A Case Study of Katherine Anne Porters the Grave From Formalis

8/12/2019 A Case Study of Katherine Anne Porters the Grave From Formalis

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University of Tennessee, Knoxville

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5-1994

A Case Study of Katherine Anne Porter's "TeGrave" from Formalist, Freudian Psychoanalytic,

Post-structuralist, and Feminist LiteraryPerspectivesMichael Stephen BrandonUniversity of Tennessee - Knoxville

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Recommended CitationBrandon, Michael Stephen, "A Case Study of Katherine Anne Porter's "e Grave" from Formalist, Freudian Psychoanalytic, Post-structuralist, and Feminist Literary Perspectives" (1994). University of Tennessee Honors esis Projects.hp://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj/26
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A Case Study of Katherine Anne Por t e r ' s"The Grave" from Formal i s t , Freudian

Psychoanaly t ic , Pos t - s t r uc tu r a l i s t , andFeminis t Li te ra ry Perspec t ives

Michael S. BrandonTennessee Scholars Honors Program

Senior Projec tMay 1994


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Formal i s t , Freudian psychoanalyt ic , p o s t - s t r u c t u r a l i s t ,and femin i s t methods of l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m a l l d i f f e rfundamental ly in t h e i r pre suppos i t i ona l concept ofl i t e r a t u r e , t h e i r cen t ra l aims, and t h e i r pra c t i c a lapp l ica t ion . Contras t ing readings of Kather ine Anne P o r t e r sliThe Grave using these methods demonstra te the d i f fe rencesand i n d i ca t e the ef fec t iveness of each while prov id ing arange of pe rspec t ive s from which to examine the work.

I . Formal is t c r i t i c i s mf i r s t reading of Katherine Anne P o r t e r s liThe Grave

shows t to be a s imple and plea san t s to ry about a youngg i r l named Miranda and her a f t e rnoon experiences wi th herbro ther . Addi t iona l s tudy, however, revea l s an i n t r i c a t e andc a re fu l l y c r a f t e d l i t e r a r y s t ru c t u re designed to convey theambigu i t i es and complexi t ies of the matura t ion p rocessthrough unobtrus ive symbolism and manipulat ion of th en a r ra t i v e (Por te r 530). The work i s un i f ied through acomplex i n t e r r e l a t i ons h ip of opposing concepts of youth,innocence, and na tu ra lness versus matur i ty , knowledge anda r t i f i c i a l i t y which revolve around a c e n t r a l paradoxica lequat ion o f l i f e and death . This uni fy ing fac to r not onlyconnects the work a e s the t i c a l l y but con t r ibu tes themat ica l ly


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by embodying, ln s t ruc tu re , the ambivalence and ambigui ty ofhuman matura t ion . The progress ion of t h i s system ofoppos i t ions i s found in four d i s t i nc t phases of the s to ry : asymbolic and l i t e r a l t r i g g e r in g of the matura t ion p rocess inMiranda, a c o n f l i c t over the process , exper i en t i a lcu lminat ion of the process in an epiphany, and a f lashbackremembrance of the exper iences by the g i r l .

The s to ry opens with a descr ip t ion of the grandmother ' se f f o r t s to l ay bes ide her dead husband fo r l Ie terni tyl l byrepea tedly t r anspor t ing h i s body to var ious places near he rwhen she moves, immediately broadening the scope o f the workto the un ive rsa l while beginning the n a r ra t i v e in a s impleand n a tu r a l way (Por te r 530 . The cemetery which thegrandfa the r i s now bur ied i s descr ibed in p o s i t i v e terms asa p leasan t , smal l neg lec ted garden, co n t r a s t i n g t henegat ive imagery usua l ly a s soc ia t ed with dea th , and thegraves a re IILying open and empty,1I poss ib ly a l lud ing to t heB ib l i c a l s t o r y of Chr i s t , in t roduc ing the theme o f t heambiguous na tu re o f death (Por te r 530 . The scene has aIIcommonplaceness and the IIgrave was j u s t a hole in theground,1I i n d i ca t i n g an unusual view of death as n a tu r a l andcommon r a t h e r than something t o fea r (Por te r 531 . WhenMiranda scoops up a handful of ea r th from the grave tsmel l s plea san t ly sweet , cor rup t r e f l e c t i ng theparadox ica l concept of death which i s unfolding (Por te r531

The g i r l and h e r bro the r , Paul , f ind ob jec t s in t he


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grave which symbol ize t h e i r ro l e s in the s to r y as wel l asthe under ly ing theme of l i f e and death . Afte r swi tch ingi tems an ac t ion which es t ab l i s h e s the congruency betweenthe i n d i V i d u a l c h i l d and the corresponding symbol ic o b jec t ) ,Paul has a s i l ve r , dove-shaped co f f i n screw whichconf i rms h i s r o l e as hun te r / s layer - - the dove has a IIdeep,round hollow in i t 1 s b re a s t repre sen t ing the bu l l e t holesPaul crea tes when hunt ing - - and h i s r o l e as an image o fpeace fo r Miranda a t the c lose o f the s to ry Po r t e r 531) .The dove-shaped co f f i n screw symbol ica l ly connects dea thwi th the concept of peace , fu r the r developing the ambiguousp o r t r ay a l of dea th .

