ject and object concerning the man in the jail. Geryon phrases his question so that the man in the jail is the object of the first part of the sentence, while the lava is the subject of the next phrase. In the first phrase, the picture is being taken of the man, while in the second the lava is moving in the window. However the man becomes the subject of this imaginary photograph. Just as Geryon writes his own autobiography and refuses to follow anybody’s set storyline, becoming the subject of his own myth, the man in the jail moves from an object and becomes the subject. The ending of the story is the final proof that Geryon has become the subject rather than the object of his own myth. In the original Greek myth, Herakles killed Geryon and stole his cattle. In Autobiography of Red, Herakles does not kill Geryon. On the contrary, Geryon flies at the end of the novel. Geryon has chosen a different ending for himself than that which is already prescribed. Rather than losing his identity in death, Geryon finds it when he flies. He comes to terms with who he is. Geryon’s flight can be seen as his final release from all outside objective realities. Geryon is now subject only to himself and his own reality from now on. When Geryon flies he has achieved true subjectivity. Geryon’s transposition from object to subject is portrayed in many ways throughout the novel. From the subjectivity of the facts, to the subjectivity of the novel itself, and ultimately to the subjectivity of Geryon himself, Anne Carson challenges objectifications and creates a world of subjectivity. Ultimately in Autobiography of Red, nothing is concrete and objective. Everything is dependent on the person receiving the information. Reality exists only in the eye of the beholder....
