Anne Carson, a celebrated poet and essayist, took it upon herself to retell the story of Gerson and Herakles. A novel that turned Stesichoros’ story into Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse. By blending fantasy and reality, Anne Carson introduces an inventive autobiography of a red winged monster who struggles to survive in the real world. The striking way Carson utilizes red and wings only further the perfect metaphor for otherness, to communicate Gerson’s role as an outcast. Consequently, the fantasy used in Autobiography of Red leads to our understanding on who Geryon in reality is or becomes.
According to Bell Hooks, in order “to heal the splitting of mind and body, we……attempt to recover ourselves and our experiences in language” (Hooks 175). The use of language is the only attempt to understand our mind our body and who we represent, essentially it identifies who we are or who we are trying to identify. Throughout the novel, the use of red was emphasized as one of Garyons’ quality, who he was. Gerson was red sen in his childhood, as was everything about him, from the “red silk chalk” used by his teachers to the way he was described to us (Carson 26). It becomes more clear when he set down the total facts known about himself, first and foremost of which is that “Geryon was a monster and everything about him was red” (Carson 37). He was such an other, so unique, that he would not take the traditional route to his classroom at school. Gerson would walk to the far end of the building and “stand motionless until someone inside noticed and came out to show him the way. He did not gesticulate. He did not knock on the glass. He waited. Small, red, and upright he waited” (Carson 25). There he stood and waited to be included, the outcast, the other, the unique. Now, the question is why red? We know that Geryon is not literally red, or is he? In my perspective, red is a standout color, a color that is seen and placed out of other colors, isn’t that what Geryon is. Geryon is not like anyone else. He is unique and his redness only speaks for who he is. But red is not the only thing that makes him an other, a unique individual, his wings also display who he is.
At first, Geryon’s wings were noticeable. His mother used to “neaten his little red wings and push him out the door” (Carson 36). When time went on, Geryon decided to hide his wings because he knew his wings set him apart. However, when he was in Buenos Aires he understood that “twelve percent of people are born with tales” but only he has been born with wings (Carson 97). By him entitling the photograph “No Tails”, Geryon expresses a sign of self-acceptance. Essentially, he is embracing his otherness, his uniqueness, the one thing that sets him apart from other, the one thing that makes him who he is.
Anne Carson blends reality and fantasy to further understand the character of Geryon. The inventive wings and redness character are metaphorically figures that emphasize the uniqueness of Geryon and portray an image of otherness. The purpose of this invention if for the reader to understand that language can be interpreted in different dimensions, in this case we encounter a characters’ life who we never get to hear, because he is different. What a better way to understand the unique than by blending fantasy with reality, an inventive form of writing.