Feminism In A Rose For Emily

In the short story A Rose for Emily written by William Faulkner, readers are immersed in the narrative of a supposed town member who describes the impact that the recent death of an old woman has had upon their small community. In the narrative, readers are taken on a journey through the life of Miss Emily, an old, lonely woman who is seemingly frozen in her own timeframe. As the story unfolds, readers learn about the various tragedies Emily encountered in her lifetime such as the sudden death of her controlling father as well as her alienation from other family members that leaves her utterly alone following his death. Audiences also learn about events that happened throughout Emily’s life that both molded her as a person and aided in shaping her reputation around the town. From her controversial relationship with a construction worker named Homer Barron to her suspicious purchase of arsenic at the local drug store, there is no question that Emily lived under the constant scrutiny of her fellow townspeople. After reading the initial sentences, it can be concurred that this story doesn’t simply describe the life of an old, questionably insane woman, but also the story of the age-old battle between old and new. Through symbolism and an artful arrangement of the events described, Faulkner is able to meticulously weave a tale of the clash between newer and older generations’ views and standards.

A reason that is presented as to why she has so little family other than her father is because he once had a falling out with some other relatives in Alabama, so the two sides refuse to come together. Even after Mr. Grierson dies, the Alabama kin “had not even been represented at the funeral.” (Act III) This once again showcases the loneliness of Miss Emily because she did not even have her own family to comfort her in a dark time. By being all alone, her unresolved feelings could have contributed to the abandonment issues. From the suggested abandonment issues, the reader can start to see that possibility of Emily taking matters in her own hand if given the chance. Besides just foreshadowing, her family history can also be argued to be the foundation of Miss Emily’s instability with her loneliness she needs to resolve being a result of their actions.

Emily was kept confined from all that surrounded her. Her father had given the town folks a large amount of money which caused Emily and her father to feel superior to others. “Grierson’s held themselves a little too high for what they really were” (Faulkner). Emily’s attitude had developed as a stuck-up and stubborn girl and her father was to blame for this attitude. Emily was a normal

Critic James H. Picker once wrote, “To classify, to regard fiction as an object can be taken apart and then put back together, is only one way to approach and participate in the work of literature; but it is not the only way. Once students grasp this truth, literature becomes dynamic, alive and ‘available”. In the short story, “A Rose for Emily”, writer William Faulkner uses plot, character and setting to demonstrate Emily’s refusal to transition into the “New South”.

This annotated bibliography is designed to give the readers comprehensive understand of how the theme of feminism is manifested in William Faulkner short story A Rose for Emily. The information gathered about the story was mainly taken from scholarly journals and credible internet sources. The information gathered on the primary text gives and in-depth and critical look on the topic feminism. Through ongoing secondary research literary critics have a wide interpretations of the primary sources. In relation to the topic feminism, literary critics say that feminism can be seen in the story. Issues that literary critics emphases on are the reason behind the feminism theme. Some say it is because of the author personality, while others say it is just the writer expressing what he sees around him during the time that the story was written. These interpretation by literary critics have influenced me not only to look at the words in story but also to look at the author. Further research on the author would be useful, which will give me a full understand of who he is and what was going on when the story was written.

William Faulkner was a 20th Century American poet, screenwriter, and novelist who won a Nobel Peace prize in Literature in 1949 and was an author of two Pulitzer prizes. He was part of a prominent family in Mississippi that lost its prosperity and power during the Civil War. “In his works William Faulkner used the American South as a microcosm for the universal theme of time…whose reappearing characters grow older and cannot cope with the social change” (Larinde 1). “A Rose for Emily” has an accurate portrayal of the historical period it was written describing the social attitudes, moral implications, and racism of the Old South during the post-Civil War time period.

