An Analysis of the Southern Gothic Genre in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”
Abstract
This study analyzes the Southern Gothic genre in Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.” This study is developed based on the gaps in several previous studies, which primarily emphasized the structure and narrative impacts on readers’ comprehension, the values and societal structure, Faulkner’s linguistic choice, Emily’s contrasting identity, and the psychological factors that influenced Emily’s behavior. This study aims to identify the Southern Gothic elements, themes, and symbols in “A Rose for Emily” based on Smith’s, Harris’, and Lloyd-Smith’s concepts of Southern Gothic literature. This qualitative study employs a textual analysis method with a close reading approach. The primary data for this study is a short story entitled “A Rose for Emily.” The data was collected through a series of steps and then subjected to analysis and interpretation. The findings demonstrate that the short story incorporates a range of Southern Gothic elements, including depictions of environmental decay, horror, and the exploration of mental illness. The reflection of thematic elements of Southern Gothic is in Emily’s isolation and seclusion, Emily’s resistance to the changes, death, and the macabre. Ultimately, certain symbols are reflected, such as Emily’s house representing the grotesque, the dust and arsenic symbolizing death, the unpleasant smell representing the decaying life of Emily, and the color of the rose symbolizing her tragic and unrealistic love. This study can contribute to a broader understanding of Southern Gothic literature and how Faulkner portrays the elements of the Gothic in his work. In conclusion, this short story is an example of a Gothic tale, as it is replete with elements of Gothic tradition, themes, and symbols.
References
Agelakis, E. (2020). Smelling the South: Olfaction in Southern Gothic Literature (Master’s Thesis, Liege University). Master’s Thesis, Liege University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2268.2/10457
Agustini, M. C. (2012). Emily and the South: The Post Civil War Period and The Dissolution of Tradition. Linguagem Educacao E Memoria, 1–12. Retrieved from https://periodicosonline.uems.br/index.php/WRLEM/article/view/1805/1406
Altındiş, H. (2019). Grotesque and Southern Gothic in Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian. SEFAD, (41), 89–102. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.21497/sefad.586589
Barnet, S., Burto, W., & Cain, W. E. (2008). An introduction to literature (15th ed.). Pearson Longman.
Bjerre, T. (2017). Southern Gothic Literature. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature. Retrieved from https://oxfordre.com/literature/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.001.0001/acrefore-9780190201098-e-304.
Blythe, H. (1989). Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily. In T. M. Toner & J. B. Carothers (Eds.), Reading Faulkner: Collected Stories (p. 63). University Press of Mississippi.
Catterson, A. K., and Pearson, P. D. (2017). A Close Reading of Close Reading: What Does the Research Tell Us About How to Promote the Thoughtful Interrogation of Text? In K. A. Hinchman & D. A. Appleman (Eds.), Adolescent literacies: A handbook of practice-based research (pp. 457–476). New York: Guilford.
Dos Santos, M. de F. M. (1988). The Absence of The Rose: Emily, Faulkner and The Reader. Revista de Estudos Germânicos, 9(1), 18–21. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.17851/0101-837X.9.1.18-21
Faulkner, W. (1990). A Rose for Emily. Perfection Learning.
Goddu, T. A. (2014). The African American Narrative and The Gothic. In C. L. Crow (Ed.), A companion to American gothic (1st ed., pp. 71–83). Wiley-Blackwell.
Gray, R. (2016). Inside The Dark House: William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom! and Southern Gothic. In S. C. Street & C. L. Crow (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook Of Southern Gothic. Pearson Longman.
