美国文学作品内战时期女性形象对比分析

Emily Grierson is the woman image in the novel A Rose for Emily ， which is written by William Faulkner. The background of the novel is the American south after the Civil War. As we know， the south failed in the war， lost many things. The novel depicts Emilys whole life in short， who uses every old ways to keep the old life before the Civil War.

Katie Scarlett （OHara） Hamilton Kennedy Butler is from Gone with the Wind， which is a novel written by Margaret Mitchell， first published in 1936. The story is set in Clayton County and Atlanta， both in Georgia， south of America， during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era. It depicts the struggles of young Scarlett OHara， the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner， who must use every means at her disposal to claw her way out of poverty following the destructive Shermans March to the Sea.

The two images of women have many same points. They both are from the background of south of America after Civil War， losing their wealth ， relatives， social positions and so on.

Faulkner describes Emily as the symbol of the old time of the American south， who lives her life in strange circumstances and has an odd relationship with her father who controls and manipulates her a lot. Her house， her dressing， her lifestyle ， all are still in the old fashion of the pre-war. She refuses to change， refuses to accept change， still lives in the past. When her father died， she even refuses to accept the death， refuses to release her fathers body for burial.

Instead， Scarlett faces the changes bravely， even the changes are so hard. Her parents both died， her house  is almost confiscated， husbands died in different ways and so on. But every time， she just tried all ways to solve them.

In the aspect of love and marriage， two women are also very different. Emily falls in love with a Yankee road worker named Homer Barren， but Barren actually doesnt want to marry her. When Barren threatens to leave her， Emily is seen buying arsenic， which the townspeople assume she will commit suicide with. However， after that， Barren is not seen or heard from， and is believed to have returned to north. Though Emily herself does not commit suicide， the rumor is spread around the Jefferson and the townspeople gossip about it. Then Emily is heard from less and less， and rarely ever leaves her home until her death. After Emilys funeral， some people break into her upstairs room and surprisingly find the corpse of a man that Emily hides all day with. Until that moment can people get to know the truth that the corpse is Homer Barren.

So people assume when Emily can not get the people she loves， she just kills him and put him on her bed for more than thirty years. While， Scarlett loves Ashley Wilkes， when she can not get him， she just moves on and gets married with three men， one by one. At last ， when she realizes Rhett Butler is her true love ，but Rhett Butler already left her， even she lost her two children， she decides to live strongly.

In the aspect of family， Emily hates her father. Her father controls her and manipulates her， thus she has not many ways to get in touch with the man， “her father drove away all young men who were going to chase his daughter”. So after her fathers death， Emily has the freedom and falls in love with Barren even the latter is a Yankee workman. Because when she falls in love with a man without noble birth， her cousins and people around come to persuade her giving up the relationship.

Scarlet has kind， warm-hearted mother who always help others， even the poor people. Her father loves her so much， willing to give her everything. Though she has two sisters， she is still the most loved child. So she becomes capricious， and suffers from it. But she is also strong-willed. Every time when she faces the difficulty， she always can deal with it. Her original family gives her love and strength.

These two images are so different in many aspects， reflects the two different ways how south American people live during and after Civil War. During and after the Civil War， southern people experience huge changes and challenges， especially after the war， anyway， the southern states lost the war. Every people in the southern faces the changes， most of the changes are harsh and painful. It is a historical process， during this process， Some people， just like Emily， refuse to change， eliminated by the new world. Some people， just like Scarlett， embrace the change， adapt to the new world， though she doesnt like the painful changes. Especially the slaver owners， they lost the families， friends， homes， money and social positions. Emily and Scarlett both are from the slave owner families， but they finally choose the different ways to face the world.

【作者簡介】宋吉，苏州高等职业技术学校。