献给艾米丽的玫瑰
Three Reasons to Emily’s Tragedy in A Rose for Emily
Abstract:
A Rose for Emily is William Faulkner ’s famous short story. The story tells the tragic fate of Emily who is the descendant of a southern aristocrat. As a woman, Emily suffers a lot from patriarchy and lives a lonely, miserable life. This paper discusses the three reasons to Emily’s tragic fate: pressure from her father; inequality between men and women in love and scapegoat to the Southern tradition.
Key Words: Emily; tragedy; patriarchy
摘要:
《献给艾米丽的玫瑰》是美国作家威廉福克纳的著名短篇小说。以美国战后南方社会变迁为背景,讲述了贵族后裔艾米丽小姐充满悲剧的一生。艾米丽承受了来自男权社会的种种压迫,并度过了凄惨孤独的一生。本文试探析造成艾米丽悲剧一生的三个原因,父权制下的家长压迫,男女在爱情中的不平等,以及南方传统的替罪羊。
关键词:艾米丽;悲剧;父权社会
Introduction
Being a part of Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha circle, A Rose for Emily described the tragic life story of Emily, a descendant to a declining aristocratic family. With a noble family ground, Puritan takes a large part in Emily’s formative years. Her despotic and manipulative father drove all the young men away from Emily and turned her into a left-over. After her father ’s death, she encountered with a Yankee named Homer Barron and decided to tie the knot with him, which was not approved by Homer. Emily chose an extreme way to make him stay, poisoned him to death and placed the corpse on her bed. To keep the secret she lived a lonely life and it was not unfolded till her death. With a depressed setting, the Gothic style short story shocked readers and left them thinking about the reasons to Emily’s tragedy.
I. Pressure from her dad in a patriarchy family
In a patriarchy society, women are regarded as subordinates and affiliation to men. Located in a powerless and passive position, women are obliged to keep silent and obedient. “A slender figure in white” showed Emily’ tenderness, weakness, and purity; “his back to her” suggested that she was protected and overshadowed by her father, who cared nothing about Emily’s intention and refused to communicate with her ; “clutching a horsewhip” whipped away Emily’s followers, as well as chances for her to contact the outside world. She became silent and isolated, which set a stage for her twisted personality later on. Regarding all men in town inferior to his daughter or his noble family, Emily’s father simply ignored her longing to love as girl and turned her into the incarnation of carrying on traditions. Overshadowed by her father, Emily gradually lost her ego and had no idea how to face life by herself after her father’s death.
II. Inequality between men and women in love
The one and only love experience in Emily’s life was with Homer Barron, and ended tragically. She cut her hair short after her father’s death showed her preparation for a new life and expectations to a good future. However, the sort of tragic and serene look indicated her futile effort and irreversible fate. Her depressed desire for love for so many years was fired into insane addiction to Homer. Despite all the censure and reproach, she was sunk in the joys love had brought her. She knew nothing about men’s eager to power and status, instead of emotions or so. Love was her everything while Homer refused to be bound by her. Emily was so devoted to love that she lost herself. On the contrary, Homer ’s love faded away quickly and he struggled to keep his integrity. In such a dilemma, when she prepared for marring him, ordering man ’s toilet set in silver and buying a complete outfit of men ’s clothing, including a nightshirt, the man was thinking about leaving her after construction work, Emily could not find a way to tackle. Finally, she poisoned Homer to death with arsenic and hided his dead body in a room upstairs, decked and furnished as for a
bridal. From the curtains of rose color, the rose-shaded lights, the dressing table and delicate array of crystal we can see Emily’s romance and elegance. Rose, a symbol for love; rose color, a represent of romance all revealed a woman with love for life and expectations for future. However, it was this exact woman who did something really horrible. She poisoned Homer and slept with his rotten corpse for so many years. Such Necrophilia, horrible and disgusting in the eyes of common people, is the only way for Emily to remember her one and only love in life.
III. Scapegoat to southern tradition
American society has seen great changes after Civil War, the declining of feudal influence and the rising of bourgeois. Southern plantation was inevitably punched by industrialization. In the painful and chaotic reality of losing wealth and reputation, aristocrats tried to resist the social progressing. As an incarnation of southern tradition, Emily was respected and even dreaded by the town. So when she fell in love with Homer, the northerner, representing emerging bourgeois, scolding became inevitable. Due to the lack of understanding and harsh requirements, the town pushed her to death and buried her as a scapegoat to the southern tradition.
Conclusion
Emily ’s desire to love being ignored by her father, effort to love being trampled by Homer, personal interest being manipulated by the mass have thrown her off the cliff. She could neither resist the reality nor enjoy love, kinship, or friendship, and came to the end of her life alone.
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