The Member of the Wedding, written by Carson McCullers, is a coming-of-age novel. It was written in 1946 in the southern part of the United States. It describes the adolescence and struggles of becoming a woman for a young girl named Frankie Addams.
Carson McCullers wrote her first novel when she was only twenty-three, and it became a literary sensation. The Member of the Wedding was a prize-winning Broadway play and motion picture. She earned a reputation with French and English critics who ranked her close to authors like Faulkner and Hemingway.
The story begins on the evening of the last Friday in August 1944, in a small southern town. It ends on the evening of the following Sunday. It tells about all of the events that take place during the time when Frankie first finds out about her brother's wedding and until the actual wedding. It also briefly depicts the events that take place after that weekend up until November. Flashbacks extend to the beginning of the summer.
I believe that the characters in this novel are very important in enabling the understanding of Carson McCuller's concept. The characters seem lifelike to me. I also think that the dialogue is convincing. The people in the story spoke as real people of the 1940's would.
Frankie Addams is the main character and protagonist of the novel. She is a twelve year- old girl experiencing the changes of becoming a woman. She is in between her innocent days of childhood and the difficult and real days of young adulthood. As a result of this, she is disconnected from everyone around her and is searching for a way to blend in with other people. She feels lonely and isolated from the rest of the world. Frankie fantasizes about how she can escape from what she feels. She is also stubborn with anyone who might get in her way. She becomes obsessed with her brother Jarvis' wedding and wants to be a part of it. During the novel, she goes by three different names: Frankie, F.