摘 要
本文首先结合此书作者福克纳及其当时的创作环境，指出故事背景对研究悲剧推动力量的重要意义。接着概述这篇小说及艾米丽的悲剧人生, 引出研究的主题。然后详细阐述推动艾米丽悲剧发生的三大力量，即艾米丽作为普通妇女和贵族小姐的身份，艾米丽在不同时期的性格变化，以及她的父亲、情人及镇上人们给她带来的影响，并且逐一展开讨论。最后进行总结，提出正是以上因素的存在导致了悲剧的发生。本研究的目的和意义在于提供更多的因素去探讨悲剧的原因，完善悲剧因素的分析，从而更好地解读这篇小说。
关键词：艾米丽；悲剧；推动力量
ABSTRACT
This paper first points out the significance of the background of the story in exploring the driving forces of the tragedy by introducing Faulkner, the author of this short novel. Next it summarizes the story and Emily’s tragic life in order to elicit the topic. In the later part it sets forth three main factors that drive Emily crazy and cause the tragedy, which refers to Emily’s identity, her character in different periods and the people around her. Each of the factors is elaborated into two or three subtitles to complete the discussion. It finally makes a conclusion that these driving forces all together result in Emily’s terrible life and the tragic ending. The purpose and the significance of this paper is to perfect the reasons of the tragedy and offer more factors to discuss these reasons, hoping readers can gain a better understanding about this novel and its tragedy.
Keywords：Emily; tragedy; driving forces
Contents
1. Introduction 1
2.The author and the story 2
2.1 The author and his background 2
2.2 The tragedy 3
3. Study on the driving forces of the tragedy 5
3.1 Emily’s identity 5
3.1.1 As an ordinary woman 5
3.1.2 As a noble lady 6
3.2 Emily’s character 7
3.2.1 Character before her father’s death 7
3.2.2 Character after her father’s death 8
3.2.3 Character of resistance 10
3.3 People around Emily 11
3.3.1 Emily’s father 11
3.3.2 Emily’s lover 12
3.3.3 The townspeople 12
4. Conclusion 15
Acknowledgements 16
References 17
1．Introduction
William Faulkner is one of the most creative and influential American novelists in 20th century [1] 89. A Rose for Emily is the masterpiece of his short novels. The feature of the novel is that it can put people to concentrate on reading the whole story without a break. Although the ending is painful, it’s very thought-provoking. It tells us Emily’s tragic life, through which she becomes a distorted and withered rose, a murder of love from a gentle girl. A Rose for Emily, since its inception in 1930, has received widespread attention. The novel has become a constant subject of discussion. Most discussions of this short story center on Emily Grierson and her tragedy.
The reasons for the tragedy are the issues people would like to explore. To correctly find the cause of Emily’s tragedy needs to have a faithful analysis on the original text. Scholars interpret it from different perspectives. Some people hold that Emily's tragedy lies in the traditional morality, some think that the reason is the metamorphosis of Emily’s own character, while others believe that it’s because of Emily’s father and the patriarchy. This research will study on the basis of previous works, making a summary and putting forward some own views. The paper will focus on the driving forces that affect Emily’s life slowly and invisibly, and finally result in the terrible tragedy of her whole life. These driving forces will be discussed from three aspects, each of which plays an indispensable role in this tragic novel.
2. The author and the story
The driving forces of this tragedy can not be fully understood without the research of some related factors. For the purpose of discussing the driving forces more completely and correctly, it is very necessary to achieve a better understanding of the author of this novel A Rose for Emily, and the synopsis of the whole story should also be considered.
2.1 The author and his background
Faulkner is one of the greatest American novelists in the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949 because of the incomparable contribution he has made to the contemporary American literature.
Faulkner, as the most outstanding representative of Southern American Literature, has devoted himself to describing and creating the southern community. From the year 1925 to 1962, he has written 19 novels and 75 short stories. Among the writers in the south of United States, Faulkner is absolutely one of the most dazzling stars. The period Faulker lives is also the time for transformation in Southern America. As a result his works show the world with the unique traits that period had.
