Reflections in a Golden Eye

Although Reflections in a Golden Eye, McCullers’ second novel, did not receive the acclaim that accompanied The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, it remains, in my eyes, one of her most daring works, and also perhaps her most Gothic. Both of McCullers' first two works contain some of the most simple, yet poetic-like phrasing that I have ever come across. However, it’s fascinating to note that both of these works were written in her early twenties. Her style can undoubtedly be attributed to her age, but not in a detrimental sense. McCullers’ writing style in two of her later novels, The Member of the Wedding and The Ballad of the Sad Café, is more mature—even more verbose compared with her earlier two works. However, her youthful insight of the world is absent, which, to me, is when McCullers is at her best.

Throughout the majority of Reflections in a Golden Eye, the novel focuses on the effects that love triangles have on people, especially the single member of the triad left out. However, the two people left out in this case, Captain Penderton and Allison Langdon, experience great revelations during this time of desertion that help them come to terms with their own identities. It almost seems that Captain Penderton and Allison are involved in a strange love square, since their spouses are having an affair with one another. However, without the annoyance of their respective mate, they are able to acknowledge the disgust of their own suffocating realities. The hushed nature of Robert’s affair leads Allison to understand that she can never trust the man she thought was her husband; whereas, Captain Penderton embraces the homosexual feelings he has towards a private he fixates upon, after a spiritual awakening he experiences during a near death encounter. But, most importantly, they both learn that they can be defined by something other than their spouse and what society dictates as normal, a revelation that in both cases comes too late.

Comparatively speaking, Reflections in a Golden Eye remains the most Gothic of McCullers’ works. McCullers not only uses two large officer houses as the primary setting for the novel, but also employs an adjacent forest, which provides the setting for Captain Penderton’s transformative horseback ride, as well as the cover for Private Williams to vicariously live through the two couples. Additionally, Private Williams is a voyeur who becomes enamored with Lenora Penderton’s body; he has never been in love, nor seen a woman’s naked body before Lenora. Every night, his actual presence in the forest creates a looming and suspenseful mood that spooks Allison and Captain Penderton: Allison peers out her window and thinks that Private Williams is an ghost or a figment of her imagination, and Captain Penderton continually experiences the sense of being watched. Allison Langdon is also plagued by madness due to her husbands betrayal, the death of her newborn daughter, her poor health, and her extreme hatred for everyone on the base, except Anacleto. Her derangement even leads her to cut off her breasts with gardening sheers. Although not all of the characters are grotesque in the physical sense, they are each repulsive in their actions and behavior. Furthermore, the theme of death also pervades the last section of the novel. Allison’s anxiety and frustration leads her to suffer a major heart attack, which eventually claims her life. Also, Private Williams’ deviant obsession leads him to break into the Penderton’s home and view Lenora in her room, an action that costs him his life at the hands of the man who holds deep-seated feelings of love for him, Captain Penderton.

McCullers portrays Allison Langdon and Captain Penderton as two characters that are oppressed mainly by sexual politics. The physical side of their relationships is not important to them—their spouses satisfy their sexual desires by entering into affairs with others—yet they rely on the sense of stability and normality that marriage possesses. It is clear to both characters that their mates are involved in an affair, which has been for going on for some time; however, they can neither confront their lover, nor end the marriage for varying reasons. A divorce for Allison is not a viable option because she has no money or skill; whereas, a divorce for Captain Penderton would mean loosing someone who has served as a cover to his repressed homosexuality. McCullers also investigates the oppression of “foreigners” through the character of Anacleto, a young Filipino houseboy. Anacleto endures a litany of verbal abuse at the hands of Major Langdon because of his feminine mannerisms; however, what is most striking is the lack of options that he possesses. As someone who is relatively new to the country, Anacleto relies solely on Allison for guidance. He is versed only in menial housekeeping tasks; everything else remains completely foreign to him.