematic counterpart also ignites passions at the box office.
Today: Books and films today frequently explore sexual themes, a stark contrast to the prudish norms of the 1950s. Narratives featuring extramarital affairs and diverse sexual identities become increasingly common in the realm of entertainment.
1950s: The roads teem with activity as the number of automobiles surges from 40 million in 1950 to a bustling 60 million by 1960.
Today: The landscape of American highways is crowded with over 132.4 million registered vehicles, more than double the count from 1960, signaling an era of unprecedented mobility.
1950s: The sound of newborn cries fills the air as the U.S. birth rate reaches its zenith in 1957, with a baby arriving every seven seconds, culminating in a stunning 4.3 million births.
Today: In the year 2000, the nation welcomes four million new lives, marking a 3% increase from the previous year, as the cycle of life continues to turn.
1950s: A quiet revolution begins as more women step into the workforce. By 1960, nearly two out of every five women with school-age children are gainfully employed.
Today: Women make up 46% of the American workforce, with projections estimating this figure to rise to 48% by 2008. Since the 1950s, women's participation in the labor market has steadily climbed, save for a brief pause in the early 1990s, paving the way for greater gender parity in employment.
Bibliography and Further Reading
Sources
Buchen, Irving H., ‘‘Divine Collusion: The Art of Carson McCullers,’’ in Dalhousie Review, Vol. 54, Autumn 1974, pp. 529–41.
Evans, Oliver, ‘‘The Achievement of Carson McCullers,’’ in Carson McCullers, edited by Harold Bloom, Modern Critical Views series, Chelsea House Publishers, 1986, pp. 21–31, originally published in the English Journal, Vol. 51, No. 5, May 1962.
———, The Ballad of Carson McCullers: A Biography, Coward-McCann, 1966, pp. 162–68.
Greeley, Lynne, ‘‘Carson McCullers: Young, Gifted, and Odd,’’ in Theatre History Studies, June 2002, pp. 155–76. McDowell, Margaret B., Carson McCullers, Twayne’s United States Authors Series, No. 354, Twayne Publishers, 1980, pp. 141–44.
Nalley, Sara, ‘‘Carson McCullers,’’ in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 7, Twentieth-Century American Dramatists, edited by John MacNicholas, Gale Research, 1981, pp. 70–74.
Verner, Amy, ‘‘Carson McCullers,’’ in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 228, Twentieth-Century American Dramatists, Second Series, edited by Christopher J. Wheatley, Gale, 2000, pp. 204–09.
Further Reading
Bloom, Harold, ed., Carson McCullers, Modern Critical Views Series, Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. Bloom, respected Yale University professor and literary critic, provides the introduction to this collection of twelve academic articles dealing with McCullers’s work. Also included in the volume is a chronology of the writer’s life and an extensive bibliography.
Carr, Virginia Spencer, The Lonely Hunter, Doubleday, 1975. Carr has written an especially detailed biography of McCullers, beginning with her childhood days in Georgia to her death at age fifty in New York. The book also contains numerous photographs, a preface by Tennessee Williams, and a chronology of McCullers’s life.
Entzminger, Betina, The Belle Gone Bad: White Southern Women Writers and the Dark Seductress, Louisiana State University Press, 2002. Entzminger looks at images of southern womanhood in the fiction of southern white writers from before the Civil War through the present. She argues that interpreting these female characters through a lens of domesticity and conservatism is too superficial and that a certain darkness and power exists beneath their surface.
Savigneau, Josyane, Carson McCullers: A Life, Houghton Mifflin, 2001. The author uses a variety of sources, including unpublished manuscripts and letters as well as critical works previously available only in French, to uncover many of the private aspects of McCullers’s life.