The slavery in Southern America disappears after the war between states. For those southerners who are deeply immersed in the romantical past, the former glory and old traditions are gone. People deeply cherish the memory of the old things, while they also
realize that social development is inevitable. Social transformation brings about significant changes and conflictions to the southern people. Faulkner captures the changes and he creates a lot of characters that has something to do with that period. Those characters on the one hand show that Faulkner has great passion for his hometown, the south land. On the other hand they reflect his hatred about the slavery, racialism and Puritanism. From Faulkner’s short novel A Rose for Emily, we can see his contradictory feelings about southern America [2] 63.
William Faulkner is the offspring of a lord, his great-grandfather William Clark Falkner is a legendary figure. But the family’s financial situation has been dropped since the next generation. Faulkner is very familiar with those stories happened during the process of the family decline, from which he draws a lot of material for his later creation.
Born and growing up in New Albany, Mississippi, a place filled with traditional atmosphere of South America, Faulkner is deeply influenced by family traditions and customs of the south. His works have a unique sense of southerners, characterizing the sensitive issues of people’s status, conflictions and getting along with others. He vividly depicts the image of the southerners.
William Faulkner pays his attention to criticise the realities of American society, attacking its social abuses, hoping to create a new moral concepts and values to save the society. It is precisely because he is the writer who was born in the south, and he is more familiar with his own homeland and the lifestyle there, which are used as the materials in his works to reflect the history of Southern America , ethics and morality, customs and beliefs [3] 383.
The destiny of women shaped by Faulkner are always miserable. They are oppressed by the system of the society and affected by a lot of restrictions. One of Faulkner’s writing purposes is hoping to reflect the reality and criticise the unfair situation.
2.2 The tragedy
The theme is developed through an exceptionally well-crafted story. Told from a third-person plural point of view, it reveals the reactions of the town to Miss Emily. The story takes place in the fictional town of Jefferson, in the south of America. It demonstrates the heroine Emily’s tragic life from the neighbors’ perspective. The content of the story is about how Emily turns into a devil of murder from an original dignified lady, sleeping with a dead body for more than forty years, which may has something to do with Faulkner’s special affection for the south of America.
A Rose for Emily is divided into five sections. The first two sections opens with a description of the Grierson house in Jefferson. It is known around town that Emily Grierson has no guests in her home for the past decade, except her black servant who runs errands for her to and from the market. The Griersons has always been a very proud Southern family. Mr. Grierson, Emily’s father, believes no man is suitable for his daughter and doesn't allow her to date. Emily is largely dependent upon her father, and is left foundering when he dies. After Mr. Grierson's death, Emily does not allow the authorities to remove his body for three days, claiming he is still alive. Finally She breaks down and allows them to take the body away for a quick burial.
Having been immersed in her father’s death, Emily meets her beau, Homer Barron, a foreman from the north. Homer comes to Jefferson with a crew of men to build sidewalks outside the Grierson’s home. They soon fall in love with each other. After Emily and Homer are seen driving through town several times, Emily visits a druggist. There, she asks to purchase arsenic. At that moment citizens of Jefferson believe that Miss Emily is going to commit suicide since Homer has not yet proposed in the beginning of section four. The townspeople contact and invite Emily's two cousins to comfort her. Shortly after their arrival, Homer leaves and then returns again. After staying in Jefferson for one night, Homer is never seen again. After Homer’s disappearance, Emily begins to age, gain weight, and is rarely seen outside of her home. Soon Miss Emily passes away.
The final section begins with the townspeople immediately going through her house after Emily's funeral,. They come across a room on the second floor which no one has seen for 40 years. They discover a dusty room strangely decorated as a bridal room. The room contains a man's tie, suit and shoes, and a silver toilet set which Miss Emily purchases for Homer years before his disappearance. Homer's body lays on the bed, dressed in a nightshirt. Next to him is an impression of a head on a pillow where the townspeople find a single “long strand of iron-gray hair”. It is thus implied that Emily not only kills Homer with the arsenic, but also has an intimate relationship with his corpse up t
o her death.
