Female gothic blends gender with genre efficiently.It employs gothic as the vehicle and means to probe into female issues in patriarchal society.The novella,The Ballad of the Sad Café by Carson McCullers,a woman writer from American south in the twentieth century,is imbued with gothic features and reflects McCullers’ feminist consciousness in the bud.From a feminist perspective,the essay analyzes such gothic elements as the awareness of feminism,gender identities,black humor atmosphere and dual significance of home.Also it explores the question about and denunciation of the male-centered principle and gender binary opposition in patriarchal society.