The gothic style and symbolism in A Rose for Emily

1、 The gothic style and symbolism in A Rose for Emilyabstract william faulkner as a representative of american southern literature is widely considered to be one of the great american authors of the twentieth century .although his great works are characteristic of a particular region and time, the the

2、mes he explores are universal. his novels embodying a noticeable gothic style and symbolism have become the topic for many scholars. in the following passage, the author aims to analyze the gothic style and symbolism that are applied to william faulkners popular masterpiece-“a rose for emily”.key wo

3、rds southern complex symbolism gothic style1. the gothic style in a rose for emilythe gothic horror tale is a literary form dating back to 1764 with the first novel identified with the genre, horace walpoles the castle of ontralto. gothicism features an atmosphere of terror and dread: gloomy castles

4、 or mansions, sinister characters, and unexplained phenomena. gothic novels and stories also often include unnatural combinations of sex and death.(short stories for students.detroit:gale,2002.from literature resource center)faulkner himself claimed that “a rose for emily” is a “ghost story.” in fac

5、t, 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. faulkners novels and stories

6、about the south include dark, taboo subjects such as murder, suicide, and incest.“a rose for emily” has been read variously as a gothic horror tale, a study in abnormal psychology, an allegory of the relations between north and south, a meditation on the nature of time, and a tragedy with emily as a

7、 sort of tragic heroine.”at the beginning of story, the author has already set the foundation of gothic style. the story begins with emilys death and her funeral, the next paragraph continues to mention emilys eccentric seventies style house and cedar-bemused cemetery. all these are full of gothic a

8、tmosphere. emily is quickly established as a strange character when aldermen enter her house in a futile attempt to collect her taxes. she is described as “she looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue. her eyes ,lost in the fatty ridges of her face, look

9、ed like two small pieces of coal pressed into a lump of dough as they moved from one face to another .”( zhang&long ,2005: 361). she insists that aldermen discuss the tax situation with a man who has been dead for a decade. if she is not yet a sinister character, she is certainly weird. in the s

10、tory, the unexplained smell coming from her house, the odd relationship she has with her father, and the suggestion that madness may run in her family by the reference to her “crazy” great-aunt, old lady wyatt, are elements that, at the very least, hint at the gothic nature of the story. emilys purc

11、hase of arsenic should leave no doubt at that point that the story is leading to a gothic conclusion.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 barrons corp

12、se is discovered. he points out that the narrators tone is almost whimsical. he also notes that because the narrators flashbacks are not presented in an ordinary sequential order, readers who are truly unfamiliar with the story dont put all the pieces together until the end. however, a truly careful

13、 first reading should begin to reveal the gothic elements early in the story.2. symbolism in a rose for emilyin literature, symbols in the form of words, images, settings, events and characters are often used deliberately to suggest and reinforce meaning, to provide enrichment by enlarging and clari

14、fying the experience of the work, and to provide enrichment by enlarging and clarifying the experience of the work, and to help to organize and classify the whole. a literary symbol brings together what is material and concrete within the work with its series of associations; by fusing them, however

15、 briefly, in the readers imagination, new layers and dimensions of meaning, suggestiveness, and significance are added. (林六辰，英美小说要素解析，上海外语教育出版社，2004年，第186页)2.1 rose as a symbolsymbolism has become more and more a distinctive feature in modern short stories. the limited usage of symbolism can make a

16、common story fill with profound implications, even beyond a writers original intention. this can find the expression in“ a rose for emily”. the word “rose”appeared only twice in the story“upon the valance curtains of faded rose color, upon the roseshaded light”( zhang&long ,2005: 370) .this show

17、s sufficiently that rose is not the theme of the short novel, but faulkner names his novel as “a rose for emily”,which triggers numerous readers suspicions and inductions. in one sense, homer could be the rose. a combination of the rose-colored bedroom and homer as a dried rose could serve as “a rel

18、ic of the past”. homers body could be like a rose pressed between the pages of a book, kept “tucked away in a seldom used, rose colored room which at times can be opened” (kurtz 40). in another sense, it might be the narrator offering a rose to emily. as a southern writer, faulker regards emily as a

19、 southern traditional representative of america; he shows deep sympathy for emilys love tragedy caused by the times and her father. he thinks that emily really deserves rose full of love and sweetness. a reporter has ever asked faulkner what is the meaning of the title “a rose for emily”? he answere

20、d oh; its simply that the poor woman had no life at all. her father had kept her more or less locked up and then she had a lover who was about to quit her, she had to murder him. it was just “a rose for emily”-thats all. (faulkner in the university 87-88)2.2emily as a symbolwhen miss emily grierson

21、died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument.” ( zhang&long ,2005: 360) .in the town emily is southern aristocracy, never to be touched but admired. she is regarded as a symbol of the traditional south america and its value. unfor

22、tunately the monument has fallen and whole town went to her funeral all these words and descriptions reveal the authors attitude toward the south falling, obviously he refused to accept the truth but he has to .faulkner has always been immersed into the flourishing ,serene and cozy southern life sty

23、le.in section one when the dldermen demands for taxes emily said “i have no taxes in jefferson”twice .compared to her economical word she is emphasizing the people who had died decades ago. in section two emilys father died, but she dressed as usual and with no trace of grief on her face. even three

24、 days after her fathers death she still refuse to accept her fathers death. all demonstrates emily lives in her own dummy world which she protects well but does not exist. in section three emily cuts her hair short, making her look like a girl after her dads death. this behavior symbolizes her new l

25、ife. she cut off her hair as a sign of breaking away from her fathers control. she needs a man to love ,to marry and take the place of her father.2.3 surrounding as a symbol“it was a big, squarish frame house that had once been whiteonly miss emilys house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettis

26、h decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps an eyesore among the eyesores.” ( zhang&long ,2005: 360) this paragraph is the only one that describes the panoramic setting of the story. symbolism is distinctive :the area that emilys house locates used to be a divine and rich district, no

27、w “garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood”,this implies the historical fact that the north expanded its force to the south after winning the civil war, north value system is invading south value system and slavery institution. the sentence“only emilys house was left.”symbolizes that emily does not accept the social change intending to res