An Analysis of William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” in the Perspective of Southern Gothic Stories

William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” is a story about the whole life of an elderly southern spinster Emily Grierson who is the last one of a declined noble family. She has been prevented by her father from marrying her follows during her early life time and she poisons her lover， a Yankee， with arsenic to retain the love. Since then， Emily remains a secluded life without going outside until her death. Through the analysis of the consistent features of the heroines in the Southern Gothic stories and Emily， we can conclude that Emily is a typical heroine in Southern Gothic stories.

Southern Gothic is a subgenre of Gothic fiction which is “tightly controlled and wrapped by horror， death， agony and romance” （Zhang） in American literature which takes place sorely in the American South. In addition to the common traits that all the Gothic stories possess， Southern Gothic stories are good at using realistic settings and creating characters with extremely grotesque and abnormal psychology to examine the values of the American South（Wang）. The heroines in the Southern Gothic stories are always deeply flawed， disturbing or eccentric characters of the abnormal psychology， and they tend to be placed in decayed or derelict settings which are full of horrors and mysteries and involve in insidious events. Thus， it is reasonable to say that Emily is a typical heroine in Southern Gothic stories.

The house， which acts as a refuge for Emily’s soul， provides an atmosphere of horror， mystery and dread to reflect that Emily is a typical heroine in Southern Gothic stories. Just like the appearance of old Emily who looks like \"two small pieces of coal pressed into a lump of tough” （Faulkner， 287）， the house that Emily lives \"is a big squarish frame house with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies” （Faulkner， 286） and the whole environment seems dark and gloomy， spreading a sense of heaviness and suppression. Actually the house is like the externalization of Emily. The house sets on \"what had once been the most select street\" （Faulkner，286） which has been encroached by machines from the north， while Emily tries hard to keep the class superiority just like the old house “lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pump\"（Faulkner，286）. The house is just like Emily who exists in the present but the soul lingers on to the past in spirit. In a word， the house is an embodiment of the past and is closely related to Miss Emily and “the fuse together forming an indiscerptible one” （Yuan， 595）. Therefore， Emily is a typical heroine in Southern Gothic stories.

Emily’s anti-social behaviors manifest that she is a typical heroine of Southern Gothic stories. After killing Homer Barron， Emily lives a secluded life in the old house without going outside. After she ceases to teach the china-painting， nobody but the black servant goes in and out and the front door remains closed. Meanwhile， she refuses to pay taxes and objects to “let them fasten the metal numbers above her door and attach a mailbox to it” （Faulkner， 291）. The protagonists of Southern Gothic literature are isolated or alone， while Emily isolates herself from the outside world not only superficially in the sense of space but in the sense of time. The behaviors of Emily who is physically and emotionally isolated from the outside world conform to the images of heroines in Southern Gothic stories.

The necrophilia——the abnormal psychology of Emily， proves that Emily is a typical heroine in Southern Gothic stories. After her father’s dead， Emily “dressed as usual and with no trace of grief on her face” and told them “that her father was not dead” （Faulkner， 288）. It is a reflection that suggests us that she has been dominated by his father for so many years and she is used to obey the values of south. Since she has been deprived all the things， she struggles hard to hold the man who protects her from the society. When Homer Barron remarks that he \"was not a marrying man” （Faulkner， 290）， Emily decides to kill him to maintain the love， meanwhile to keep the reputation of her family. She stays with the corpse for years in the attitude of an embrace. She uses extreme method to keep the love everlasting. The necrophilia she shows is the typically monstrous and grotesque psychology that the protagonists of the Southern Gothic stories possess.

In short， Emily is the protagonist in the decayed and grotesque settings and has the abnormal psychology thrives from the deep influence of American South values and culture. Taken together， all the factors explain her behaviors and the grotesque behaviors are the externalization of the psychology as well. Hence， conclusion can be drawn that Emily Grierson is a typical heroine in Southern Gothic stories.

Works Cited

Faulkner， William. “A Rose for Emily”

Wang， Xiaoshu. \"Ghost of the Gothic——The Evolution of Gothic Tradition in American Fiction\" Jilin University（2009）：106-111.Print

Yuan， Fang. “A Faded Rose” Science and Technology Information （2009） p.579-580

Zhang， Dongmei. “An Analysis of ‘A Rose for Emily’ from the Gothic Perspective.” Shandong Normal University （2015）： 25–37. Print.

作者簡介：柯一婷，女，汉族 ，本科在读，单位：杭州师范大学