A Feminism Analysis of Emily’s Rebellion

李海琴

Abstract：A Rose for Emily presents Miss Emilys tragic life in a patriarchal society. It has long been the interest of many critics since it was published because of its application of gothic style and symbolism. Beyond that，Emilys rebellion against the patriarchal society is also reflected in the story and deserves more concern from scholars. So to analyze Emilys rebellion from feminism perspective could provide a new perspective for understanding this classic short story.

Key Words： A Rose for Emily； feminism； patriarchal society； rebellion

1. Introduction

A rose for Emily， one of the most famous short stories written by William Faulkner， presents a series of changes in traditions and lifestyles in southern society after the American Civil War （1861-1865）. Emily suffers too much from her fathers death，lovers dishonesty and townspeoples rooted prejudice. As Fiedler （1960） remarks，“Without honor and idea of morality，they can betray righteously and have a deep sense of loyalty fatuously.”Some scholars argue that William Faulkner has his own brand of misogyny. However， Faulkners sympathy and respect for Miss Emily is also reflected in the short story. “The creation of the female character and the description of her tragic life indicate Faulkners spirit of humanity completely.” （Xiao，1994）. In the novel，Miss Emily fights against the patriarchal society to pursue rights and love，which indicates her braveness of rebellion. This dissertation tries to analyze Emilys spirit of rebellion which ends in failure in feminism perspective and points out the fact that in the patriarchal society reflected in the story，women still could not achieve what they cherish with the help of feminism.

2. Emilys Rebellion against Her Father

In A Rose for Emily，Mr. Grierson，who is severe and autocratic，strongly influences Miss Emily during his life time. “We had long thought of them as 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.”（Faulkner， 2010） Miss Emily is an image of pure angel while a spraddled silhouette and horsewhip both symbolize that Mr. Grierson is arbitrary and peremptory. Without wife and other relatives， he controls Miss Emily， thus the poor lady has no right to contact with others or choose her desirable lover.

As Miss Emilys only kindred， Mr. Grierson regards her as his own property and makes her unmarried until he passes away. In the relationship between Miss Emily and Mr. Grierson， what exist are control and obedience， without paternal love as that in normal families. Thus， Mr. Griersons autocracy is said to be one of the chief reasons for Miss Emilys tragedy.

Emily is almost a wordless female character， however the poor lady fights against her fathers influence after his death in her own way. When the ladies come to call at her house and prepare to offer aid and condolence，“Miss Emily met them at the door， dressed as usual and with no trace of grief on her face.”（Faulkner， 2010）Emily does not show her sorrow and pretends nothing has happened and tries to calm down. Emilys refusal to dispose of her fathers body indicates that Emily tries to cling to the person who has controlled her fate and robbed her happiness all her life. Besides， two years after her fathers death， Miss Emily fells in love with Homer Barron who is such a kind of person that her father must not be pleased at. These series of Emilys rebellion could be seen her rebellion against her father.

3. Emilys Rebellion against Her Lover

Emily falls in love with the Yankee deeply and even starts to prepare for their wedding. “Two days later we learned that she had bought a complete outfit of mens clothing， including a night shirt， and we said，‘They are married.” （Faulkner，2010） On the contrary， Homer just regards his dating with Emily as a kind of ostentatious display and their relationship for him is just a game. Homer Barrons attitude reflects males attitude towards female and marriage， that is， in the late 19th century women are regarded as mere appendix to men and women must be faithful lover and if a couple splits up， women will be considered to be not chaste which will be sufficient to disarrange her whole life. Homers unfaithfulness completely extinguishes Emilys wonderful dream.

Homers treachery makes townspeople feel pity for Emily and they think she would kill herself when they hear she has bought poison. The unexpected thing is that Miss Emily does not roll with the punches； instead， she strives for her love in her special way. When Miss Emily passes away， townspeople find that there is a body lying in the attitude of an embrace in her bed. In face of Homers dishonesty， Miss Emily chooses to kill him to let him accompany her forever. And until Miss Emilys death， the bridal bas been preserved for almost forty years which also suggests Miss Emilys desire to pursue her perfect marriage and happiness.

4.Emilys Rebellion against Townspeople

The narrator of the story is townspeople， in their eyes， Emily， the lady of south declining aristocracy， should inherit and obey their south tradition. “Alive， Miss Emily had been a tradition， a duty， and a care； a sort of hereditary obligation of the town.” （Faulkner， 2010） Townspeople observe Emilys life and talk and criticize her various behaviors.

According to their southern tradition， girls marriage should be decided by their father or their seniority， and the husband that they choose should be of equal status. When Homer becomes Emilys lover， townspeople begin to be uneasy. In their eyes，Homer Barron is a totally different individual from Miss Emily， in property， social status， and knowledge. The description of Homer in the story indicates that the couple are not well suited each other in the traditional idea. Some ladies remark that“Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner，a day laborer”and even force the Baptist minister and invite the poor ladys cousin to persuade Emily to give up her love.

However，Miss Emily does not give in to the traditional idea and is brave enough to pursue her love. When townspeople are dissatisfied with her relationship with Homer， she still carries her head enough and dates with Homer as usual， which apparently indicates Emilys determination to fight against townspeoples rooted prejudice. Emily leads an affluent life since she comes to the world， but when her father passes away， she has nothing except the huge house which makes Emily gets close to the real world. In order to earn her a living， Emily fits up a studio and gives lessons in china painting when she is about forty. At that time， women has no equal right as men to have a profession， while Emily tries her best to break the regulation. It can be said that the reasons for Emilys giving lessons in china painting are to pursue independence and to earn townspeoples respect again， and the latter is one of the respects that reflect Emilys spirit of feminist rebellion.

5. Conclusion

A Rose for Emily starts with Emilys death， and ends with Emily death which echoes to the beginning. Miss Emily suffers great calamities， which lead to Emilys tragedy gradually. In face of such a terrible circumstance， Emily- does not give in. Instead she devotes all her life to pursue her values， which indicates her braveness of feminist rebellion but all her efforts are in vain. The reason is that after American civil war， the south was still a patriarchal society and women had no right and ability to be independent in the society. Emilys tragedy suggests that in the patriarchal society， the power of feminism is not strong enough to help women to rebel against the world for equal rights and status as men. These points shed a brilliant light on the research questions. Although Miss Emily fails finally， modern women still could learn from the tenacious fighting spirit of Miss Emily to pursue their true independence and equal status and rights.

References：

[1]Fiedler L.Love and Death in the American Novel [M].New York： Stein and Days，1960.

[2]Qi T.M.The Gothic Style of A Rose for Emily[D]，Jilin university，2007.

[3]呂富媛.對女權（女性）主義的新認識——建立女人學的必要性[A]. 第二屆中國科技哲學及交叉學科研究生論壇論文集（博士卷）Feminism，2008.

[4]肖明翰.大家族的沒落——福克納和巴金家庭小說比較研究[M].桂林：廣西師范大學出版社，1994.

[5]朱振武.《一支給艾米麗的玫瑰花》——福克納短篇小說（評注本）[M].上海：華東理工大學出版社， 2010.

（作者單位：中國石油大學（北京））