A Rose for Emily William Faulkner William Faulkner

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A Rose for Emily William Faulkner

A Rose for Emily William Faulkner

William Faulkner Ø Born in Mississippi in 1897, Faulkner was never an expatriate as

William Faulkner Ø Born in Mississippi in 1897, Faulkner was never an expatriate as were many of his writing contemporaries, notably Hemingway and Fitzgerald. He spent almost all his life in Oxford, the site of the University of Mississippi.

William Faulkner Ø “I discovered that my own little postage stamp of native soil

William Faulkner Ø “I discovered that my own little postage stamp of native soil was worth writing about and that I would never live long enough to exhaust it. ” ---- William Faulkner

A self-contained world of fiction of Faulkner: Ø “Jefferson, Yoknapatawpha Co. , Mississippi Area,

A self-contained world of fiction of Faulkner: Ø “Jefferson, Yoknapatawpha Co. , Mississippi Area, 2400 Square Miles ---- Population, white, 6298; Negroes, 9313 William Faulkner, Sole Owner & Proprietor” ---- Absalom, Absalom!

 I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is

I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail. ---William Faulkner:The Nobel Prize Speech Ø

William Faulkner Ø Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and

William Faulkner Ø Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. --- Scene V, The Tragedy of Macbeth

A Story of Horror Ø Gothic Fiction "Goth" is a term that was applied

A Story of Horror Ø Gothic Fiction "Goth" is a term that was applied to various Germanic tribes who ransacked southern Europe from 376 -410 CE. Because the Goths were credited with bringing about the fall of Rome and its classical culture, Renaissance and Enlightenment critics later applied the term "Gothic" negatively, to mean "medieval" or that which was considered barbaric.

Ø Medieval or "Gothic" architecture, for example, did not follow the classical ideals of

Ø Medieval or "Gothic" architecture, for example, did not follow the classical ideals of simplicity, unity, and symmetry—instead, soaring towers, pointed vaults or arches, flying buttresses, gargoyles and other intricate or "wild" elements prevailed in churches, castles, and monasteries.

Ø "Gothic" gradually lost its negative connotation and was used to refer to an

Ø "Gothic" gradually lost its negative connotation and was used to refer to an ancient past, often in a nostalgic way.

Ø The Gothic movement in literature, like Romanticism, is viewed as a reaction to

Ø The Gothic movement in literature, like Romanticism, is viewed as a reaction to Enlightenment rationalism, a return to the primitive. The 18 th century was an "Age of Reason" concerned with classical principles and scientific progress. The novel, a young genre, was predominantly realistic and didactic. Appearing near the end of the 18 th century, however, Gothic novels drew upon the conventions of the medieval (chivalric) romances that told of knights battling with magic and monsters. Gothic novels presented a protagonist’s immersion into a dark, horrific realm of some kind and reintroduced supernatural elements into fiction.

The Castle of Otranto --- A Gothic Story, Horace Walpole, 1764. Ø Originally called

The Castle of Otranto --- A Gothic Story, Horace Walpole, 1764. Ø Originally called "Gothic romances, " Gothic novels were consumed by a popular audience— often women—and initially considered to be of low literary quality. The Gothic novel's "golden age" is generally cited as lasting from 17641840; however, the Gothic influence remains visible not only in literature, but also in film, television, music, and even dance. Ø

Conventions of the Gothic Novel: Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø wild landscapes remote or

Conventions of the Gothic Novel: Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø wild landscapes remote or exotic locales dimly lit, gloomy settings ruins or isolated crumbling castles or mansions (later cities and houses) crypts, tombs dungeons, torture chambers dark towers, hidden rooms secret corridors/passageways dream states or nightmares unnatural acts of nature (blood-red moon, sudden fierce wind, etc.

