沉湎过去就是死亡--论爱米丽的悲剧成因及《献给爱米丽的一朵玫瑰花》的主题意义

《沉湎过去就是死亡--论爱米丽的悲剧成因及《献给爱米丽的一朵玫瑰花》的主题意义》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《沉湎过去就是死亡--论爱米丽的悲剧成因及《献给爱米丽的一朵玫瑰花》的主题意义（23页珍藏版）》请在装配图网上搜索。

1、本科毕业论文Submission to the Past Means Death-On the Causes of Emilys Tragedy and theThematic Implication of A rose for Emily沉湎过去就是死亡-论爱米丽的悲剧成因及献给爱米丽的一朵玫瑰花的主题意义 系 别 外国语学院 专业班级 09级英语（1）班 学生姓名 指导教师 提交日期 2013年 4月 22日 摘要威廉福克纳是20世纪美国最著名的南方作家，也是一位出色的推理小说作家。他一生共写了17部长篇小说与近百篇短篇小说，在1949年获得诺贝尔文学奖。献给爱米丽的一朵玫瑰花是威廉福克纳

2、非常著名的一篇短篇小说。献给爱米丽的一朵玫瑰花作为南方文学的代表力作，其主人公爱米丽 一个没落的南方贵族小姐 的形象震撼着万千读者。书中叙述了爱米丽在个人与社会传统和现实相冲突的夹缝中同她的心上人相爱但最终又毒死他并与他尸骨共眠的故事。文中采用了非传统的叙述手法令时序来回颠倒，故事悬念迭出，引人入胜。本文分析了爱米丽小姐的悲剧成因及主题意义。 在第一章中，本文从父权主义和大家闺秀制度两方面分析了南方清教传统对妇女的深切残害。在第二章中，本文指出爱米丽所生存的杰弗逊镇处于社会转型时期，一个旧时代的没落，伴随着新的北方工业潮流的入侵；新旧时代、新旧的价值观念和行为准则的相互冲击也影响了人的心理。在

3、第三章中，本文指出爱米丽本身作为旧时代的一个纪念碑，在反抗南方旧传统的战斗中所做的种种努力都失败了，从而导致了最后悲剧的发生。这三章旨在帮助我们更好的了解爱米丽小姐的悲剧成因及主题意义， 揭示了当时的清教主义社会对人性的压抑与束缚，指出在危机重重的世界里，人们应在摒弃南方旧文化中糟粕的同时，要保留传统美德以恢复人类美好的天性，而不是沉溺过去以寻求庇护。关键词：清教传统；人性束缚；价值观念；悲剧成因ABSTRACT William Faulkner is the most famous southern writer of 20th century in America, and he is a

4、lso an excellent writer of mysteries. With seventeen long novels and nearly one hundred short stories in total, he won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1949. A rose for Emily is well-known as one of William Faulkners short stories. As a representative work of southern literature, A rose for Emily a

5、nd its heroine Emily never fails to fascinate readers. The book tells us that Emily killed her lover and slept with his corpse for many years after the struggle among personality，traditional society and the real world. With the unconventional narrative point, the essays sequence in time is upside-do

6、wn. The whole story keeps the readers in suspense. This thesis mainly discusses the causes for the heroines tragedy. In the first chapter, the thesis expounds that women are persecuted by Southern traditional customs, mainly patriarchy culture and lady-making system. In the second chapter, the thesi

7、s points out that with the downfall of the old times and coming of a new era, the new values and new codes of conduct and those of old times were in constant conflicts, which exerted unprecedented impact on peoples soul. Also, in the third chapter, the thesis points out that as a veritable monument

8、of old tradition, Emily tried to make every effort to fight with southern old tradition, but she failed and the story ended with a tragedy. The three chapter helps us know better about the causes for the tragedy and the theme , pointing out that Puritanism exerted a terrible shackle and deep oppress

9、ion on the human nature. Hence, instead of retreating to the past to seek refuge, man should strive to abandon the traditional southern dross and maintain the traditional southern virtues to revive the human nature in a world of crisis.Key Words: Puritanism tradition；shackles of humanity；values；the

