Faulkner, William,--1897-1962--Wild palms

Androgyny in literature is not a new topic. In William Faulkner's The Wild Palms, however, the significance of androgyny as theme has been largely overlooked. Androgyny is defined as the harmonious balance derived from accepting those individual aspects defined culturally and socially as masculine and feminine beyond the physical and biological. In this novel, Harry Wilbourne, a doctor and scientist, denies his androgyny while Charlotte Rittenmeyer, his lover and a sculptor, finds comfort and harmony in both her masculine and feminine traits. Harry faces a gender identity crisis when Charlotte, pregnant, decides to abort their child. Only after Charlotte dies of a botched abortion does Harry accept his memories--his responsibility for his past life with Charlotte (a masculine characteristic)--as well as his grief--over Charlotte's death and the loss of the grand passion he shared with her (feminine emotions). Harry, reborn, becomes a man: harmonious in his androgyny.