found manuscripts or artifacts ancestral curses family secrets damsels in distress marvellous or mysterious

found manuscripts or artifacts ancestral curses family secrets damsels in distress marvellous or mysterious creatures, monsters, spirits, or strangers Ø enigmatic figures with supernatural powers Ø scientific tone (fantastic events observed empirically) Ø specific reference to noon, midnight, twilight (the witching hours) Ø use of traditionally "magical" numbers such as 3, 7, 13 Ø Ø Ø

Gothic Elements in “A Rose for Emily” Ø Faulkner himself claimed that "A Rose

Gothic Elements in “A Rose for Emily” Ø Faulkner himself claimed that "A Rose for Emily" is a "ghost story. " In fact, Faulkner is considered by many to be the progenitor of a sub-genre, the Southern gothic. The Southern gothic style combines the elements of classic Gothicism with particular Southern archetypes (the reclusive spinster, for example) and puts them in a Southern milieu. Faulkner's novels and stories about the South include dark, taboo subjects such as murder, suicide, and incest.

Ø James M. Mellard, in The Faulkner Journal, argues that "A Rose for Emily"

Ø James M. Mellard, in The Faulkner Journal, argues that "A Rose for Emily" is a "retrospective Gothic; " that is, the reader is unaware that the story is Gothic until the ending when Homer Barron's corpse is discovered. He points out that the narrator's tone is almost whimsical. He also notes that because the narrator's flashbacks are not presented in an ordinary sequential order, readers who are truly unfamiliar with the story don't put all the pieces together until the end.

Gothic Elements in “A Rose for Emily” “… into a dim hall from which

Gothic Elements in “A Rose for Emily” “… into a dim hall from which a stairway mounted into still more shadow. It smelled of dust and disuse--a close, dank smell. “ Ø “. . . bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue. " Ø “The body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace, but now the long sleep that outlasts love, that conquers even the grimace of love, had cuckolded him. What was left of him, rotted beneath what was left of the nightshirt, had become inextricable from the bed in which he lay; and upon him and upon the pillow beside him lay that even coating of the patient and biding dust. ” …… Ø

Catharsis Ø Aristotle has defined tragedy as the representation of a complete serious action

Catharsis Ø Aristotle has defined tragedy as the representation of a complete serious action through artistic language and dramatic representation which by means of pity and fear will bring about the purgation of such emotions. The original Greek term for "purgation" is catharsis. Catharsis is, then, a theory of the effects of literature on the receiver.

The plot and Story in “A Rose for Emily” Plot Sequence: Ø I: the

The plot and Story in “A Rose for Emily” Plot Sequence: Ø I: the death of Emily died and her funeral; defeating the deputation of aldermen for her taxes; Ø II: the event of smell and the death of Emily’s father; Ø III: Emily’s love with Homer; the purchase of arsenic; Ø IV: the interference of Emily’s relatives; purchasing the wedding things; the disappearance of Homer; Emily gave lessons in china-painting; Ø V: the discovery of corpse.

Chronological sequence: Ø the death of Emily’s father; Emily’s love with Homer; the interference

Chronological sequence: Ø the death of Emily’s father; Emily’s love with Homer; the interference of Emily’s relatives; purchasing the wedding things; the purchase of arsenic; the disappearance of Homer; the event of smell; giving lessons in china-painting; defeating the deputation of aldermen for her taxes; Ø the death of Emily died and her funeral; Ø the discovery of corpse. Ø Ø Ø Ø

Emily: An Combination of an Idol and a Scapegoat Emily as an Idol Ø

Emily: An Combination of an Idol and a Scapegoat Emily as an Idol Ø A fallen monument. Ø Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care. Ø …… Miss Emily sat in it, the light behind her, and her upright torso motionless as that of an idol. Ø … like the carven torso of an idol in a niche … Ø Thus she passed from generation to generation-dear, inescapable, impervious, tranquil, and perverse. (But from whose point of view and who made her an idol? )

Emily: Combination of an Idol and a Scapegoat Ø The distinction between reality and

Emily: Combination of an Idol and a Scapegoat Ø The distinction between reality and illusion, between life and death has blurred for Emily. …… and the very old men --some in their brushed Confederate uniforms--on the porch and the lawn, talking of Miss Emily as if she had been a contemporary of theirs, believing that they had danced with her and courted her perhaps, confusing time with its mathematical progression, as the old do, to whom all the past is not a diminishing road but, instead, a huge meadow which no winter ever quite touches, divided from them now by the narrow bottle-neck of the most recent decade of years.

