Symbolism in A Rose for Emily

付玉君

Abstract： A Rose for Emily is one of the most representative short novels written by American writer—William Faulkner， which immediately aroused interest in readers owing to its suspense and a striking conclusion. The novel mainly talks about a startling story. At first， the symbolic meanings of the characters in the novel will be studied. Then the symbolic meanings of scenes will be analyzed. At the last， the paper will be developed to analyze the roses implications in the story and the whole western culture based on others research. As for the symbolism using in Faulkners works， many scholars focus on the study in single or the research of “rose”. By collecting and reading scholars literature materials， the author summarizes Faulkners symbolism in the paper and held forth a new idea which is the symbolism of characters and scenes.

Key words： William Faulkner； A Rose for Emily； characters； scene； rose； symbolism

摘 要： 《献给艾米丽的玫瑰》是美国作家威廉·福克纳的短篇小说的代表作。这篇小说因其曲折的情节和扣人心弦的结尾而引起读者的兴趣。这篇小说讲述了在南方清教徒传统下身心受到压抑而导致心理变态的艾米丽的惊心怵目的故事。本文首先分析了人物的象征意义，然后分析了场景的象征意义，最后在前人研究的基础上，拓展分析了“玫瑰”在本文乃至整个西方文化的隐含意义。对于福克纳象征手法的运用，许多学者着重于单个研究或是重点对“玫瑰”进行研究。本文通过搜集阅读他人的资料，对福克纳的象征手法进行总结，并提出新的观点，即人物与场景的象征意义。

关键词：威廉·福克纳；《献给艾米丽的玫瑰》；人物；场景；玫瑰；象征主义

1.Chapter One Introduction

Published in 1930， A Rose for Emily was one of the best known and the most widely read novel among William Faulkners short stories. The story happened at the period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when the town was learning to live with Souths loss in the civil War and the consequent dismantling of the slavery-based society that had preceded it. Because of the loss in the Civil War， people in the south led a poor life. Especially the white people， their life suddenly become poor because most of the slaves went to the north to work for the northern industry， so the white people couldnt get accustomed to the life change in a short time， but they still pretended to be noble and kept their familys dignity.

1.1 Brief introduction to William Faulkner

William Faulkner is one of the most prominent writers in American literature. He was the winner of the 1950 Nobel Prize for literature for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel. Faulkner was raised in and heavily influenced by the state of Mississippi， as well as by the history and culture of the south as a whole. When he was four years old， his entire family moved to nearby town of Oxford， where he lived on and off for the rest of his life. Oxford is the model for the town of “Jefferson” in his fiction， and Lafayette country， Mississippi， which contains the town of Oxford， is the model for his fictional Yoknapatawpha Country. Based on the southern history and social reality， his works have been regarded as the representatives of the American Southern literature.

1.2 Brief introduction to A Rose for Emily

A Rose for Emily is one of the most representative short novels written by William Faulkner in 1930. It immediately aroused interest of readers owing to its suspense and striking conclusion. The story with flashback presents a particular romance of an American lady Emily living in a declined aristocratic family of American South. Emilys father was so arrogant and proud of his noble hierarchy that he rejected each suitor of his lovely daughter， which resulted in Emilys pride and spinsterhood in thirties. When her father died， Emily was determined to abandon her aristocratic poison and plunged into a passionate love in order to pursue her personal happiness. By chance， she met a day laborer named Barron from north and frantically fell in love with him. However， a southern ladys love with a northern worker was rebuked by local people. Whats more， Barron was such a dissipated and debauchery playboy that he did not intend to marry Emily. Deserted by Barron， Emily could not accept the fact that her one and only love ended up with failure. In order to retain her love， appease others remarks and also protect her reputation， Emily poisoned Barron and concealed his corpse on her bed until her death forty years later. After Emilys funeral， neighbors entered her secret bedroom and discover truth.

2.Chapter Two Different symbolic meanings of different characters

2.1 Symbolic meaning of Emily

As a main role of the story， Emily has complicated symbolism. Faulkner uses flashback to tell the story. In the first chapter， the writer writes that when Miss Emily Grierson died， their whole town went to her funeral and the mayor remitted her taxes. So Emily is the symbolism of a tradition， a duty， and a care； a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town. In the second chapter， the writer writes that she cant clean up her house and it smells bad. The people held very strong views on this matter， but Emily doesnt care about it. So Emily is the symbolism of eccentric and arrogance. In the third chapter， the writer writes that Emily falls in love with Homer. They begin to go around together. People think that they will get married. At that time， Emilys father is aristocracy. Homer is a Yankee. Emily loves him with great courage. Emily， likes other women， is desirous of love. She stays with Homer in spite of public disapproval. So Emily is the symbolism of romantic love. Unluckily， she is abandoned by Homer. So she poisons him and sleeps with him for a long time. So Emily is the symbolism of cruelty and cold.