We can see from the above introduction that the whole story is just the tragedy of Miss Emily, which exists from Emily’ birth to her death. Although our first reaction to the short story might be one of horror or disgust, our attention has been deeply caught by the whole story, espacially by Emily’s tragedy. How does Emily turn out to be a muderer and what causes her tragedy? The times Emily was born and grows up, the environment she lives and faces, have determined the inevitability of the tragedy [4] 39. Just as Faulkner said: This is an unavoidable tragedy. Nothing can stop it [5] 198.
3. Study on the driving forces of the tragedy
Impressed by the tragedy with the horrible ending, people begin to explore the profound meaning of the novel and the varied reasons of the tragedy as well. Many scholars put their focus on the study of the reasons for Emily’s tragedy from the perspective of Faulkner, concerning about the environment around Faulkner as well as his thoughts and his affections. In addition, there are maybe only one or two reasons picked up by researchers to describe Emily’s tragedy which is the result of, for example, the typical southern morality, the patriarchy or the aristocracy, etc.
When it comes to the driving forces of the tragedy, it refers to internal and external factors, subjective and objective reasons, which mix together and drive Miss Emily crazy and make the tragedy happen.
In this section, these ideas including the above patriarchy and aristocracy and so on will be combined and penetrated to discuss the tragedy.
3.1 Emily’s identity
The religion of Southern America is Christian, especially the Puritanism, which takes it for granted that man’s status are much higher than that of women. Women are discriminated, oppressed and dominated by the society which centers on men. There are much more regulations for aristocratic women so that they can not enjoy their life as ordinary people. For example, they are not allowed to marry someone who is a nobody. In addition, their behavior represents the noble class. As an ordinary woman and noble lady, Emily is restricted by her identity, which undoubtfully gives an impulse to her tragedy.
3.1.1 As an ordinary woman
Christian has considered that women are in the subordinate position. On the one hand, there is a large number of stories about women subordinate to men in The Bible, which also tells people that they lose their Eden because Eva can not resist the temptation. What’s worse, they go into the endless misery. Thus women become the root of all evil. On the other hand, in Southern America, the conception about women believes that virginity is the most important morals for women to comply. Moreover, women are only allowed to have husbands not lovers. It will be a great shame for women if they lose their virtues. These southern women who live in such environment can not grasp their own fates. They can not realize their dream with human nature suppressed and the normal desire condemned. Emily is just one of the victims. The relationship between Emily and Homer is not accepted by the townspeople, which puts some pressure on Emliy. What’s more, her lover Homer has no intention to marry her. With these impacts, Emily is compeled to make an inhumane decision to kill Homer. Desperately, she poisons him but keeps his body and accompanied by her the corpse for 40 years. She isolates herself totally from the outside world until her death [6] 68.
Southern society in America, to a certain extent, is the agricultural society which is based on manor economy. Families are undoubtedly the center of society. Of course, fathers are the cores in family and the undisputed masters. The core of southern slavery is patriarchy, which determines that the father is the absolute authority in every family, while the female is in a subordinate position. They belong to the second gender. The Second Gender 81.
As an ordinary woman living in such a society, Emily’s humanity is destructed, her personality twisted and happiness deprived. All these are the result of the patriarchy and the moral values about women, which lay a foundation for her tragedy.
3.1.2 As a noble lady
Born in Grierson Family, a distinguished and respectable family, Emily is regarded as an idol representing the ruling class and old morals of Southern America. As an aristocratic woman, Emily has to be a gentlewoman. “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town.” [9] 31 All her actions are the focus of to
wnspeople’s attention. Because
in their views, Emily is a representative of the noble class, even the southern culture. So Emily's behavior should be consistent with the image of the southern noble lady that stands for noble, chastity and perfect [3] 384.
Though Emily’s family has come down at that time, it has never affected the image in townspeople’s mind. Emily’s mother dies when she is a little baby, so she is fed by her father alone. However, Emily is treated as an article and is deprived of all her rights just because of her father. In order to keep the value and dignity of the family, her father uses all means to keep her from the temptation [4] 9. From an early age Emily has been taught the aristocratic education and been influenced by her conservative family, all which make her a typical aristocratic women. So the noblity is one of the driving forces that makes Emily an old maid.