Emily: Combination of an Idol and a Scapegoat Ø Emily insists on meeting the

Emily: Combination of an Idol and a Scapegoat Ø Emily insists on meeting the world on her own terms. She never cringes, she never begs for sympathy, she refuses to shrink into an amiable old maid, she never accepts the community’s ordinary judgments or values. This independence of spirit and pride can, and does in her case, twist the individual into a sort of monster, but, at the same time, this refusal to accept the herd values, carries with it a dignity and courage.

Emily: An Combination of an Idol and a Scapegoat Ø Miss Emily is a

Emily: An Combination of an Idol and a Scapegoat Ø Miss Emily is a woman of tremendous firmness of will and iron pride, but she have not kept her from being thwarted and hurt. Why? …… a 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, the two of them framed by the back-flung front door. ……And as soon as the old people said, "Poor Emily, " the whispering began. "Do you suppose it's really so? " they said to one another. "Of course it is. What else could. . . " This behind their hands; rustling of craned silk and satin behind jalousies closed upon the sun of Sunday afternoon as the thin, swift clop-clop of the matched team passed: "Poor Emily. "

Emily: An Combination of an Idol and a Scapegoat Ø In the Hebrew Bible

Emily: An Combination of an Idol and a Scapegoat Ø In the Hebrew Bible (Leviticus 16), a goat loaded with the sins of the people and then sent out into the wilderness as a way of removing those sins. The goat was sent to Azazel, who is variously understood to be a demon of the desert and of disorder. In contemporary language, a scapegoat is someone, usually relatively minor, who is caught up in a scandal and then dismissed or prosecuted while those higher up who were also involved are left untouched.

Miss Emily and Miss Havisham in Great Expectations Ø She was dressed in rich

Miss Emily and Miss Havisham in Great Expectations Ø She was dressed in rich materials--- satins, and lace, and silks --- all of white. Her shoes were white. And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands, and some other jewels lay sparkling on the table. Dresses, less splendid than the dress she wore, and halfpacked trunks, were scattered about. She had not quite finished dressing,

Miss Emily and Miss Havisham in Great Expectations for she had but one shoe

Miss Emily and Miss Havisham in Great Expectations for she had but one shoe on --- the other was on the table near her hand --- her veil was but half arranged, her watch and chain were not put on, and some lace for her bosom lay with those trinkets, and with her handkerchief, and gloves, and some flowers, and a Prayer-book, all confusedly heaped about the looking-glass. Ø … and saw that her watch had stooped at twenty minutes to nine, and that a clock in the room had stopped at twenty minutes to nine. --- Charles Dickens, Great Expectations Ø

Interpretation of the Title The Last Rose of Summer Thomas Moore (1779 -1852) ‘Tis

Interpretation of the Title The Last Rose of Summer Thomas Moore (1779 -1852) ‘Tis the last rose of summer Left blooming alone: All her lovely companions Are faded and gone; No flower of her kindred, No rosebud is nigh, To reflect back her blushes, To give sigh for sigh.

 I’ll not leave thee, thou lone one! To pine on the stem; Since

I’ll not leave thee, thou lone one! To pine on the stem; Since the lovely are sleeping; Go sleep thou with them. Thus kindly I scatter Thy leaves o’er the bed, Where thy mates of the garden Lie scentless and dead

 So soon may I follow When friendships decay, And from Love’s shining circle

So soon may I follow When friendships decay, And from Love’s shining circle The gems drop away. When true hearts lie withered And fond ones are flown, Oh! Who would inhabit This bleak world alone?

 Thank You!

Thank You!