In the novel， there is a big collision between the new system and the traditional lifestyle. Free postal service also indicates the difference between two cultures. The north influences the south from the political to the economic and culture. However， the old forces in south are not easily intimidated. Someone such as Emily bravely resists the invasion of north. So Emily is the represent of the South.

2.2 Symbolic meaning of Emilys father

Emily's father is the guy with the gigantic horsewhip. He's only referred to as “Emily's father”. Faulkner himself didn't approve of the man at all. In an interview， Faulkner expounds on this character：

In this case there was the young girl with a young girl's normal aspirations to find love and then a husband and a family， who was brow-beaten and kept down by her father， a selfish man who didn't want her to leave home because he wanted a housekeeper， and it was a natural instinct of – repressed which – you can't repress it – you can mash it down but it comes up somewhere else and very likely in a tragic form， and that was simply another manifestation of man's injustice to man， of the poor tragic human being struggling with its own heart， with others， with its environment， for the simple things which all human beings want. In that case it was a young girl that just wanted to be loved and to love and to have a husband and a family.

（Quoted in Faulkner， 1950： 62）

That description is pretty straightforward. The story is meant to show a very selfish man in a very selfish society.

2.3 Symbolic meaning of Homer Barron

Homer Barron the Yankee played an important part in “A Rose for Emily”. He was Emily's lover and represented the North. The North in comparison to the South was less traditional. He lived the fast life of constant movement and change. He seemed unwilling to consider the possibility of defeat neither by tradition nor by time. He didn't like to settle in one place like Emily was. When he moved to her town， he was popular and social， very unlike Emily or the people of her town. He is the represent of the North. However， Emily is the represent of the South. She keeps the traditions. Although she murders Homer and wins the battle between the two persons， the South loses the battle between North and South.

3.Chapter Three Different symbolic meanings of the circumstances in the story

3.1 Emilys house

Emily's house is a feudal fortress. She isolates herself in that little place. Although there is no farm， this fortress embodies the characteristics of Southern plantations. In her family the feudal system is kept intact. There is a strict hierarchy between father and daughter， so as to the whites and blacks. In this “plantation”， the father takes charge of nearly everything and is regarded as the hereditary rule of the glory. Emily is the hostess of this house and she can control over all of the slaves in her home. But her life but was enveloped in the stifling atmosphere. Tobe， the black slave， seems to be the only people who have life in the house.

“It was a big， squares frame house that had once been white，” is the only property that her father left. “Lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps---an eyesore among eyesores” Interior is “a dim hall，” “still more shadow”， “a close， dank smell”， “opened the blinds of one window”， “a faint dust rose sluggishly about their thighs”， “It smells of dust and disuse”. The only one who accompanies her is a black slave who often carries a shopping basket. Around the house is a new industry area， “garages and cotton gins”. The living circumstance of Emily is in the cultural confliction of old and new which isolates her and let her behavior be more grotesque. The living environment determines the peoples consciousness. Emilys living environment is so dark and dreary and she has been influenced by the environment.

3.2 The door

The door is very important in the novel. We can see the symbolic significance of door in the whole narrative process. This door has often been remarked on. The door is the yoke which can help the house keep in touch with the external world. When the door opens or closes， the inner world of the house also opens or closes. Closing the door can prevent the house in contact with the outside. It is also a behavior which withdrawn into a narrow， limited and confined space. Similarly， opening door a way to invite world into the house. It lets everything of the house in public. The house is the only legacy that the father leaves her. In a sense， it is Emilys world. Emily spends all the time in the house. People who are in the house know her well. It can be said that the door is the way which Emily communicates with the world. Readers can find that there is an enormous gap between Emily and the outside world. Emily is apart from it and lack of communication.

4.Chapter Four Symbolic meaning of the rose in the story

In the novel， a special word is “Rose”. Rose is a perennial flower shrub or vine of the genus Rosa， within the family Rosaceous， which contains over 100 species and comes in a variety of colors. The species form a group of erect shrubs， and climbing or trailing plants， with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Rose is widely grown for their beauty and fragrance. In the novel， rose is a symbol. As following， I will discuss the two kind of meaning of the rose.

4.1 Designative and symbolic meanings

As it is known to us， in Western culture， rose has always been the symbol of love. It is from the Greek Mythology. Aphrodite， the god of love， falls in love with a beautiful youth， Adonis. One day， when hunting in the wild， Adonis was bitten by a wild boar. Aphrodite tries to find her lover Adonis， running through the rose bushes which puncture her hands and legs. As the blood drops on the rose petals， it turns white roses into red. Thus the red roses became a symbol of faithful love. Roses symbolize love and sincere so that most people use it as a token of love.

