Destiny of female characters in the fiction of Cormac McCarthy

Abstract

One of the prime criticisms leveled at McCarthy’s work is his portrayal of women. Female characters are rarely the focus of his novels, and when they do appear, they are not as fleshed-out and complex as the male characters. McCarthy exaggerates female absence and it is this absence which could be seen as the cause of the barbarism of the men, who are also, after all, severely punished with psychological and physical dismemberment. This paper examines the theme of the absence of female characters and their fate if they exist. And seeks to explore how the female characters face their destiny in different ways in some of Cormac McCarthy’s novels. It also explores the role of determinism in the major novels such as Cities of the Plain, No Country for Old Men, and The Road.