Metamorphosis and Identity

Thesis: There are few images, metaphors, or stories that imagine a self that really changes while really remaining the same thing such that there needs to be an understanding of identity that does not force a choice between dichotomies.

I. Three sets of stories that assist in a new way of imagining

A story requires more than mere change

III. Shape and Story, Body and Narrative

Change is the real replacement of something else

Shape matters and gives form to the nature of a being

In Hell, identity does not survive change

In Purgatory, identity gives insubstantial shape, which does not change

In Paradise, change brings out a physical manifestation of what is already within

Dichotomies of nature vs. nurture do not assist in determining identity

Stories help to explore the nature of identity

Bynum, Caroline Walker. Metamorphosis and Identity. Boston, MA: Zone Books, MIT Press. pp. 163-189.

In both Burning Your Boats and The Lais of Marie de France the authors use stories to discuss the question of whether a being with an animal's shape can have a human soul and human sense, or if someone with a human shape is truly human, or merely an animal inside. For the medieval observe

ding Hood defends herself against a wolf attack in the forest, only to find that the paw she cut off in the forest belongs to her grandmother, who turns out to be a witch with a wart on her finger. In this case, things are as they appear. The constant is that the beast on the outside is the same as the beast on the inside, despite the different skins. In the tale, "Company of Wolves," however, Carter turns this on its head as nothing is as it appears or constant. The handsome woodsman of the tale is actually the wolf as can be seen when he takes off his clothes at grandmother's house. In addition, the young, innocent girl who is supposed to be endangered by the wolf shows her true nonhuman nature when she disrobes and chooses to sleep with the wolf, not particularly caring what had happened to her grandmother. In all four of the above tales the authors explore whether physical appearance is constant with the true nature of a being as well as whether a being changes in nature when it changes in form. Works Cited Burgess, G. S. and K. Busby, translators. The Lais of Marie de France. Second edition. New York, NY: Penguin Publishing. 1999. Carter, Angela. Burning Your Boats: Collected Stories. New York, NY: Viking Pres

Category: Literature - M