There are three main sections to a literary interaction, which are emphasis on the text, emphasis on the source and emphasis on the receiver. Under emphasis on the receiver there are several different critical approaches including feminist criticism. Feminist criticism focuses on the critique of female writers, the role of female characters, and how those roles are portrayed by their characteristics and often demeaning actions. In “A Rose for ‘A Rose for Emily,’” Judith Fetterley states that “A Rose for Emily” is a “story of a woman victimized and betrayed by the system of sexual politics, who nevertheless has discovered, within the structures that victimize her, sources of power for herself” (Fetterley 745). The

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner presents yet another example of a woman who possesses feelings of adoration and hatred but is constantly in despair and isolation because of the male influences in her life. Like the woman, Delia, in “Sweat”, she holds these hateful and even fearful feelings held up inside of herself until she acts out and does something drastic, for example, murdering Homer Barron (913). In “A Rose for Emily”, like in “Sweat”, the male figures are characterized as being very authoritative and controlling, in the case of Emily, her father is this male figure. The narrator provides a detailed description of him next to Emily as others pictured them, as a “tableau”. “Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the backflung front door.”(909). The imagery of the father clutching the whip next to the fragile Emily against a such a pure white background brings one to see and acknowledge the dominating and controlling nature of their relationship, better than any passage of conversation ever could

Sexuality and the depiction of gender roles constitute a central theme in William Faulkner’s story, A Rose for Emily. Primarily, it appears as if the entire plot revolves around the theme of sexuality. Homer, one of the key characters in the novel is depicted as a being gay. At some point, the narrator mentions that Homer liked men. Furthermore, his name Homer sounds like a homosexual.

Woman for the longest time have been seen as the weaker of the two genders. In writings, in films, and in society dating back before the time of Plato, women were portrayed and looked upon as weak and needing of protections by men. A man’s need to protect a woman gives him a sense of superiority which can only mean that the woman is inferior. What these men do not realize is that their need for constant protection can lead a woman to become too sheltered where she begins to feel withdrawn, desperate, and can drive them to insanity. This is the situation with Emily Grierson in William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily.

Faulkner cannot be criticized for the creation of a bad vision of women in the case of Emily Grierson. The character was a victim of circumstances, where the gender issue was only one of several factors. But it played its role in tragic events. From the lens of feminist theory, the major problem of the story was the fact people believed women cannot deal with their problems (even personal) by themselves. As Faulkner focused on Miss Emily, it is hard to claim, if this attitude was limited by female representatives of noble families. But it is possible to suggest women of all social classes were closely watched by moral crusaders. Forcing women to follow customs, like marrying before thirty, they simultaneously disrupted their attempts by additional requirements. It could be the social status, like in the case of Miss Emily, or any other feature. But the result was the same: the community felt sorry for woman, who could not satisfy its requirements, despite the fact the society made it impossible or too difficult by itself. Miss Emily’s actions were extreme, but they reflected a strong pressure a woman could feel in such

Emily behaves the way she does for numerous reasons. She is born into an aristocratic family. Emily is brought up as a Southern belle by her father and is placed on a pedestal by the townspeople. The Grierson’s are known in town for being extremely wealthy and having the nicest house in Jefferson, Yoknapatawpha County. Due to the fact that her father, Mr. Grierson, keeps her isolated and socially restricted as a child, she behaves abnormally. Emily feels as if she is pressured to live up to her father’s expectations. Because Emily is kept away from everything, she is not yet exposed to the real world.

In the 19th century a woman's main duty was to take care of the household. They were in charge of the cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children. During this time, most women didn’t work, and weren’t supposed to spend their time on getting an education. Since women couldn't get educations, they had to be married because they weren’t able to support themselves. The women were in charge of the family and house, while the man was in charge of some duties in the house and making money to support them. In the

In the eyes of the folks who lived in Jefferson, Mississippi, Miss Emily Grierson was a very eccentric woman. She kept to herself, only employed one servant in her house, and was a shut in for the last thirty years of her life. Even before she became a recluse, the townspeople found her odd because of how she acted towards them. Emily was considered eccentric because she did things no normal woman of her station would do, and yet she still tries to hang on to her traditional ways in fear of change. Renee Curry, author of “Gender and authorial limitation in Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily,’” suggests that “Faulkner designs this narrative position as a reflection of his own stance toward patriarchal and societal structures and

Miss Emily lived her life almost throughout on display before the town of Jefferson and ultimately this resulted in her lack of socialization and human interaction. The fault in this matter lies with her father, the respected mayor of Jefferson, who protected her and kept her under thumb, driving away every suitor that came to call. People came to picture poor Miss Emily as “a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung front door” (Faulkner 35). In this visualization, her father clearly stood between her and the real world as a threatening and domineering figure. One might believe that such a prominent figure would interact with the public on a daily basis in a positive manner, but it appears that the Grierson status only encouraged the prying eyes of the townspeople to impede on Miss Emily’s