"FROM THE I TO THE WE": DESIRE AND BECOMING IN CARSON MCCULLERS’ THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING

Abstract

Carson McCullers’ The Member of the Wedding depicts the anxieties and issues of a tomboy approaching her adulthood and her difficulty making proper connection with her peers. Due to her seemingly peculiar behavior and ambivalence regarding issues of gender, Frankie is mostly left out from peer gatherings, which leaves her with more tensions. However, through her abnormal demeanor in terms of identity and gender, we see that she is dealing with high levels of desire. Drawing on the philosophical concepts of Gilles Deleuze regarding subjectivity, gender, and desire, this article argues that through her positive desire, Frankie becomes a nomad who sets foot on new horizons of experience, and her hopes for the upcoming wedding is an example of such longing for experience. It is also argued that while she is highly under the influence of affects, instead of striving for becoming a member of the wedding, Frankie yearns for novel encounters in order to become the wedding itself, and finally become reconciled to the world in its entirety.