At the same time, both her character and her thoughts are marked with traditional southern morals. She can not shake off the shackles of her noble identity, and finally she can do nothing but bow to the society and succumb to the tradition [3] 82. When Emily is treated as a monument for the old morals, her basic right of freedom and normal desire of love are deprived invisibly and drastically. Because there’s a rule for the nobility that woman can only marry the one who is much more noble and famous. She is under the supervision by others all the time, and there is no freedom for her at all. The status as a noble lady does not bring her any benefits but only the sufferings.
3.2 Emily’s character
Emily’s character, is also one of the important driving forces of her tragedy. Though her character has undergone great changes, she can not escape the tragic fate.
3.2.1 Character before her father’s death
In fact, Emily is a lambkin when her father is alive. From the townspeople’s point of view, the relationship between Emily and her father becomes a classical scene presented in their minds. “Miss Emily is a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutch a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung front door. So when she got to be thirty and she was still single.” [9] 40
She lives with her father from an early age, accepting his traditional education, following his strict discipline, complying with his decision. Therefore, her character becomes unusually docile. In addition, she is so dependent on her father that she can not control her own destiny. All of these result in Emily’s tragedy.
3.2.2 Character after her father’s death
Emily's father passes away. However, the impact and the persecution from him do not stop. She realizes that her father is her only protector. She is so dependent on her father's asylum, and she can not believe that her father leaves her forever. “The day after his death all the ladies prepared to call at the house and offer condolence and aid, as is our custom Miss Emily met them at the door, dressed as usual and with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body. Just as they were about to resort to law and force, she broke down, and they buried her father quickly.” 41
What’s worse, Emily has imperceptibly succeed to her father’s character which can be described as arbitrary, violent and conservative [8] 81. Here are two scenes quoted from the novel that can prove Emily’s tyrannical and conservative character, which has something to do with her tragedy.
Scene one takes place at Emily’s home that officials visit her and try to persuade her to pay the tax.
Her eyes, lost in the fatty ridges face, looked like two small pieces of coal pressed into a lump of dough as they moved from one face to another while the visitors stated their errand. She did not ask them to sit. She just stood in the door and listened quietly until the spokesman came to stumbling halt. Then they could hear the invisible watch ticking at the end of the gold chain. Her voice was dry and cold.
“I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me. Perhaps one of you can gain access to the city records and satisfy yourselves.”
“but we have. We are the city authorities, Miss Emily. Didn’t you get a notice from the sheriff, signed by him?”
“I received a paper, yes,” Miss Emily said, “perhaps he considers himself the sheriff… I have no tax
es in Jefferson.”
“But there is noting on the book to show that, you see we must go by the…”
“See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson.”
“But, Miss Emliy—”
“See Colonel Sartoris.” (Colonel Sartoris had been dead almost ten years.) “I have no taxes in Jefferson. Toble!” The Negro appeared. “Show these gentlemen out.” So she vanquished them, horse and foot. [9] 34
The other scene occurs at the drugstore that Emily wants to buy some poison.
“I want some poison,” she said to the druggist. She was over thirty then, still a slight women, though thinner than usual, with cold, haughty black eyes in a face the flesh of which was strained across the temples and about the eyesockets as you imagine a lighthouse-keeper’s ought to look. “I want some poison,” she said.
“Yes, Miss Emily. What kind? For rats and such? I’d recom—”
“I want the best you have. I don’t care what kind.”
The druggist named several. “they’ll kill anything up to an elephant. But what you want is—”
“Arsenic,” Miss Emily said. “Is that good one?”
“Is… arsenic? Yes, ma’am. But what you want—”
“I want arsenic.”
The druggist looked down at her. She looked back at him, erect, her face like a strained flag. “Why, of course,” the druggist said. “If that’s what you want. But the law requires you to tell what you are gong to use it for.”
Miss Emily just stared at him, her head tilted back in order to look at him eye for eye, until he looked away and went and got the arsenic and wrapped it up. The Negro delivery boy brought her the package; the druggist didn’t come back. When she opened the package at home there was written on the box, under the skull and bones: “For rats.” [9] 45
We can see clearly from the above examples that Miss Emily ignores the law
and hides her face from the tax, even rudely drives away the official whom comes for the tax. She goes in to a pharmacy to buy some poison and still looks domineering, which scares the boss and dare not come out. Such arbitrary character foreshadows the bigger tragedy in the later part of the story [8] 81.
