Summary and Study Guide
Overview
Anne Carson's Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse reimagines the myth of Herakles and Geryon, the red winged monster whom Herakles slays in his tenth labor. Carson bases her version on fragments of the epic poem by Ancient Greek poet Stesichoros. Stesichoros' version of Herakles' tenth labor is unique in that it is told not from Herakles' perspective, but from "Geryon's own experience" (6). Using this as inspiration, Carson retells Geryon and Herakles' story as a modern coming-of-age story about a young, gay monster named Geryon.
The novel begins with an introduction to Stesichoros' poetic style, along with some fragments of his poem, “Geryoneis,” translated by Carson. The fragments tell the tale of Geryon, "a monster everything about him was red" (9), growing up on an island with his parents and dog, then both being slain by Herakles' "killing club" (13) and "arrow" (13). Carson then introduces the story of how Helen of Troy allegedly strikes Stesichoros blind for writing unsavory things about Helen. Stesichoros gets his sight back by writing a "palinode" (16) to Helen, in which he retracts his previous poem. Finally, Carson incl
Character Analysis
Geryon
Based on the mythological monster whom Herakles slays, Anne Carson's Geryon is a red-winged monster who lives on "an island in the Atlantic called the Red Place" (37). The novel begins during Geryon's childhood and traces his life through his early twenties. A perceptive, curious, and sensitive youth, Geryon carries these traits with him into young adulthood. However, as a child, Geryon's trusting nature gets exploited to the point that he withdraws into himself. He seldom expresses his feelings verbally, cries often, and spends his life hiding his wings under a large coat. Geryon undertakes creating his autobiography in grade school and continues the project until he's forty-four. The project comes to include photography, a medium through which Geryon feels most comfortable interacting with the world around him.
As a boy, Geryon's older brother sexually abuses him without anyone knowing. Though Geryon is close with his mother, he never tells her about the abuse. The abuse kickstarts Geryon's autobiography, but also causes him to "coolly omit all outside things" (29) by withdrawing almost fully into himself. At age fourteen, though, Geryon m
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Anne Carson’s Autobiography of Red overleaps generic boundaries, interweaving academic criticism, excerpts of primary sources, translation, interviews, poetry and prose. It begins with a section titled “What Difference Did Stesichoros Make?” in which Carson discusses the influence of ancient Greek lyric poet Stesichoros. Weaving in quotes by 20th century Modernist writer Gertrude Stein, Carson sketches a brief biography of Stesichoros and his influence on contemporary lyric poetry. She hones in on Stesichoros’ Geryoneis, which tells the story of Herakles and Geryon from Geryon’s point of view, upon which Autobiography of Red is loosely based. She invites readers to consider the question: “What difference did Stesichoros make?”
The next section, “Red Meat: Fragments of Stesichoros,” is written in verse and is ostensibly Carson’s translations of fragments of Stesichoros’ Geryoneis. Carson describes Geryon as “a monster”; “everything about him was red,” including his red wings, red cattle, and red dog. This section, like much of the novel, intermixes contemporary and classical references,
Autobiography of Red Summary & Study Guide
This “novel in verse” uses the poetry and history of classical Greek writer Stesichoros as a springboard for a poetic narrative that combines centuries-old legends with contemporary values. The work is ultimately a prequel to the mythic story of the relationship between the murdered monster Geryon and the hero who killed him (Herakles here, more commonly known as Hercules). Its events and themes are primarily defined by Geryon’s coming of age, an experience itself defined by first love gone awry. At the same time, the narrative and its imagery also explore thematic issues relating to the power of feelings, being different, and the significance of chance encounters.
The book begins with an academically toned, somewhat fictionalized analysis of how the poet Stesichoros, writing in Ancient Greece shortly after the time of the narrative poet Homer, evolved the use of language in poetry. That analysis is followed by similarly fictionalized fragments of Stesichoros’ poetry that introduce the story of the book’s central character (the monster Geryon) and relationship (that of Geryon with the hero Herakles). The third component of this intr
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