Miranda cla ims a gold wedding r ing , r ep re sen t ing females ex u a l i t y and marriage, which corresponds to h e r r o l e as amaturing g i r l . The c i r c u l a r i t y of the r ing symbol izes thec y c l i c a l and e t e r n a l natu re o f l i f e and dea th as does thef ac t t h a t t most probably belonged to her grandfa the r ,i n d i ca t i n g the cyc le of fami ly g en e ra t i o n s . Afte r f ind ingt h e i r p r i ze s , the ch i ld ren IIfel t l i k e t r e s p as s e r s as non-i n i t i a t e s in a rea lm of matur i ty connoted by the cemetery

Po r t e r 531) .descr ip t ion o f Miranda1s c lo th ing and family

s i t ua t ion beg ins an expos i t ion of the c o n f l i c t of va lues andd es i r e s of Miranda r e l a t e d to her matura t ion . Some e l d e r l yneighbors , symbol iz ing s o c i a l conformi ty and matur i ty , s co l dh e r fo r h e r rugged a t t i r e which rep re sen t s the na tu ra lnessin youth . They r e f e r to l i the Scriptures ,1I an ex te rna l code


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o f behavior which con t ras t s Miranda 's i n s t i n c t i v e code; sheregarded shocking people and wastefulness as bad andf e l t so because t was simple and na tu ra l to her (Por te r532) . The grandmother i s assoc ia t ed with these neighbors asa r e s t r i c t i v e force of matur i ty ac t ing aga ins t Miranda ' sfreedom as a ch i ld , again i l l u s t r a t i n g t h i s importantre l a t ionsh ip of oppos i t e concepts .

hen looking a t her new r ing Miranda 's f ee l ings a returned aga ins t her overa l l s and sock less f ee t and she

begins to ques t ion her i de n t i t y as an innocent youth (Por te r533) . She f ee l s the s t i r r i n g s of matura t ion mani fes ted in ades i re to go home, take a bath , put on her bes t dre ss , and

s i t in a wicker ch a i r under the t r e e s , f u l f i l l i n g the ro l et ha t she imagines i s t ha t of a mature, Southern, young lady(Por te r 533). She cont inues to imagine a fu tu re l i f e o fc i v i l i z e d luxury, much d i f f e r e n t from the one of na tu ra ls imp l i c i t y i n which she presen t ly l ives , and t h i s i n t e rna lc onf l i c t becomes so grea t t ha t she cons iders abandoning herchi ldhood a c t i v i t i e s with her bro the r and going home. Att h i s poin t Miranda des i res a movement toward matur i ty andadul thood, but her pe r s i s t e n t innocence and connect ion wi thna tu re remain, a l lowing her to deeply unders tand t he comingepiphany as well as i t s s ign i f i cance to her .

In the t h i r d scene of the s to ry Paul shoots andskins a pregnant r abb i t and he and Miranda kneel fac ingeach o ther over the dead animal assuming a symbol ica l lyr i t u a l i s t i c posture for the forthcoming r i t e o f passage


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(Por te r 533). p to t h i s point they have both been ignorantof the na tu re of l i f e and death . Miranda made fu r coa t s fo rher d o l l s out of pe l t s from the r ab b i t s t ha t her bro therk i l l e d , obl iv ious to t h e i r deaths , and Paul shows ignorantf asc ina t ion with death when holding h i s s i l v e r dove andexclaiming, This i s the screw head for a cof f in " (Por te r531,533) . When i n i t i a l l y approaching the graveyard t he p a i rr e a l i z e t ha t the re must be some deep s ign i f i cance to t hegraves and t ry to understand it but they f ee l nothingexcept an agreeab le t h r i l l of wonder (Por te r 531 ) .

Upon examining the dead r abb i t and i t s bab ies Mirandabegins to unders tand the sec re t s of l i f e and dea th . The deadbaby rabb i t s a re descr ibed in con t rad ic to ry terms,i n d i ca t i n g the paradox around which the s to ry revo lves ; eachi s wrapped in a t h in s c a r l e t ve i l " which i s both t h e i r l i f esus ta in ing placen ta as wel l as t he i r shroud in death , andal though dead, they a re descr ibed as looking " l ike a baby 'shead j u s t washed (Por te r 533). This r e a l i z a t i on inc ludes anunders tanding of mor ta l i ty as well as the paradox t ha t notonly i s dea th a na tu ra l par t of l i f e , they a re the same; t hevery ac t of l i v ing i s the process of dying. Through t h i sknowledge she i s a l so ab le to understand h e r se l f and the" sec re t , formless i n tu i t i ons in her own mind and bodyinvolved in her matura t ion (Por te r 534)

