湖南自考英语毕业论文：论《献给艾米丽的一支玫瑰花》中的哥特式情结

emic journals that are consistent with my thesis.I foundthree similar papers ,they are Zhang Qi, Zhangxuezhu. A Rose for Emily on the Gothic Features 【M】. Leshan Teachers College, 2003,11, Huang Fu Yan, 2011, rose ashes, love into a poem - on the Gothic features of Emily Rose, "we"and Yuhuan Huan, 2009.8 William Faulkner dedicated to Amy • Gothic Rose Li in the complex "Jiannan Literature ",and their main view is that "A Rose for Emily"is an outstanding 20th century American novelist William Faulkner's short stories. A striking feature of this novel is the use of Gothic Marxism.This article will focus on the Gothic complex in"A Rose for Emily" in orderto help readers better understand this masterpiece.In "A Rose for Emily", Faulkner uses the gothic literary artistic expression,making their characterization, description of environment, atmosphere, setting and plot are all rendered with rich Gothic colors, through the description of Ai Millie's life tragedy to expose the dark side of Southern society, accused the South Puritan tradition and patriarchal society the persecution of women.

3. The Gothic Characteristics in A Rose for Emily

Savoy Eric(1970) mentioned: “it’s very contradictory that a kind of literature, which is twined by the immortal history and attracted by queer grief, came into being in the country which believes in freedom and pursues the happiness of individual.” He said ironically the existence of gothic characteristics in American literature. Although the society advocated pursuing happiness and freedom, the unfairness and ugliness still existed and then the gothic literature appeared. Faulkner, the author of this novel lived in a special environment which was full of depressing and gloomy atmosphere due to the South’s loss in the Civil War. “Therefore, his habit, thinking way and life attitude closely related with this unfortunate field.” (Jay Parinier, The Norton Anthology of American Literary, 633). He had complicated feeling for his hometown’s loss in the Civil War. On one hand, he complained about the poor or miserable life caused by the war, and had a little hatred for the North. On the other hand, he praised the improvement of human being caused by the war, because the war opened the door of eliminating slavery system, so he only could express his complicated feeling for the South’s loss precisely by using gothic characteristics in his literature. InA Rose for Emily, he used gothic characteristic in many aspect such as scene or the description of Emily’s house, theme, narrative way, character.

3.1 The gothic characteristics in the description of environment

The gothic story usually takes place in isolated places where people seldom visit, such as a hidden castle in the jungle, a farmstead, and old dilapidated house and so on. The author attached much importance to the description of the scene and playing up the mysterious and horrible atmosphere. Baron Armond(1972)said:“ the word “mystery” connects with the gothic characteristics naturally.” Emily's house embodies gothic characteristics.

Emily's house was a special style building made of wood. When her parents were alive, the house was noble style, which "had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the Seventies."(William Faulkner, A Rose for Emily). As the time passed, however, the house still kept its outdated style and "lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay."(William Faulkner, A Rose for Emily).We could feel an incompatible atmosphere with the age. And the description of the house also revealedEmily’s character that she rejected the modernized or changed world stubbornly.

Several years later, the deputation had a chance to go into Emily's house for the first time. They went into “a dim hall from which a stairway mounted into still more shadow." (William Faulkner, A Rose for Emily). Moreover, there was "a dust and disuse--a close, dank smell"(William Faulkner, A Rose for Emily). in the air. The parlor was "furnished in heavy, leather--covered furniture." (William Faulkner, A Rose for Emily). Faulkner described a dim and mysterious picture for us. And this mysterious picture made readers curious about her life in the house.

It was really shocking that the town people saw in Emily's base room. “A thin, acrid pall as of the tomb seemed to lie everywhere upon this room decked and furnished as a bridal." (William Faulkner, A Rose for Emily). Homer's skeleton "had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace." (William Faulkner, A Rose for Emily) . The second pillow which was in the same bed was the indentation of a head. It is clearly that it was Emily's "long strand of iron--gray hair." Homer had been missed for forty years, and Emily had been slept with his skeleton for forty years. Sepulchral atmosphere spread the air. It is shocking and absolutely terrible. But it is not Faulkner who originally adds the terror element in fiction; it is the traditional style of “gothic characteristics." Faulkner not only uses these characteristics in A Rose for Emily, but exaggerates several details such as murder, violence, etc. So the description of Emily’s house created the mysterious and horrible atmosphere successfully and connected the mystery with gothic characteristics naturally.

3.2 The gothic characteristics in the theme of A Rose for Emily

Mostly, the characteristics of the theme in gothic literature are that the author reveals the evil of human being and attacks the darkside of the society, such as the unfairness and crime through death, murder, violence and revenge.

Gross, Louis.S(1979) pointed out: “the difference between American gothic literature and European gothic literature is that the European gothic literature is mostly regarded as escapism and rejected by people, while American gothic literature speaks out people’s voice, especially people who are special such as females, homosexual, colored races and so on, although American gothic literature is still fictitious.” Due to people are not allowed to express their depressed feeling caused by the insecure society or the dark side of society, they can only express the feeling indirectly by gothic discourse or using gothic characteristics in literature.

At Emily’s times, women were controlled by men strongly. Before marriage, women were controlled by fathers, so they had no right to choose their lovers or partners. Emily couldn’t go out to make friends as often as she can, and her father thought there’s no man who’s good enough to match his daughter in their town, so she was still single when she was thirty years old. When her father died, she depended on her father so much that she was not wiling to bury his father. After his father’s death, she had no courage to face the outside world alone, so she went outside seldom, and her neighbors were curious about her life and guessed how her life was going from her and her servant’s actions. And then the Northern worker Homer appeared and Emily was attracted by him, and Emily was too lonely and empty, and she was eager to his company, but to her disappointment, he refused to marry her. She knew that she couldn’t control his life when he was alive, so she decided to kill him. In order to own him forever, Emily killed him by using drug. To a large extent, Emily’s life was deeply affected by her father’s control, even ruined by her father. If there’s no her father’s strong control, she might get married at the right time and certainly she wouldn’t make her lover company by killing him.

So the theme of the short story which the author was trying to show was that he attacked the men’s domination over women by Emily’s murder, her necrophilia, and her separation from outside for many years, and meanwhile the author also showed his sympathy for women and he spoke for women’s freedom. Besides, the story also showed southern people’s suffering and anxiety after their loss in the Civil War. Especially the white people, they couldn’t easily get accustomed to the life without slaves, and their life became totally miserable, and they cherished the memory of the past rich life; and they still thought that they were superior to others, and kept their family’s dignity. But in their deep heart, they hated the northern people who were destroyers of their happiness, so Emily’s killing Homer showed their hatred for the North. And Homer’s refusal to marry to Emily showed the northern people’s contempt for the backward system of the South. In brief, the author also attacked the decayed thought of white people in the South by Emily’s murder. So the theme of the story was showed in gothic characteristics successfully.

3.3 The gothic characteristics in the narrative way of A Rose for Emily

Mostly, gothic literature is about suspense, and the suspense is mostly about murder, death or shocking ones. Because of the suspense, the gothic literature has its own characteristics: mysterious, horrible and gloomy atmosphere and the process to solve the suspense is an adventurous experience. The usual way of telling the suspense is flashback fo