William Faulkner 's A Rose For Emily And The Yellow Wallpaper

How does one distinguish the difference between reality and fantasy? Can our realities be so complex and unwanted that we are simply unable to grasp it? Coming to terms with actuality allows us to accept and find who we are. If we choose to neglect and become unaware with reality we may become delusional to the point of becoming insane. Feminist Charlotte Gilman’s (1860-1935) “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Mississippi native William Faulkner’s (1897-1962) “A Rose for Emily” both contain extreme delusional characters (“Charlotte Perkins Gilman”, “William Faulkner”). These characters lose touch with the real world and slowly begin to exhibit madness. Although both characters are unable to grasp reality, they both express distinct methods that show the severity and capability of their insanity.

In the short stories “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner and “The Yellow Wallpaper”” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the protagonists experience mental illness, loneliness, feelings of being in control of their lives, and feelings of being insane. Both main characters struggle against male domination and control. The two stories take place in the late 1800’s - early 1900’s, a time where men’s place in society was superior to that of women. Each story was written from a different perspective and life experiences. “A Rose for Emily” was written by a man and told in third personal narration, while “The Yellow Wallpaper” was written by a female and told in first person.

If we compare William Faulkner's two short stories, 'A Rose for Emily' and 'Barn Burning', he structures the plots of these two stories differently. However, both of the stories note the effect of a father¡¦s teaching, and in both the protagonists Miss Emily and Sarty make their own decisions about their lives. The stories present major idea through symbolism that includes strong metaphorical meaning. Both stories affect my thinking of life.

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.

In William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily," a series of interconnected events collectively represent a single theme in the story. Symbolism is the integral factor involved in understanding the theme. "A Rose for Emily's" dominant theme is the search for love and security, a basic human need which can be met unfavorably in equivocal environments. Faulkner's use of symbolism profoundly develops the theme of the story, bringing to light the issues of morality that arise from a young woman's struggle to find love.

The trails and tribulations of life can cause a person to go down a road they could have never imagined. Some people are able to rise above the issues that come their way and while others become consumed by their problems. In a male dominated society, the issues of women are often pushed to the side and they are left to deal with them alone. Therefore, some women become abused by their thoughts and problems due to the fact that they do not have the ability to tackle them alone. It becomes an internal and external battle for the scorned woman to please herself, husband (or father) and the society at the same time. In the short stories, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by

The question of gender domination comes to the fore when the two texts are considered. Suffice to say that both A Rose for Emily and The Yellow Wallpaper were written at the turn of last century when male domination was rampant and prevalent. Emily, the protagonist in A Rose for Emily lives under strict control and domination of her father. The first and perhaps the most enduring image of dominance and control is depicted where Emily is seen in the background while her father stands “in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip” (Faulkner, 2012). This depicts both parental and gender domination.

In the Victorian era, women were thought to be weaker than men, thus prone to frailty and "female problems." They were unable to think for themselves and only valuable as marriage material. The women in Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" and Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" are driven insane because they feel pigeonholed by the men in their lives. They retreat into their own respective worlds as an escape from reality, and finally rebel in the only ways they can find.

The origin of patriarchal control was defined by the productivity that men are stronger than women, so they acquired an ability to hunt in order to support the society. Indeed, these had improved the status of men. To date, patriarchal control is prevalent and still a profound issue that women live to be obedient and serve men, especially in late nineteenth century American society in which women cannot have their autonomy. In William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper, both of them are elaborating the women under patriarchy either father or husband, moreover, revealing the tragedy form under this authority. In A Rose for Emily, Faulkner depicts a young woman that was rigorous controlled by her father. After her father’s demise, she was still manipulated by this invisible power. In The Yellow Wallpaper, Gilman portrays a woman who was kept by her husband in a room with yellow wallpaper where she feel revulsion to stay in. Eventually, lose her mind. Both stories have their victims, obviously, the female characters are the victims of the patriarchal control. In both stories, Emily and Jane was approaching tragedy step by step, because the devastated of social, sexual/physical, and psychological oppression came from the patriarchal control.

At first talking about the author can be essential to go through the topic. William Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi in 1897. He became Famous from the set of novels that explore the South’s historical legacy, fraught and violent present. His works are usually rooted in his fictional city in the county of Mississippi, Yoknapatawpha. This setting which was the microcosm of the south he imaginarily knew it very well. He could look into as binoculars which he could go through the society and people. He was particularly interested in the moral implications in the history. It - “A ROSE for Emily”- was first published on April 30, 1930. This is the time of the high modernism with the rise of its elements. Faulkner once

People can easily influence our behavior and impact our ideas to do what is socially acceptable. This makes it difficult for individuals to express their emotions or do what they desire. In many ways, this is similar to how women of the past dealt with a society that did not favor their ambition, and ultimately, saw them as inferior. Because of this, women had unwillingly accepted their gender role which caused mental anguish that led to hysterical behaviors. Two works of literature that display this internal struggle women goes through are Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.” The two protagonist from these short stories, the unnamed narrator and Emily, display symptoms of “hysteria” because they experience conflicts between their individual desires and social influences that either repress their feelings or displace their feelings.

The stories, “A Rose for Emily” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” both display how external dominance, isolation, and judgment from the outside world may cause one to lose their right mind. In both stories, the main characters begin to sink into further isolation from the outside world, leaving reality in the past.

A deeper look at William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and Charlotte Perkins Gilman “Yellow Wall Paper” shows that the authors illustrate the isolation, repression and confinement of women in a male dominated and sexist society during the nineteenth century. The stories show the enormous effect repression has on the emotional and mental health of the opposite sex. Naomi Nkealah states that in patriarchal cultures, power is vested in the hands of men and therefore women 's needs are classed as secondary (Nkealah). The protagonists in the two short stories come from patriarchal societies where men are considered superior to women. Consequently, the women are clearly oppressed and unhappy leading to a mental decline. The authors of both stories use symbolism, imagery and tone to make the stories more meaningful and to help readers connect to the characters at a deeper level. However, “A Rose for Emily” is told from a third person’s limited perspective giving the reader an objective view of the characters and situation while “A Yellow Wall Paper” is told from the first person narrator point of view which garners empathy towards the protagonist. The different point of views give the stories completely different outlooks.

As any reader can see, " A Rose for Emily" is one of the most authentic short stories by Faulkner. His use of characterization, narration, foreshadowing, and symbolism are four key factors to why Faulkner's work is idealistic to all readers.

In “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner uses imagery and symbolism to both illustrate and strengthen the most prevalent theme; Emily’s resistance to change. William Faulkner seems to reveal this theme through multiple descriptions of Miss Grierson’s actions, appearance, and her home. Throughout the short story it is obvious that Emily has a hard time letting go of her past, she seems to be holding onto every bit of her past. Readers see this shown in several ways, some more obvious than others.