When t h i s epiphany occurs she begins to t remble andfee l s t ha t she has known these th ings " a l l along ; t he set r u t h s have always been in her as l a t e n t i n s t i n c t i v e


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knowledge because she i s l i v ing crea tu re and p a r t ofna tu re (Por te r 533). This process of the emergence o f l a t en tunders tanding i s equated with the emergence of her l a t en tmatur i ty phys ica l ly and mental ly . Miranda r e a l i z e s t ha tna tu re i s not merely di so rde r ly and rude but has un i tyand meaning and she r eac t s with p i ty and as tonishment andkind of shocked de l ight con t ras t ing her e a r l i e r r eac t ionsof ind i f f e rence toward death , ind ica t ing t ha t she has beenchanged by the exper ience (Por te r 533,534) . She r e fuses tot ake the fur pe l t rea l i z ing tha t it cos t the rabb i t i t sl i f e . Simi la r to the B ib l i c a l s to ry of the f a l l of man,Miranda 's acq u i s i t i o n of t h i s key knowledge i s connectedwith dea th and mor ta l i ty and, as seen a t the c lose of thes to ry , an even tua l e jec t ion from her chi ldhood Eden.

At the c lose of the s to ry the re i s break in then a r ra t i v e and the s to ry s h i f t s to almost twenty years inMiranda 's fu tu re in which she i s in s t range c i t y ofs t range country walking through the puddles and crushedre fuse of market s t ree t (Por te r 534). This bleak imageryassoc ia ted with her fu tu re con t ras t s her d es i r e as ch i ldfo r luxury and grand way of l i v ing founded on familylegend of pas t weal th and des i re (Por te r 534) . The sceneseems to convey sense of worldl iness - - perhapsworld-wear iness - - and complete absence of the innocenceand na tu ra lness t ha t she once possessed. Even the dyed sugarcandies a re poor a r t i f i c i a l rep l i ca t ions o f the wild animalst h a t she encountered in her days as f r ee and v ib ran t


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youth. These candies have a smel l of sweetness andcor rup t ion , the same as the handful of ea r th from t he graveshe explored as a ch i ld , and it t r i g g e r s a v iv id remembranceof t ha t experience (Por te r 534). hen t h i s v is ion occurs shei s horr i f ied not because the v is ion i s f r igh ten ing o rt e r r ib l e , but because she r e a l i z e s t h a t she has l o s t thena tu ra lnes s and innocence t ha t she once possessed (Por te r534) . This remembrance then fades and i s rep laced by one ofher bro ther as a ch i ld hold ing the s i l v e r dove and br ings asense of peace (which i s congruent with the dove ' ssymbolism). Through t h i s v is ion Miranda i s reconnected toher fo rgo t t en chi ldhood and poss ib ly to the v i r tue s t h a tshe once possessed (Por te r 534). This f ina l v i s io n looksback, con t ras t ing her i n i t i a l exper iences looking forward,thus ending the s to ry with a sense of n a r ra t i v e ands t ruc tu r a l c losure .

Kather ine Anne Por t e r weaves these complex themesthroughout a seemingly simple s to ry of a little g i r l ' sexperience wi th death and the s t i r r i n g s of matura t ion wi th inher . These concepts add cons iderab le depth to the r i t e ofpassage s to ry as well as uni fy ing the work as a whole.

I I . Freud ian psychoana ly t i c c r i t i c i s mAt surface l eve l , Katherine Anne Por t e r ' s The Grave

seems to be a s imple s to ry about the n a tu r a l matura t ionprocess of a young g i r l and her experiences r e l a t e d to itFreudian ana lys i s , however, uncovers numerous symbolic and


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l i t e r a l ind ica t ions t ha t the psychosexual development ofMiranda i s , in f ac t , abnormal due to the absence of hermother dur ing ea r ly chi ldhood. Because of t h i s l ack of amaternal f igure , Miranda shows an ambiguous sexual i d e n t i t yand an unusual re l a t ionsh ip with her bro ther mani fes ted inan inces tuous encounter . In s p i t e of her d i f f i c u l t y with thematura t ion p rocess she success fu l ly en te r s the f i na l s t ageof psychosexual development and resolves , to some ex ten t ,her e a r l i e r problems with persona l i de n t i t y and sexua l i ty .

In the t h i r d s tage of Freudian psychosexualdevelopment, the p h a l l i c s tage , Miranda, l i ke a l l youngg i r l s , began to as soc ia te sensual plea sure and sexuali de n t i t y with gen i t a l s t imula t ion and soon r e a l i z e d t ha t shelacked the ex te rna l sexual organs t ha t her fa the r possessed.This r e a l i z a t i on a t tacked her sense of se l f -wor th and causedher to experience pen i s envy, des i r ing a male reproduc t iveorgan o f her own. Because she was r a i sed in a I Imother lessfamily she could not u t i l i z e ord inary methods o f adjustmentto dea l wi th her sexual c o n f l i c t s and f ixa t ion occur red a tthe pha l l i c s t age .p roh ib i t ing a r eso lu t ion of the penis envyun t i l phys io log ica l changes occur , awakening her sexuali n s t i nc t s Porte r 532 .