10、causes for tragedyIContents摘要. . . .Abstract. . Introduction.1Part One Emily Influenced by the Southern Tradition.41.1. Emily in Patriarchy.41.2. Emily in Lady-Making System.5Part Two Emily Influenced by the Conflicts Between the North and the South.72.1 Emily in Jefferon Town in Social Transition.7

11、2.2. Emily Facing the Northern Intrusion.8Part Three Emilys Failure in Struggling Against the Past.103.1 Emily: The Monument of the Past.103.2 Emilys Struggle Against the Southern Tradition.103.3 Emilys Failure in Her Struggles.11Conclusion.14Bibliography. . .15Acknowledgements. . . .17IIIIntroducti

12、onIntroductionWilliam Faulkner is the most famous southern writer of 20th century in America. As a modern classical writer, he may be called a master in application and creation of literature language. With seventeen long novels and nearly one hundred short stories in total, he won the Nobel Prize f

13、or literature in 1949. After his death, many scholars think highly of his works and even treat it as a study about Faulkner. His compositions reflect the social history profoundly. Furthermore, being apt at expressing peoples inner feelings, William Faulkner successfully represents the complexity of

14、 modern people as well as modern life.As a representative work of southern literature, A rose for Emily never fails to fascinate readers. The book tells us that Emily kills her lover and sleeps with his corpse for many years after the struggle among personality，traditional society and the real world

15、. With the unconventional narrative point, the essays sequence in time is upside-down. The whole story keeps the readers in suspense. William Faulkner and his works have attracted the attention of many critics since 1980s, and more scholastic criticism about A rose for Emily has appeared all over th

16、e world in recent years. For example, in his analysis, Judith Fetterley pointed out that the grotesque aspects of the story were the result of its violation of the expectations generated by the conventions of sexual politics(Judith, 1997). From the book The Resisting Reader: A Feminist Approach to A

17、merican Fiction, Fetterley mainly demonstrated that Bias, intent, and feminist impact were among the elements examined in the analyses of works by some American authors (Fetterley 1997). And by analyzing of structure of the short story, in the book The chronology in William Faulkners “A Rose for Emi

18、ly”, Davina Ruthmann pointed out that “Instead of the tyranny of chronology, it is the construction out of fragments that now becomes a key formal characteristic. And without showing any linear sequence of events, Faulkers narrative technique in “ A rose for Emily” mirrors exactly this modernistic i

19、deal.” (Ruthmann 2007). In Feminisms Redux: An Anthology of Literary Theory and criticism, Robyn Warbol-Down summarized the feminist literary criticism and theory and re-established the measure for representing the latest developments in the field, and from the perspective of sex hostility. Also, Wa

20、rhol-Down in his work pointed out that sexual desire lead to death and explained that, “A rose for Emily is a story of how system which allows you to murder your wife makes it possible for your wife to murder you.”(Warhol-Down, 2009) For Chinese researchers, Emilys character is also a welcomed topic

21、.For example, QiangJianying focused on the sequence of time of the whole book and pointed out that the assembling fragments of different time increased the mystique of reading and strengthened the theme (钱健颖 2011). CuiDan in terms of post-colonial criticism analyzed Faulkners reflection on feminism

22、in Emily, which approached the fiction from the aspect of the culture clashes between the South and the North (崔丹，2012). ZhangQi made a comment on this book from its Gothic writing technique，indicating that Gothic character of this story is mainly seen between the plot construction and human charact

23、ers, mystique and illusion. (张琪2003). XiaoMinghan explored the fiction from the main writing expression, pointing out that Faulkner used his concise stroke and exclusive structure to create Emilya successful artistic representative (肖明翰，1995). Professor LiuCunbo compared Faulkners A rose for Emily w

24、ith Charles Johns Great Expectations and found their common points, emphasizing that two novels were very similar in the description of abnormal human features and visual angle of the narration.(胡英，2005).In conclusion, the above previous research achievements, would help me a lot in my research and

25、they also lay a good foundation for my research of the heroine -Emily from the aspect of culture. Some related researches made by domestic and foreign scholars mainly concentrate their studies on the theme, feminism or the structure of the story. However, in literary circle, studies which specialize

