Abstract:In The Old Man and the Sea, the old fisherman Santiago was portrayed as one of Hemingway’s code heroes with strong will and invulnerable perseverance. Seemingly the old man Santiago is typical of masculinity. In fact, he is inclined to be more feminine in his old age. With the old man walking into his declining years, there is no obvious sex difference between Santiago and a woman. Once Santiago is apt to conquer the world, attack the enemy and subjugate the sea; but now a special side of femininity has melted in his manhood. Though he still has ambitions, some of his remarkable characters of man fade away, which is mainly manifested by his transformation from masculinity to femininity. The gradual feminization and changes of masculinity come to light with androgyny of Santiago.

Keyword: Ernest Hemingway; The Old Man and the Sea; Femininity; Masculinity; Androgyny

《老人与海》中老人的阴柔转变

摘  要:圣地亚哥在小说《老人与海》中经常被认为是典型的硬汉形象。他坚忍刚强的大男子主义气概常被人们赞颂。然而，这个极富雄性气息的男性角色也被海明威赋予了女性阴柔的一面。老人圣地亚哥在面临即将死亡之际，原本男性与女性之间的性别差异逐渐消失。曾经男子气概中的征服、攻击等一切对物质的欲望逐渐消失。生理上的变化和心理上对男子阳刚的重新定义使得他转为追寻如女性一般趋于温和，安宁的生活状态。他的男子气概逐步融入了女性阴柔的一面，在思想和行为方面，不经意间自然地流露出一些女性特点，如依赖、怜悯等。最终成为精神上同时具有阴阳两性特征的雌雄同体者。

关键词：海明威；《老人与海》；阴性；阳性； 雌雄同体

Contents

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Femininity and Androgyny 1

2. Santiago’s Former Masculinity 3

2.1 Santiago’s Past Glorious Days 3

2.2 Sharp Masculine Features of Santiago 3

3. Diminution of Santiago’s Masculinity 5

3.1 No More Women and Deprivation of Sexuality 5

3.2 No More Luck of Santiago 6

3.3 Dependence and Fear of Loneliness 6

4. Old Santiago’s Renewed Manliness 8

4.1 Marlin as a Manifestation of Masculine 8

4.2 The Great DiMaggio as Santiago’s Idol of Masculine 9

4.3 Faith and Hatred of the Old Santiago 10

4.4 Shark as the Destroyer and the Model of No fear 10

5. Feminization and Androgyny of Santiago 12

5.1 Feminine Traits 12

5.2 Attitude Shift of La Mar 13

5.3 Androgyny Inclination of Old Santiago 14

6. The Conditions of Santiago’s Transformation 15

7. Conclusion 16

References 17

1. Introduction

In the novella The Old Man and the Sea，the old man Santiago is an experienced and tough fisherman. For his brave fight with the great marlin and sharks, Santiago’s perseverance and manhood are always the topics that people have concentrated on. However, his honor has gone as time goes on. He has experienced 84 days without catching a fish. He is no longer the lucky man with strong possessiveness. On the contrary, the old man has changed his previous manhood and has displayed a hidden side which is opposite to his masculinity. Santiago becomes feminine gradually.

Generally, most of scholars regard the old man as a “code hero”, no matter in domestic or foreign literary circles. Fortunately, some scholars have studied the topic of femininity in The Old Man and the Sea. Some scholars pay attention to the feminine sea “la mar”; some critics focus on the hatred that Hemingway shows towards women throughout the novella; there are not so many scholars who emphasize the femininity, especially the feminine transformation] of Santiago.