One method of dea l ing wi th pen i s envy i s through anas s o c i a t i o n with the f a the r in hopes of shar ing h i s penis .Miranda t r a ns f e r t h i s re l a t ionsh ip to her bro ther , who i sconnected throughout the s to ry with hunt ing and the pha l l i csymbol of the gun. e serves as a su r roga te fa the r f igure to


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her , and she assumes a subordinate ro le . On t h e i r out ingst oge the r Miranda always fol lowed a t Pau l ' s hee ls along thepa th , obeying i n s t ruc t ions about handl ing her gun l ea rn inghow to s tand it up properly (Por te r 531) . y spending mosto f her t ime with her bro the r she p a r t i a l l y s a t i s f i e s herd es i r e to have a penis and develop sexua l ly .

Eventual ly young g i r l s resolve t h e i r sexua l confus ionand pen is envy by iden t i fy ing with t h e i r mother as av ica r ious connect ion to the f a the r ' s pen is and a model ofthe same sex. Without a s u f f i c i e n t maternal presence ( thegrandmother i s cha rac te r i zed as oppress ive and somewhatmascul ine and i s not a su i t ab le subs t i tu t e ) Miranda cannotformulate a sexua l i de n t i t y and shows sexua l ambigui ty as atomboy, wear ing overa l l s ins tead of a dre ss , which i sforb idden by the law of female decorum in her community(Por te r 532) . Her hunt ing exped i t ions wi th Paul and he ras s o c i a t i o n with the male p h a l l i c r i f l e in the s to ry a l soi nd ica te her unc lear sexual i de n t i t y .

Paul f u l f i l l s h is ro le as a male su r roga te sexualf igure in an inces tuous sexual exper ience with Miranda a tthe graveyard which i s not d i r e c t ly mentioned in t he t e x tbut i s s t rong ly ind ica ted by the sub tex t . The s e t t i n g of t heevent i s descr ibed with severa l sexual symbols: open gravesand grave s tones r i s i ng out of uncropped sweet-smel l ingwi ld grass , and the pa i r symbol ical ly descend i n to thegrave (Por te r 530). They f ee l an agreeab le t h r i l l ofwonder and did something they had not done before (Por te r


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531). Miranda gains gold wedding r ing r ep resen t ing hernewly acqu i red female sexua l i ty and as soon as theexperience i s over they f ee l g u i l t y because they know t h a tthey have v io la t ed s o c i a l taboo. Miranda t e l l s Paul ,

maybe one of the n i g g e r s ' l l see us and t e l l somebody andl a t e r Paul vehemently t e l l s her not to t e l l l i v i n gsoul (Por te r 534). This warning i s expressed much toos t rong ly to r e f e r only to the k i l l i ng of the rabb i t , ana c t i v i t y which they had done many t imes before and broughtthe pe l t s to Uncle J imbi l ly to prepare .

Miranda th inks about lithe whole worrisome a f f a i r withconfused unhappiness for few days and then rep re sse s t

qu ie t ly i n to her mind (Por te r 534). Almost twenty yea rsl a t e r an odor t r i g g e r s the re su r fac ing of the memory as

dreadfu l vis ion and she i s reasonably horr i f i ed withsense of gu i l t (Por te r 534).

Through t h i s sexual exper ience Miranda 's penis envy i sr e l i ev ed and she progresses to the f i n a l g e n i t a l -o r i e n t e ds t age of sexual development. The r ing , as symbol of hersexua l i ty , causes her to be d i s s a t i s f i e d with he r immaturesexual i de n t i t y and to long for th ings t ha t she as s o c i a t e swith being young lady. She begins to unders tand lithese c re t , formless i n tu i t i ons in her own mind and body, whichhad been c l ea r in g up, t ak ing form and s t a r t s to formfeminine i de n t i t y by des i r ing to wear dresses and powder andbe phys ica l ly a t t r a c t i v e (Por te r 534). This matur i ty , asmani fes ted in her r e a l i z a t i on of sexua l i ty when viewing t he


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dead, pregnant rabb i t , has been l a t e n t in her unconsciousp r i o r to i t s emergence; she f e l t t ha t she had known a l lalong (Por te r 533).

Miranda1s unusual connect ion to her bro ther al lows herto surpass her d i f f i c u l t psychosexual development and reachmatura t ion . The repress ion and reemergence of the memory oft h i s experience ind ica tes , however, t ha t her sexual i d e n t i t yand psychosexual funct ion may be incomplete o r impaired insome sense due to her upbr inging.