26、 in analyzing this fiction are far from enough, especially in the research on the causes of Emilys tragedy and the thematic implication of A rose for Emily. Thats why I choose this direction. The thesis is on the purpose to make up for the deficiency of the research of this fiction. Meanwhile, it is

27、 also a fresh attempt to study William Faulkner.The first part is the analysis of the influence from which Emily has suffered in the old times, pointing out that the Patriarchy and lady-making system influenced Emily greatly, and distorted her character to some extent.The second part is about the in

28、fluence on Emily by the conflicts between the North and the South. Emily lived in Jefferson town, a particular place not only under the influence of the Southern tradition, but also faced with the Northern intrusion. In other words, Jefferson town stands for the epitome in which the Negro slavery pl

29、antation economy represented in Emily would be cast away by the industrial civilization.The third part treats the reasons why Emily failed in the struggle against the past, pointing out that Emily, the last aristocrat, represents the tradition of the South and the unrealistic monument of the past, a

30、nd that her irreparable weakness and sole efforts failed her in the battle against the southern tradition.In the conclusion, the thesis restates the main idea in different words and comes to the conclusion that with the advancement of society, the old conventions have to adapt themselves to the chan

31、ging situation. Denying the change of customs and passage of time is absurd and ridiculous. In fact the writers adoration for human virtues and his faith in mans future can be shown in the novel, which indicates the writers greatness and popularity.17华南理工大学广州学院本科毕业设计（论文）说明书Part OneEmily Influenced b

32、y the Southern Tradition After the American Civil War, the South lost the battle in the end. The South had the most severe slavery, the most magnificent aristocratic life and the most brutal oppression system. These special histories endow the South with different regional belief and behavior. This

33、tragic historical change gave birth to the southern distinctive culture tradition. The defeated South rapidly eroded and became poor. Poverty came upon everyone. In order to get rid of sorrowful reality and overcome the fear, some people were immersed in the beautiful past desperately.At that time,

34、Patriarchy and lady-making system occupied the whole society. Living in this system, no doubt, feminie was the biggest victim. Of course, Emily was one of these victims.1.1 Emily in Patriarchy In a typical Southern mainstream society，it is not uncommon that father is the head of a family and he hold

35、s absolute supreme power while his wife as well as daughter is just his accessory. Women have to act and work in subordination to the men , keeping reserved, bound. They even cant express their feelings like men. (李扬2006) “People in our town, remembering how old lady Wyatt, her great aunt, had gone

36、completely crazy at last, believed that the Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were. Even with insanity in the family she wouldnt have turned down all of her chances of they had really materialized.”(William Faulkner 1990) Just like her great aunt lady Wyatt, Emily didn

37、t marry when she was about thirty. Of course on the one hand she thought too much of herself. However, on the other hand , it was his father who was arrogant and selfish , thinking that no one deserved his eminent family . Thus, his father drove away all his daughters pursuers, letting Emily live an

38、 abnormal life. Her father was so overbearing that no one dared to be opposed to him. As the saying goes, “Like father, like son.” Her father had influenced her a lot. Patriarchy made her live in the dark and out of order without an opportunity to defend herself. Emily even had no right to express h

39、er own thought to everyone. As a result, Emily was absent from the society and lived in the status as the anonymous one. Therefore, Emily didnt have her own history and value. It seems that her character and identity were given by a man-her arrogant father. Her father thought that making Emily keep

40、away from the world was the best way to protest her. Emily lost herself in this arbitrary pattern, without a clear realization that it was her father who deprived her freedom and shackled her mind, which made her far away from happiness. When her father passed away, Emily was quite accustomed to rel

41、ying on others because the long experience had taught her to depend others to keep herself safe. After Homers reject, Emily was not confident if she could have a happy life without the accompany of a man. So she chose to kill Homer and depended on an ice-cold corpse all her life long. Living so long

42、 in Patriarchy, Emily formed her self-important and incommunicable character, which destroyed her opportunities during her whole life.1.2Emily in Lady-Making SystemThe role of femininity seems to be determined at the beginning in Southern traditional customs. As the novel indicates,“We had long thou

43、ght of them as 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.” ( Faulkner 1990) Actually, a lady of noble rank is as if she ought t