Harris, E. (2022). Southern Gothic: Definition, History, Characteristics & Famous Writers. Retrieved September 5, 2024, from Elifnotes website: https://elifnotes.com/southern-gothic-definition-history-characteristics-famous-writers/
Harris, E. (2023). Top 14 Main Elements of Gothic Literature. Retrieved September 5, 2024, from Elifnotes website: https://elifnotes.com/main-elements-of-gothic-literature/
He, X., & Tang, L. (2016). A Comparative Analysis of Violence in A Rose for Emily and in Lord of the Flies. Studies in Literature and Language, 12(3), 17–20. https://doi.org/10.3968/8188
Hu, S., & Zhong, J. (2022). On the Grotesque in American Southern Gothic Fiction: A Case Study of “A Rose for Emily.” Frontiers in Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(6), 38–43. https://doi.org/10.54691/fhss.v2i6.891
Liu, L. (2015). A Stylistics Analysis of A Rose for Emily. Studies in Literature and Language, 10(4), 76–81. https://doi.org/DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3968/6811
Lloyd-Smith, A. (2004). American Gothic Fiction: An Introduction. New York: Continuum. Retrieved from www.continuumbooks.com
Poggi, A. I. (2020). A Southern Gothic Theology: Flannery O’Connor and Her Religious Conception of the Novel. Theologica Xaveriana, 70, 1–23. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.11144/javeriana.tx70. sgtfoc
Psilopoulou, K. (2021). Writing the Grotesque in Jesmyn Ward’s “Salvage The Bones.” REDEN. Revista Española de Estudios Norteamericanos, 3(1), 65–78. https://doi.org/10.37536/reden.2021.3.1424
Punter, D., & Byron, G. (2004). The Gothic (1st ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
Qing, Z. (2021). Style and Sense in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily. IRA International Journal of Education and Multidisciplinary Studies, 17(3), 157. https://doi.org/10.21013/jems.v17.n3.p6
Rahman, M. (2015). An ABC English Literature (4th ed.). Friend’s Book Corner.
Saccomano, D. (2014). How Close Is Close Reading? Texas Journal of Literacy Education, 2(2), 140–147. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1110947
Schweizer, J. (2018). “A Rose for Emily”: The Dichotomy of a Rose. Confetti: A World Literatures and Cultures Journal, 4, 101–117. Retrieved from http://artsites.uottawa.ca/lcm/doc/Confetti-Volume-20181.pdf
Smith, A. (2007). Gothic Literature. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Street, S. C., & Crow, C. L. (Eds.). (2016). The Palgrave Handbook of The Southern Gothic. Palgrave Macmillan.
Thomson, P. (1972). The Grotesque (1st ed.). London: Routledge.
Towner, T. M., & Carothers, J. B. (2006). Reading Faulkner: Collected Stories (1st ed.). USA: University Press of Mississippi.
UMD Libraries. (2024). Gothic Literature In Special Collections. Retrieved September 5, 2024, from Maryland University Libraries website: https://lib.guides.umd.edu/c.php?g=1223847&p=8952322
Vasudevan, A. K., Dharma, P. K., & L., E. (2019). Necrophilia: A study of The Psychoanalysis in The Characteristics of The Offenders Who Sexually Molest The Dead. Medico-Legal Update, 19(2), 12–20. https://doi.org/10.5958/0974-1283.2019.00136.1
Zahin, A. (2022). Psychoanalytical Interpretation of William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily: The Exposition of Unconscious Through Necrophilia. International Journal of Academic and Practical Research, 1(2), 53–61. Retrieved from http://actonlineedu.org/ijaapr/
Zhang, W. (2021). A comparison between A Rose for Emily and Letter from an Unknown Woman—Based on Freud’s Personality Structure Theory. Journal of Education, Teaching and Social Studies, 3(2), 11–18. https://doi.org/10.22158/jetss.v3n2p11
Zhao, Y. (2018). Symbolism in A Rose for Emily. (Etsocs), 80–83. https://doi.org/10.25236/etsocs.2018.18
Zouari, L. (2021). Female Carnality From “A Male Eye”: Gothicizing The Female Desire in Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying” And “A Rose for Emily.” Brolly. Journal of Social Sciences, 4(1), 93–101. Retrieved from https://journals.lapub.co.uk/index.php/brolly/article/view/1901
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
By submitting the manuscript, the author(s) agreed to these following terms:
(1) The copyright of received articles shall be assigned to J-Lalite: Journal of English Studies as the publisher of the journal. The intended copyright includes the right to publish articles in various forms (including reprint). J-Lalite: Journal of English Studies maintain the publishing rights to the published articles.
(2) Author(s) are permitted to disseminate published articles by sharing the link/DOI of the article at J-Lalite: Journal of English Studies. Author(s) are allowed to use their articles for any legal purposes deemed necessary without written permission from J-Lalite: Journal of English Studies with an acknowledgement of initial publication to this journal.
(3) Authors should sign a copyright transfer agreement when they have approved the final proofs sent by J-Lalite: Journal of English Studies prior to the publication.
(4) User/public use of this website will be licensed to Creative Commons Attribution-ShareALike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) License.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