I I I . P o s t - s t r u c t u r a l i s t c r i t i c i s mKather ine Anne Por te r1s liThe Grave exp lores a theme

of immaturi ty versus matur i ty through the s to ry o f a youngg i r l beginning to fee l the s t i r r i n g s of womanhood.Typica l ly , the term matur i ty i s p r iv i l eg ed as a super io rs t a t e in the oppos i t iona l arrangement of the two themat icelements , endowed with t h i s s t a t u s by adu l t dominatedWestern cu l tu re . Phi losophica l ly , the re i s no bas i s fo r theau thor i ty of a soc ie ty to make t h i s dete rmina t ion and t i su l t ima te ly an i nva l id cen te r of judgment.

n the surface liThe Grave seems to be a s impleanecdote , but ac tua l ly con ta ins a wealth of meaning due ton a t u ra l l y i n t eg r a t ed symbolism and unobtrus ive but ambiguousn a r ra t i v e elements . These under ly ing components make t het e x t wri te r ly , to borrow Roland Barthes term, encouragingthe reader to produce meaning and give the work a p l u r a l i t yo f i n t e rp r e t a t i on . The t reatment of t he oppos i t i ona l themes


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in the t e x t causes it to be I I se l f -decons t ruc t ing , revea l ingthe i nva l id i t y of h ie r a r ch i ca l arrangement andde f in i t i ve eva lua t ion of the cen t ra l concep ts .

The t e x t does not a l low the concepts of matur i ty andimmaturi ty to s tand alone but assoc ia tes them with o therab s t r ac t i o n s c r ea t i n g complex network of themat ici n t e rconnec t ions preven t ing s i m p l i s t i c r e s o lu t i o n o f meaningaccord ing to the conven t iona l ly presupposed organ iza t iona lh ie ra rchy . Immaturi ty, as the lower term in theoppos i t i ona l system, i s connected with na tu ra lness andfreedom, p o s i t i v e ideas , e leva t ing i t s concep tua l s t a tus .This c o r re l a t i o n i s made through Miranda s uncons t ra in t andindependence and her ro le as littl g i r l b e fo re sheencounters the reve la to ry exper ience which f a c i l i t a t e s andsymbol izes her maturat ion in the s to ry . She i s descr ibed asp re fe r r i n g IIher overa l l s to any othe r dress and I Icareeningaround a s t r i de bareback horses (Por te r 532 . She of tenjo ined her bro the r wander ing around the coun t rys ideunsuperv ised on exped i t ions na ive ly pa r t i c ipa t ing in t hea c t i v i t i e s of hunt ing and explora t ion (Por te r 532 .Miranda s behav ior i s governed by code of va lues t h a t seemIIsimple and na tu ra l to h e r con t ras t ing the r ep res s ive anda r t i f i c i a l IIlaw of female decorum and Scr ip tu res whichthe adu l t s ( represen ted by the o ld women she encounters)fo l low and enforce on t he i r ch i ld ren (Por te r 532 .

Matur i ty i s r e l a t e d in the t ex t to both dea th anda r t i f i c i a l i t y , lower ing it in the h i e ra rc h i c a l s t ru c t u re


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through the same code of ideo logica l evalua t ion t ha t usua l lypr i v i l e ge s t as the h igher term (death i s subord inated tol i f e and a r t i f i c i a l i t y to na tu ra lness ) . Miranda 'sacqui s i t i on of matur i t y i s assoc ia ted with her exp lo ra t ionsin a graveyard , recover ing the wedding r ing from one of herdead r e l a t ive s , and the k i l l i n g and examinat ion of apregnant rabbi t , exper iences from which she ga ins keyknowledge i n t o the nature of l i f e and dea th . Her matura t ioni s a l so descr ibed in terms of synthet ic i sm and a f f ec t a t i on .hen she f i r s t begins to des i re the th ings assoc ia ted with

growing up she imagines dress ing up in the most becomingdress she owned and s i t t i ng in a wicker c ha i r under thet r ee s , r e f l ec t i ng her concept ion of a proper Southern be l l e(Por ter 533). She a l so des i r e s luxury and a grand way ofl i v ing , con t r as t ing her na tu ra l s impl i c i ty (Por ter 533).

Although the conceptual connect ions of matur i t y wi thdea th and a r t i f i c i a l i t y and immaturi ty wi th na tu ra lness andfreedom disa l lows the conventional pr i v i l e g i ng of matu r i t y ,the t ex t t akes the decenter ing process one s tep fur the r ,a t t r i b u t i n g an ambiguous mUlt ip l i c i ty of s ign i f i cance toeach of the secondary terms with which the two cen t r a l onesa re assoc ia ted . This expansion of i n t e r na l meaning not onlyrefuses the s tandard , but voids the s t r a t i f i e dorgan iza t iona l pa t t e r n a l toge the r . Death i s denied theusua l s t r a igh t fo rward po r t r aya l as u l t ima te ly negat ive;i ns t ead t i s por t rayed as commonplace and na t u ra l . I t i sdescr ibed as a long repose r a t he r than an end (Por te r530) .