44、o be a servile gentlewoman. Though this noble family is in decline, an aristocratic lady is always unsociable and eccentric. Although Emily was beautiful and suitable for marriage, her father , who firmly believed in “woman concept”, held old minds in the patriarchy, trying to make his daughter a pe

45、rfect “southern lady”. Because of the dependence and fear of her father, little Emily dared not to express her own opinion, submitting to all her fathers disposition. Therefore, “the personality and chase of women are buried and they become the victims of old southern tradition culture automatically

46、.” (Net 1) At that time, the feminity were encouraged to be deliberate, noble, reserved, obedient ladies. They must listen to their fathers and never say no. Emily had to be away from all the things which may tempt her to a “vulgar” lady, keeping her chastity with extreme caution. Her father thought

47、 that her daughters chastity was the symbol of Gerisons glory, and also the witness of his authority as well as upbringing. Therefore, Emily just could have the so-called “lady model” but not any personal desires. Emily was only taught to obey to the past but never to rebel against the tradition. He

48、r actions and words stood for her noble family so she must be careful enough. To our suprise, Emilys home-the most wellknown and safest place was also the cage of her happiness and dream. In Emilys heart, father represented a sovereign god which could keep tabs on her mind. After her fathers death,

49、the big shadow didnt stop influnce her. After that, her fathers image took the place of her father and continued to supervise her . Grierson used this way to “protect” his daughter because of that social surroundingsit was a patriarchy society based on slavery system, in which women were just decora

50、tions of men. Moreover, Puritanism occupied a central position in that society, which strongly advocated that women should be courteous, tolerative and unseltfish. The so-called “lady model” badly destroyed the thought and spirit of women. As it turned out, the lady-making system couldnt accomplish

51、lady but destroyed their normal life.Part Two Emily Influenced by the Conflicts Between the North and the SouthPart TwoEmily Influenced by the Conflicts Between the North and the SouthAfter the American Civil War, there were two different conflicts between two different value systems and two societi

52、es . From my own perspective, Emily was an embodiment of the south, the old and tradition. At the very beginning of this story, the writer recounts the decoration of her house which is still 1870s style, and hasnt been changed any more. Besides, she was also obstinate. When the new government compel

53、 the taxes on her，she refused to pay the tax and even ridiculously mentions a colonel who has been dead almost forten years.Another example is that she prevented people from installing mail-box on the wall. She kept the traditional views all the long，but resisted changing anything. However, poor Emi

54、ly wasadetermined woman. Regardless of peoples criticism, she insists on marryinganortherner whose social position wasapparently lower than her. It is known that in that period of time, hierarchy was prevailing and deep-rooted through out the society. It particularly hasaprofound influence on marria

55、ge. When someone choosesapartner, he or she must consider the social position of the other party to the marriage. However, Emily chose to disobey the conventionand challenged tradition. Given this situation, her failure was quite expectable. However, she couldnt get rid of the shackles of the Southe

56、rn conventions in the long run. From another aspect, She lived in the place which was full of new people with new value. Barron was one of the new representatives. Although Emily was attractive , he preferred his own freedom. And he chose to leave Emily in the end. The social transition has differen

57、t influence on different people. During this conflict time, shock upon shock continued to buffet the people.2.1Emily in Jefferson Town in Social TransitionAfter the Civil War, the winner the North destroyed the southern plantation economy and changed the southern social order as well as peoples livi

58、ng behavior. In this important historical period of social transition, humans value made a big change and the fate of every class also changed. People, like Emily, was a typical noble between the North and the South. No doubt, she felt despaired of the old system. However, she hated more the new ord

59、er. So, no matter how greatly the world changed, Emily just stubbornly lived in the past to cherish the memory of family honor to defend her own dignity and ladys position. In this story, Miss Emily was a static character who refused to believe that the times were changing and refused to change into

60、 the new society. As a Mississippi Southern Belle, she was born and raised in a wonderful state. She was considered a “monument” of southern manners and an ideal of past values. Her southern heritage and points of view were represented through her actions. Her stubbornness and unrelenting attitude w

61、ere very strong characteristics of the southern heritage. So Emily symbolized the old southern tradition, her death symbolized the collapse of the old southern tradition, and her death symbolized the collapse of the old southern. At that time, the small town did not only reveal the social and economic history of Ylknapatawp