However， the symbolic meaning is totally different. Although rose is fragrant and beautiful， it has thorns and will hurt us.

Just as characterization and dialogue and plot work on the surface to move the story along， symbolism works under the surface to tie the story's external action to the theme. Early in the development of the fictional narrative， symbolism was often produced through allegory， giving the literal event and its allegorical counterpart a one-to-one correspondence. Allegory is undoubtedly the simplest way of fleshing out a theme， but it is also the least emotionally satisfying because it makes things a little too easy on the reader.

To take allegory to the next higher level， we arrive at something that for want of a better term can be called symbolism. At this level， there is still a form of correspondence， and yet it is not so one-to-one， and certainly not so blatant. Whereas allegory operates very consciously， symbolism operates on the level of the unconscious. This does not mean that the author himself is unconscious of the process of creating symbolism -- merely which we， as readers， accept its input without really understanding how it works.

4.2 Specific symbolic meanings of the rose in the story

In this novel， Faulkner makes full use of symbolism. However， the word “rose” is not found. What is the meaning of the Rose in “A Rose for Emily”？ I will discuss the symbolism of rose from five parts.

4.2.1 Rose as the representative of Emily

Rose represents love and beauty. It indicates that Emily is just like a rose which is still alive in the memory of the people who live in Jefferson. People here see her as “the embodiment of tradition and obligation” and she is also the focus in the town. Emily is an ugly old woman. However， in the eyes of the old generation， she seems like an angel. As the “Monument”， although she is mad because of the love， the old generations still see her as the representatives of the sacred religion.

Emily likes a rose that attracts peoples attention， but her eccentricity seems to be thorn that separates from others. With the change and progress of the society， Emilys thorn become more and more sharp and she doesnt fit in with these townspeople. She is a tragic figure of noble birth， proud and aloof. Her thorn stems from her family background and makes her special woman. Emily can heal the wound as time fly away. However， she doesnt. That because she has a dual personality. She is just like a sick rose. She has both a normal and a particular female personality. And the confliction between the two personalities finally led to her tragedy. After her fathers death， what Emily has obtained is just the physical freedom. She can move toward the outside world， to make friends and to do something she enjoys. However， she doesnt get the spirit liberation. The South tradition has its moral standards rooted in her heart. This doesnt let Emily falls in love with Homer. Consequently， all of the contradictions that can not be conciliated lead to the tragic ending.

4.2.2 Rose as the representative of tragedy

There is a big gap in culture of the north and south. This is also like the thorns of rose. The modern machines replace the plantation-style way of life； the new system is against the social traditions； free postal service indicates the conflictions between the feudal culture and the modern civilization and the Northerners reconstructed the streets. The influences of the North can be seen in the South's political， economic， culture and values aspects. However， the old forces in the South are not easily intimidated. This is the fate of the times. The coming of a new era is always a painful process which also likes the process of picking a rose. You will be spurred and injured by its thorns. The flower is beautiful but the picking process is painful. In the process of picking the rose， her father and Homer are thorns.

Her father is a male chauvinist who patronizes， disparages， or otherwise denigrates female in the belief that they are inferior to males and thus deserves of less than equal treatment or benefit. The male chauvinist was first used in the United States in the 1960s by the feminist movement. Her father takes charge all of her and dont let her have any space and time. When he dies， Emily falls in love with Homer. However Homer abandons her. In order to get the lover， she kills him. Emilys strong personal characteristics and traditional values lead the tragedy happens.

Emily is considered the value system of the south， as well as Homer， is the representation of the north. The thing which will take the responsibilities to Emilys tragedy is the south traditions which exist for several hundred years. For this view， the rose， especially its thorn， can represent the confliction which is because of the difference and confusion in moral and value system between the north and the south.

5.Chapter Five Conclusion

A Rose for Emily is a very representative short novel of William Faulkner. This novel is famous not only because its external perfection in language using， but also its internal attractive and complicated plot. What most important in the novel is the using of symbolism. In that history background， many love tragedy occur and we dont know how many couples of lovers cant come together. This novel seems to be paradoxical， however in fact its a true portrayal of the women under a patriarchal society. The womens social status is low. Although pain and bloody， we are pleased to see that resistance has been gradually emerging. Therefore， the story attracted a lot of readers and reviewers. And this literature work itself has becomes a wonderful rose in American southern literature. Rose is just as the mirror placed different angles， from different sides to show the themes， and give a concrete image to the theme. Symbolism is a traditional artistic form， it is also a major feature of Romanticism， so it makes the whole novel become more vivid and rich， and make readers unforgettable. In true， symbolism makes A Rose for Emily become the first cross-border and win the reputation of the World Literature in the US.

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