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Paul f inds a co f f i n screw head t ha t i s in the shape of adove, connect ing dea th wi th concepts of peace andt ranscendence . The graveyard i s not p o r t r ay ed as dismal o rf r igh ten ing , but as a small garden with lIuncropped sweet-

smel l ing grass (Por te r 530). The death of the pregnan tr ab b i t causes Miranda to r eac t with IIpityll as well asIIshocked del ight l l and the dead r abb i t s a re descr ibed aslooking I I l ike a baby s head j u s t washed l imagescon t ras t ing those usua l ly a s soc ia t ed with the Western ideaof dea th (P or te r 533).

Elements of the n a r r a t i v e a l s o co n t r ad i c t the idea o fna tu ra lness as wholly pos i t ive . Miranda s na tu ra lness i sp res en t ed as a ba r r i e r to her development, holding he r backto c h i l d i sh and improper pursu i t s . When she looks a t ther i n g she has found and begins to th ink about her owni n t e rn a l des i res her fee l ings tu rn l Iagainst h e r overa l l s andsock less f ee t (Por te r 532,533). With a new unders tandingshe r e j e c t s her naive and immature a c t i v i t i e s , re fus ing tot ake the p e l t of the r abb i t t ha t Paul has k i l l e d , l i k e shehas so many t imes before .

The conclus ion o f the s to ry completes the matura t ionp a t t e rn , pre sen t ing Miranda a t the s tage of adu l thood andre fus ing to re so lve the themat ic c onf l i c t . By o f f e r i n g noexpress eva lua t ion of the cen t r a l opposing concep ts , then a r ra t i v e c lose s , e l imina t ing any poss i b i l i t y ofes t ab l i s h in g a new hie ra rchy to replace the one t ha t i sdi s so lved in the t ex t . No ind ica t ion i s given o f her


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condi t ion as an adu l t and the c los ing scene focuses on he rf lashback to her chi ldhood exper ience , which i s t r iggeredthrough the ambiguous image of sweet, corrupt smel l ingcandy (Por te r 534). She i s hor r i f i ed by t h i sremembrance, e i t h e r because she reg re t s the lo s s of he rchi ldhood o r because she looks back on it as fea r fu l andunhappy. The v is ion fades and she sees c lea r ly herbro ther s tand ing again in the blaz ing sunshine, endingthe s to ry with a s ta tement which re fu tes , through i t sne u t r a l i t y , any h ie ra rch ica l arrangement of terms (Por te r532)

Of course , in c a l l i n g a t t e n t i o n to the s e l f decons t ruc t ing pa t t e rn of t h i s s tory , have v io la t ed thevery t en e t s of pos t - s t ruc t u ra l i s t l i t e r a r y theory(Murfin 223). I have shown how the t ex t renders i t s ownpresupposed thematic h ie ra rch ica l pa t t e rn inva l id bydescr ib ing the concepts and t h e i r assoc ia ted s ign i f i cancesin terms of pos i t ive and negat ive , according to the samesystem of thought which governs the aforement ioned p a t t e rn .Although they have no u l t imate r e a l i s t i c bas i s , thesecen te r s of thought must be used as a frame of re fe rence tomake sense of t he ex te rna l world and to communicate.

IV. Feminis t c r i t i c i s mKather ine Anne Por t e r ' s The Grave i n t e g ra t e s both the

mimetic and d idac t i c funct ions of a r t through the ro les ofwomen in the work. The s to ry de f ies the conven t iona l ,


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pervas ive soc ia l s t ruc tu re of male dominance, presen t ingpa t r i a r c ha l p a t t e rn as both v iab le p o s s i b i l i t y as wel l aspa r t i a l r ea l i t y . I t shows the uniqueness of femaleexper ience and percept ion by con t ras t ing Miranda 's ac t ionsand a t t i t udes from those of the r ep resen ta t ive f igure , Paul .Miranda 's matura t ion i s descr ibed on two l eve l s : the na tu ra lphysica l and emotional maturat ion of young g i r l and anunderlying se l f - r ea l i za t i on and emergence i n to autonomy aswom n in the previous ly es tab l i shed p a t t e rn of femaleindependence and s t r eng th .

The Grave con ta ins an under ly ing s t ruc ture of soc ia larrangement in which women are the dominant f igures ,con t ro l l ing t h e i r own l i ves and, in vary ing capac i t i e s ,exer t ing con t ro l in t he i r re l a t ionsh ips with o thers . Thegrandmother s tands a t the top of the h ie ra rchy as head ofthe family and the most prepondera te f igure in then a r ra t i v e . She determines her own course of ac t i o n

se t [ t ing ] out to f ind her own b u r i a l place and owning herown farm (Por te r 530). Her constancy and possess ivenesscause her to t r anspor t her husband 's i n t e r r e d body fromplace to place as she moves so t ha t they could l i e s ide bys ide fo r e t e rn i ty , as she had planned, i nd ica t ing he rdominance in the f ami l i a l system (Por te r 530). She exer t st h i s power by discr iminat ing aga ins t he r son Harry in he rwil l (Por te r 532).

