摘 要

《献给艾米丽的玫瑰》是美国文学史上最具影响力的作家之一的威廉·福克纳发表的最富盛名的短篇小说代表作,该书背景设定在美国内战后。讲述了一个在南北战争之后，南方的传统文化与北方价值观发生了巨大的转变和冲突。随着南方社会的变迁，没落的南方贵族艾米丽小姐追求爱情但是最终将爱人毒死并与之尸体同床共枕的故事。《献给艾米丽的玫瑰》深刻地反映了当时的社会状况，描述了一个贵族后裔艾米丽的悲惨命运。艾米丽经常因社会的急剧变化和她的贵族身份而痛苦不堪。另外，由于她还完全受着父亲管束，与外界接触的机会也很少，这使得她的性格也因此有了缺陷。本文将分析艾米丽的悲剧和导致她悲剧的原因。
 

关键词：艾米丽,社会因素,家庭因素,性格因素,悲剧

Contents

1. Introduction…………………………………………………………....…………...1

2. Demonstration……………………………………………………………………...3

2.1. Social factors leading to Emily’s tragedy……...................................................3

2.1.1. The American Civil War…………………………………….............................4

2.1.2. Patriarchal society…………………………………...………............................5

2.1.3. Racial discrimination…………………….....................................…........….....7

2.2. Family factors leading to Emily’s tragedy……………...…..............................8

2.2.1. Paternalism…………………………………..…............................................... 9

2.2.2. Lack of maternal love………………………………....……............................10

2.3. Personality factors leading to Emily’s tragedy………................…………….....10

2.3.1. Loneliness…………..................................................................................…....10

2.3.2. Arrogance………………....…...........................................................................11

2.3.3. Eccentricity………………..……..................................................................…12

1. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..........13

Works Cited………………………………………………………………….............14

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………............15

An Analysis of Emily’s Tragedy in A Rose for Emily

1. Introduction

William Faulkner (1897-1962) is one of the greatest writers and the most influential modernist writers in American literature. He is regarded as one of the leading American writers in the literary history of the United States. He was born and lived in the South, which influenced him greatly, so he was good at describing the local conditions and customs of the southern United States. He was the initiator of Southern Renaissance. With his unique language art, style and deep thought, he won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1949. Besides, he was awarded the Nobel Prize literature for his powerful and artistic contribution to contemporary American fiction. During his 40-year career, William Faulkner wrote 19 novels, 125 short stories, 20 films and a play. Most of the short stories were set in Yoknapatawpha County. In addition, in the long and short stories, more than 600 famous character names interspersed among them. One of the most representative works is The Sound and the Fury(1929). There are also lots of famous works of William Faulkner as Light in August(1932), Absalom,Absalom! (1936), and As I Lay Dying(1930) and so on.

A Rose for Emily is one of the most famous short stories published by William Faulkner in 1930, and it is also the first short story of Faulkner, which set the county Jefferson as the background. A Rose for Emily draws a vivid picture of the south of the United States after the civil war. After the civil war, the south began to decay gradually, and the traditions of the south and the values of the north have experienced great conflict and transformation. With the change of the southern complex society, the fallen southern aristocrat Emily, sought love but poisoned her lover and slept with his corpse. Since the publication of A Rose for Emily, its diverse and compelling overall planning, stream-of-consciousness writing techniques and unique literary charm, have caused great repercussions. Therefore the short story has become the research object of many literature lovers, and more and more domestic and foreign scholars also have done a comprehensive and detailed study on it from different angles.