Emily is stubborn and tyrannical, which is just like her father. She wants to occupy and control everything she has, and to keep things that once have been there. Such a mad volition urges her to make a creazy choice and finally results the grievous ending. She keeps her lover staying with her forever by poisoning him. Since then she cuts off the connection with the outside world and resists the progress of the society, living in her own world [10] 56.
3.2.3 Character of resistance
From Emily’s behavior, we are able to see not only the cultural legacy from Southern America, but also the struggle against the traditional morals and the pursuit of true love.
Though she is so deeply influenced by her father’s control that she is unable to extricate herself from feudal ideology, she dose not firmly adhere to the tradition but resists constantly. “She was sick for a long time. when we saw her again, her hair was cut short, making her look like a girl, with a vague resemblance to those angels in colored church windows—sort of tragic serene.” 43 She refuses to accept all the advices from townspeople. She goes to the jeweler’s and orders a man’s toilet set in silver, with the letter H.B. on each piece. Then she buys a complete outfit of men’s clothing, including a nightshirt.
The resistance against Puritanism and traditional morals is full of difficulty and requires great courage. Emily is bold to confront the accusations from townspeople and she takes on too much pressure. It is commendable that Emily has such courage and dedication. However, it is impossible for Emily to break with the southern culture and obtain complete freedom and liberation. Under the double pressure from the public voice and her inner thoughts, her resistance dooms to failure.
Contradictions in her character make her life much more tragic. When Homer does not want to get married to Emily, she, if resists against those feudal concepts completely, will give up Homer and look for another love. The tragedy of her fate might be changed. But she gives up to resist and choose to comply with the traditional morals. She believes that virginity
is the most important morality for women, and women are only allowed to have their husbands not lovers. It is clear that Emily feels guilty when she finally finds that the lover can not turn out to be her husband. She doesn’t have courage any longer to bear the imputation of “the abandoned woman of losing chastity”. So the choice she makes is to kill her sweetheart, and sleep with the body more than four decades. Emily gains her ends in such a horrifying way to combine with her lover, and finish their wedding, with the hope that it can maintain the dignity and morality of her family [3] 386.
3.3 people around Emily
There are so many factors that drive Emily crazy and cause her tragedy. It is not only her identity and character, but also the people around her including her father, her lover and the townspeople. With those driving forces, it is inevitable for Emily to live a tragic life.
3.3.1 Emliy’ father
Fathers are considered as the core of the family and the authority of the household. Emily’s father takes the honor of his family upon everything, so he would rather sacrifice anything to maintain the family’s status. He is a man who is cold-blooded, ruthless and self-concerned that overrides her daughter’s happiness and deprives her rights of freedom. From the classical scene which describes the relation between Emily and her father, we can draw a conclusion that her father not only restricts her freedom, but also whips in her daughter’s pursuers, which makes Emily still single when she gets to be thirty.
Her father’s death, to a certain extent, is a liberation for Emily. However, she can not accept the news and refuses to face the reality. When the townspeople come to offer condolence and aid, she tells them that her father is not dead and does not let them dispose her father’s body. The only thing her father leaves her when he dies is a big house which chains her freedom and happiness. Or perhaps the thing he gives her is the character which can be described as odd, conservative and arbitrary. Just as it depicts in the novel “When we knew that this was to be expected too; as if that qualiity of her father which had thwarted her woman’s life so many times had been too virulent and too furious to die” 19
3.3.2 Emily’s lover
The driving forces of Emily’s tragedy not only come from her father, but also from her lover Homer. Emily tries to start her new life after her father’s death, while Homer Barron appears. “The town had just let the contracts for paying the sidewalks, and in the summer after her father’s death they began the work. The construction company came with riggers and mules and machinery, and a foreman named Homer Barron, a Yankee—a big, dark, ready man, with a big voice and eyes lighter than his face. The little boys would follow in groups to hear him cuss the riggers, and the riggers singing in time to rise and fall of picks. Pretty soon he knew everybody in town. Whenever you heard a lot of laughing anywhere about the square, Homer Barron would be in the center of the group.” [9] 42
Emily is attracted by the Yankee who is so different from the townspeople. Then Emily and Homer begin to date that they drive in the buggy on Sunday afternoons. Soon Emily falls in love with him and endures a great number of pressure. She violates her father’s rules and ignores the traditional morals. She just overcomes herself little by little. “We learned that Miss Emily had been to the jeweler’s and ordered a man’s toilet set in silver, with the letters H.B. on each piece. Two days later we learned that she had bought a complete otfit of men’s clothing, including a nightshirt.” [9] 48 All these exhibit that Emily is longing for true love and happy family life.