The old women tha t Miranda meets on the road a l so showc e r t a in pos i t ion of au thor i ty in the soc ie ty . They are


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bearers of cu l t u r a l values , the en fo rce r s o f the law offemale decorum which had t e e t h i n i t , c ha s t i s i ng Mirandafo r d res s ing l i ke a boy (Por ter 532). Miranda shows someaspec t s of unconvent ional autonomy as wel l , roaming aroundthe count rys ide unsupervised , v i o l a t i ng s oc i a l ru l e s i n herd res s and behavior .

There are cons iderable cogni t ive d i f f e rences betweenMiranda and Paul , demonstra t ing those t ha t ex i s t between t hesexes. The s ign i f i cance of t h i s f ac to r l i e s not in thep a r t i c u l a r d i f f e rences themselves , but in the fac t t ha t theydo d i f f e r . Any at tempt to i den t i f y and asc r ibe cogn i t ivet r a i t s to the sexes on the bas i s of t h i s l i t e r a r y work wouldbe augmenting or pe rpe tua t ing s te reo types . n t h e i r hunt ingt r i p Paul proves himse l f to be goa l -o r i en ted ; when making ak i l l he wanted to be ce r t a in t ha t he had made i t and wouldsometimes smash hi s ha t and y e l l wi th fury when he misses(Por ter 531,532) . Miranda, however, p a r t i c i p a t e s in theac t i v i t y fo r i t s own sake, enjoying pul l ing the t r i gge r andhear ing the noise (Por ter 532). When Paul becomesf r u s t r a t ed wi th the hunt Miranda could not unders tand hisind ignat ion (Por ter 531).

Miranda i s ra i sed in a motherless family, l ack ing themost i n f luen t i a l cu l t u r a l model while growing up(Por te r534) . Because gender ro l e s a re cu l tu ra l ly l ea rnedr a the r than bio log ica l based, Miranda shows a sense ofsexua l ambigui ty due to the absence of a materna l f igu re .Miranda i s a tomboy, dres s ing in mascul ine s ty l e s and


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pa r t i c ipa t ing in t r a d i t i o n a l l y male a c t i v i t i e s . Eventua l lyshe i s exposed to a s u f f i c i e n t l eve l of i nc u l tu r a l i z a t i on(by t he o ld women, for example) to r e a l i z e the discrepancy

between her behavior and t ha t of othe r young women.When she examines the pregnant r abb i t and the baby

rabb i t s Miranda gains a sel f-knowledge of her procrea t ivepower. This r e a l i z a t i on i s symbolized by the female sexualsymbol of the r ing t ha t she had c la imed e a r l i e r in t henar ra t ive . When Paul poin t s out t ha t the baby rabb i t s wereabout to be born, Miranda ind ica tes her new unders tanding,responding l i ke k i t t e ns . I know, l i ke babies (Por te r534)

This newly acqu i red sel f-knowledge, coupled with he rr e l a t i ve freedom from the pa t r i a rcha l soc ia l s t ruc tu r eal lows Miranda to emerge i n to the female ro le of autonomy asdemonstra ted by the othe r women charac te r s in the s to ry .Immediately a f t e r undergoing the exper ience with the rabb i t ,Paul r e a l i z e s Miranda 's developing independence andi nd iv idua l i ty , address ing her with an eager f r i end l inessand lion equal termsll. When the n a r ra t i v e s h i f t s twentyyea rs i n to Miranda 's fu ture , the br i e f scene of her l i f egives the impress ion t ha t she i s independent as a maturewoman. She i s walking through a market s t r ee t , presumablyalone, in a I Is trange c i t y of a s t range count ry i nd i r e c t lyi n d i ca t i n g a sense of freedom and removal from her pas t(Por te r 534) .

In liThe Gravell Por t e r combines i n s i g h t fu l observa t ions


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of soc ia l systems with f i c t i ona l p o r t r ay a l s of thep o s s i b i l i t i e s ex i s t ing to t ranscend them. Miranda s pa th o fmatura t ion revea l s some of the complexi ty and uniqueness o fthe female experience, of fe r ing hope of i n d i v i d u a l i t y andindependence from p a t r i a r c h a l soc ie ty .

Formalism cons iders l i t e r a r y works as s e l f - co n t a in edpieces of a r t , pr imar i ly valuab le on the a e s t h e t i c l eve l .Freudian psychoana ly t i c c r i t i c s a re much l e s s concerned witha e s t h e t i c meri t and view l i t e r a r y works as being based ons t ruc tu r a l model s imi la r to the one found in the Freud ianconcept of the unconscious. This model conta ins r e l a t i v e l ysmall and unimportant surface l eve l or meaning l y ing overmuch grea te r , l a t e n t one; Freudians cons ider t he t r u e valueo f the work to be in the hidden area . Pos t - s t ruc t u ra l i s tc r i t i c s view l i t e r a t u r e as drawn from unive rsa l t e x t andthe au thor i s given littl c re d i t for h i s work. With t heau thor removed as the assumed provider of meaning thereader i s al lowed to become uproduceru of meaningpe rmi t t i ng an i n f i n i t e p l u ra l i t y of i n t e rp r e t a t i on .According to the femin i s t school of l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i sm,l i t e r a t u r e both revea ls and perpe tua tes the oppress ives t ru c t u re of male-dominated soc ie ty and should be s tud iedwith t h i s presuppos i t ion .

