Red Symbol in Autobiography of Red

The color red symbolizes Geryon’s identity and the role creativity plays in constructing identity. In the introductory essay that precedes the main story, Carson (the author) writes that adjectives “are the latches of being,” meaning an adjective provide insight into the characteristics of the noun that it describes. Geryon feels that his redness is his defining feature, so the color red becomes synonymous with his identity and personal quest for self-affirmation. For example, one of Geryon’s first attempts at autobiography involves constructing a sculpture from a cigarette glued to a red tomato. Redness extends beyond Geryon’s self, too: he lives on an island called “The Red Place,” which is covered in “red dirt.” Volcanoes, one of his core interests, also evoke the color red. When Geryon thinks about redness, he consciously or unconsciously meditates on who he is. Conversely, colors that are not red point away from Geryon’s assumed sense of self. For example, when Herakles calls Geryon after their breakup to tell him about a “freedom” dream he had in which Geryon resurrects a drowned yellow bird, Geryon angrily thinks to himself, “he doesn’t know me at all! Yellow!”

Red Quotes in Autobiography of Red

The Autobiography of Red quotes below all refer to the symbol of Red. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Yellow? said Geryon and he was thinking Yellow! Yellow! Even in dreams
he doesn’t know me at all! Yellow!

Related Characters: Geryon (speaker), Herakles

Related Symbols: Red, Wings

Page Number and Citation: 74

Explanation and Analysis:

It was not the fear of ridicule,
to which everyday life as a winged red person had accommodated Geryon early in life,
but this blank desertion of his own mind
that threw him into despair.

Related Characters: Geryon

Related Symbols: Red, Wings

Page Number and Citation: 83

Explanation and Analysis:

“…I will never know how you see red and you will never know how I see it.”

Related Characters: Geryon, Ancash

Related Symbols: Red, Wings

Page Number and Citation: 105

Explanation and Analysis:

This is for Ancash, he calls to the earth diminishing below. This is a memory of our
beauty.

Related Characters: Geryon (speaker), Herakles, Ancash

Related Symbols: Red, Wings , Volcano

Page Number and Citation: 145

Explanation and Analysis:

Red Symbol Timeline in Autobiography of Red

The timeline below shows where the symbol Red appears in Autobiography of Red. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...lyric poem. Only fragments of the poem remain today. The poem tells of a winged red monster who lived on the island Erytheia, which means “The Red Place.” The monster raises... (full context)

...Geryoneis, translated by Carson. In “I. Geryon,” the poet describes Geryon, the monster, detailing the redness that characterizes his life: for example, his snout is red, the wind and landscape are... (full context)

In “II. Meanwhile He Came,” Herakles spots red smoke and makes his way toward Geryon. In “III. Geryon’s Parents,” Geryon’s parents send him... (full context)

...dog and wonders how many little boys think they are monsters. “XII. Wings” depicts Geryon’s red dog running along a beach. “XIII. Herakles’ Killing Club” depicts Herakles killing Geryon’s dog. In... (full context)

...mother. They turn on all the lights in the house and eat Geryon’s favorite meal: buttered toast and canned peaches. Geryon and his mother eat on supper trays in the living... (full context)

...him school would be tough if he were weak, but he’s not. She adjusts his red wings and urges him out the door. (full context)

...“Total Facts Known About Geryon” and lists everything he knows about himself: he is a red monster who lives on the Red Place, an island in the Atlantic. His mother is... (full context)

...endings. Geryon adds to his autobiography a new ending: “All over the world the beautiful red breezes went on blowing hand / in hand.” (full context)

...alone in the dark as a rapist walks toward her, ascending the stairs “slow as lava.” Geryon enters the consciousness of the woman and wonders if the rapist is listening to... (full context)

...the queen of the night you will feel a pinch then a black flow.” A red butterfly drifts through the air, attached to a black one. Geryon remarks how the red... (full context)

...of the 1923 eruption “disturbing,” though he doesn’t know why. She had labeled the photograph “Red Patience.” The photo is a 15-minute exposure that captured the ash and lava as it... (full context)

Geryon and Herakles paint graffiti later that night. Geryon paints a pair of red wings and the word “LOVESLAVE” on the garage of a priest’s house. Herakles spots some... (full context)

...Herakles tells him there are daily buses to take him back. Geryon feels that “a red wall had sliced the air in half” as Herakles says he’ll probably stay behind and... (full context)

...to photograph skiers. Herakles goes inside. Geryon and Herakles’s grandmother talk about her other photograph, “Red Patience.” She’s upset it’s hanging in the kitchen, where it is too dark to appreciate.... (full context)

...kitchen table, smoking silently before the fruit bowl. “Nice shirt,” she tells him, referencing his red t-shirt that bears the word “TENDER” in white script. He tells her Herakles gave it... (full context)

Geryon, the “red monster,” sits at a table in Café Mitwelt writing Heidegger onto postcards he has just... (full context)

...yellowbeard talks about black and white, and Geryon resolves to “get some new information about red.” Geryon soon grows bored and wonders if the day will ever be over, which is... (full context)

...feels panicked. He observes the empty street from his hotel room window. He imagines the lava that flows miles below the street and wonders when someone “become[s] unreal.” He also thinks... (full context)

...the harbor. He hears voices coming from a tango club called Caminito and wanders inside. Red kitchen tables line the borders of the bar. An old, frail trio of musicians play... (full context)

...at Geryon for a few moments and asks, “Who can a monster blame for being red?” When Geryon doesn’t hear her, she doesn’t repeat her question, instead suggesting it’s time he... (full context)

...causing lateral fissures. He doesn’t want to become someone too fixated on their woes. He redirects his attention toward the book he’s reading, Philosophic Problems, reading about how different people will... (full context)

...Geryon is just being difficult. Ancash approaches Geryon and pulls down his overcoat, revealing Geryon’s red wings, which Ancash hasn’t seen before. Ancash runs his fingers along them, admiring them. “Yazcamac,”... (full context)

After Ancash leaves, Geryon stares at the Pacific Ocean, which looks red and gives off a feeling of “desire.” He looks at couples walking along the seawall... (full context)

...interviewer tries to discuss Geryon, the hero of Stesichoros’s poem. Stesichoros states that Geryon is red and suggests “a link between geology and character” but can’t begin to know what that... (full context)

Autobiography of Red

Anne Carson

Red Symbol Analysis

Red Quotes in Autobiography of Red

Red Symbol Timeline in Autobiography of Red