However, the cruel reality breaks down her dream completely. “Because Homer himself had remarked—he liked men, and it was known that he drank with the younger men in the Elks’ Club—that he was not a marrying man.” [9] 46 It is a tremendous blow on Miss Emily without fail when she hears the news. Harrowed and despaired, Emily has to make a decision in order to retrieve her dignity. The brutal choice she picks is to buy the arsenic and poison Homer Barron. Since then, she hardly shows up, and sleeps with her lover’s body for the rest of her life.
3.3.3 The townspeople
For the people in town Jefferson, they are proud of Emily because she is a symbol of the old so
uthern culture and the past glory. She bears the responsibility to be an idol. There is a sentence describing people’s thoughts suitably, which is “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care” [9] 31. The townspeople can put up with Emily’s odd and tyrannical character but they can not stand her relation with Homer. So they treat Emily indulgently and rigorously as well. No matter what their attitude toward Emily is, their excessive observation and criticism lead Emily to the tragedy.
The issues of paying tax and disposing of bad smell show that the townspeople indulge and tolerate Miss Emily. “The mayor—he who fathered the edict that no Negro women should appear on the streets without an apron—remitted her tax, the dispensation dating from the death of her father on into perpetuity.” 38
They can tolerate the tax and the smell because they have to protect their idol and maintain the southern tradition. However, they can’t approve of her relation with Homer just because of the same reason. They put their focus on Emily’s privacy. When they see that Emily is dating with Homer, they begin to gossip and condemn Miss Emily. “At first we were glad that Miss Emily would have an interest, because the ladies all said, ‘Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer.’ But there were still others, older people, who said that even grief could not cause a real lady to forget noblesse oblige—without calling it noblesse oblige. They just said, ‘Poor Emily. Her kinsfolk should come to her.’ ” 50 Finally when they know that Emily buys the poison, they think she will kill herself and it will be the best thing.
The townspeople are so merciless and selfish that they would rather see Emily dying than to see the destroy of the southern morals. Because of their persistent encumbrance and intervention that push Emily to the edge of crime.
4．Conclusion
In this novel A Rose for Emily, Faulkner has made a good use of his own life experience and his special writing style. He has successfully created a character who leaves a deep impression for all the readers. The heroine Emily, who is originally a slender, graceful lady, has gradually become a horrible ugly devil. The above discussion of driving forces of the tragedy is by no means comprehensive but it can serve my purpose to provide more factors to explore the questions I care about. There are three main aspects mentioned in this paper which are Emily’s identity, her personality and the people who around her. These driving forces combine together and have a reciprocity, which result in Emily’s tragedy and make her become a criminal. The purpose of this paper is to perfect the reasons of the tragedy, hoping readers can gain a better understanding about this novel and have more fancy for it.
Acknowledgements
My initial thanks go to my supervisor Wu Qing, who patiently supervised my dis
sertation. She is always willing to help me with my study. Especially during this period, she offers me illuminating advice and suggestions. Without her help, I could not have finished this dissertation.
I am also indebted to professor Wang and other teachers who taught me before and gave me valuable knowledge and advice.
I also want to thank my friends who helped me to fix on the topic of this paper. They had not only offered me their warm encouragements but also shared me with their ideas and books.
At last, please allow me to deliver my sincere thankfulness again to all of you. Thank you!
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