Forma l i s t s cen t ra l aim i s to eva lua te l i t e r a r y worksas u n i f i ed pieces and to determine meanings o f t he t e x talone withou t ex te rna l sources of informat ion. This goal i s


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accompl ished through c lose readings of the t e x t examiningeach element as t r e l a t e s to the othe rs in the work.Specia l a t t e n t ion i s pa id to form as well as content and infac t the two a re cons idered inseparable f ace t s o f the samet h ing . Formal i s t s search for uni fy ing elements , cons ider ingun i ty as of v i t a l importance to a e s t h e t i c mer i t .

Psychoanaly t ic theory at tempts to discover hiddenpsycho log ica l mot iva t ions which con t r ibu te to anunders tanding of the cha rac te r s in the s to ry and t h e i rre l a t ionsh ip to the meaning of the work. Freudian c r i t i c sexamine the t ex t for ind ica t ions of these unconsciousmotivat ions accord ing to psychoanalyt ic t h eo r i e s and sub jec tthe t ex t to the Freudian p a t t e rn of dream ana lys i s lookingfor s ign i f i c a n t symbols. These c lues are organized in wayst ha t may be explained by psychoanalyt ic concepts of thehuman psyche and are used to inform the read ing .

P o s t - s t r u c t u r a l i s t and femin i s t c r i t i c s however, areof ten more concerned with t h e i r own ideology than they arewith the t e x t s tha t they s tudy. Decons t ruc t ion i s t c r i t i c i sm sgenera l ly at tempt to ach ieve the same end: to demonstratehow every l i t e r a r y work proves t h e i r phi losoph ica larguments. Feminis t c r i t i c i s m i s as much p o l i t i c a l as t i sl i t e r a r y and serves two main func t ions : the condemnation o fmale l i t e r a t u r e as se x i s t and oppress ive and thei n t e rp r e t a t i on of women s l i t e r a t u r e from a feminis tt he o re t i c a l perspec t ive .

Formalism t akes a l l p a r t s of a l i t e r a r y work i n to


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account y ie ld in g more comprehensive reading; whereasFreudian l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m inc ludes only the p a r t s of thework which are congruent with i t s t h eo r i e s seeminglyignor ing much of the t ex t and po te n t i a l l y l eav ing out manypo in t s which are important to unders tand ing the p iece .Unlike formalism Freudian c r i t i c i s m of ten pays littl o r noa t t e n t ion to form again l im i t i n g the scope of i t si n t e rp r e t a t i on . I t r e l i e s on an ex te rna l system o f l i t e r a ryana lys i s which has been u l t imate ly a r b i t r a r i l y determinedand i s highly debatab le con t ras t ing the c losed system o ffo rma l i s t i n t e rp r e t a t i on . The na ture of Freud ian l i t e r a ryexaminat ion in which the c r i t i c searches fo r extens ivepsycho log ica l meaning based on r e l a t i v e l y small andambiguous ind ica t ions in the t ex t i s conducive to makingforced and un l ike ly i n t e rp re t a t i o n s . Freudian c r i t i c i s m i sva luable as d i f f e r e n t way of viewing work but i su l t ima te ly incomple te because of i t s i n a b i l i t y to t ake thet e x t i n to account as comprehensive whole.

P o s t - s t r u c t u r a l i s t and femin i s t c r i t i c i s m are s imi la rto the Freudian pe rspec t ive in t h i s manner offe r ing l im i t edl i t e r a r y examinat ion because of t h e i r n o n - l i t e r a ry agendas.The phi losoph ica l goals of pos t - s t ruc tu ra l i sm and thep o l i t i c a l ones of feminism may a l so l ead to readings whichr e f l e c t the c r i t i c s persona l conv ic t ions r a t h e r than t ha twhich i s in the t e x t providing narrow view of the work.


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Bibl iography

Buck, Ross. Human motivat ion and Emotion. New York:John Wiley and Sons, Inc . 1988.

Gordon, Walter K ed. Li te ra tu re in Cr i t i c a lPerspec t ives . Englewood Cl i f f s : Pren t ice -Hal lInc . 1968.

Murfin, Ross C. Heart of Darkness, A Case Study lnContemporary Cr i t i c i sm. Joseph Conrad. New York:St . Mart in is Press 1989.

Por te r Katherine Anne. The Grave . The Li te ra rySouth. Louis D Por t e r J r . ed. Baton Rouge:

Louis iana Sta te Press 1979.

Selden, Raman, and Pete r Widdowson. A Reader ls Guideto Contemporary Li t e r a ry Theory. 3rd ed.Lexington: Univers i ty Press o f Kentucky, 1993.

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A Case Study of Katherine Anne Porters the Grave From Formalis

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