A Rose For Emily - Faulkner #2
Old South and New South in Jefferson
Faulkner had a fascination with the old Southern lifestyle and its attempts to hang on even after the Civil War and Reconstruction. “A Rose for Emily” is a short but effective demonstration of this. His Grierson family was one of the old stock, the respected families of Jefferson, now waning into oblivion.
Miss Emily is the last of the Griersons in Jefferson. She represents the last lady of a dying breed and the new generations do not quite understand the fascination with the formerly affluent family. All they see is a lonely old woman who they pity and ponder on. Faulkner says that the men went to her funeral to show affection to a “fallen monument”, perhaps a monument to times past and eras respected.
The new generation grew up in a situation less affected by prosperous families and affected more by things like the law and the town council. They remember the days of the Old South through stories rather than from experience. The most glaring example of the clash of the two subcultures occurs when the town council are discussing how to deal with the stench coming from the Grierson home. The younger man says to just send a note to the lady, while the older Judge Stevens finds suggestion that appalling.
In a former time, the Griersons would have been beyond reproach, and the affair between Miss Emily and Homer would have been only a gossip conversation between the ladies of the town. But now that the emphasis on the powerful families has been diminished, Miss Emily is considered on the same level as everyone else. The townspeople decide to send the minister to speak with her about the bad example she is setting for the children.
The old South and the emergence of the new South is a key theme within this story. Faulkner used the differences between the two cultures to create conflict between the characters. The declining old South is weakly fighting to survive with its pseudo-aristocracy and the rising new South is attempting to step forward into the 20th century. Miss Emily is caught in the middle of this, as an archaic society sails out of the picture with her at the helm.
Faulkner had a fascination with the old Southern lifestyle and its attempts to hang on even after the Civil War and Reconstruction. “A Rose for Emily” is a short but effective demonstration of this. His Grierson family was one of the old stock, the respected families of Jefferson, now waning into oblivion.
Miss Emily is the last of the Griersons in Jefferson. She represents the last lady of a dying breed and the new generations do not quite understand the fascination with the formerly affluent family. All they see is a lonely old woman who they pity and ponder on. Faulkner says that the men went to her funeral to show affection to a “fallen monument”, perhaps a monument to times past and eras respected.
The new generation grew up in a situation less affected by prosperous families and affected more by things like the law and the town council. They remember the days of the Old South through stories rather than from experience. The most glaring example of the clash of the two subcultures occurs when the town council are discussing how to deal with the stench coming from the Grierson home. The younger man says to just send a note to the lady, while the older Judge Stevens finds suggestion that appalling.
In a former time, the Griersons would have been beyond reproach, and the affair between Miss Emily and Homer would have been only a gossip conversation between the ladies of the town. But now that the emphasis on the powerful families has been diminished, Miss Emily is considered on the same level as everyone else. The townspeople decide to send the minister to speak with her about the bad example she is setting for the children.
The old South and the emergence of the new South is a key theme within this story. Faulkner used the differences between the two cultures to create conflict between the characters. The declining old South is weakly fighting to survive with its pseudo-aristocracy and the rising new South is attempting to step forward into the 20th century. Miss Emily is caught in the middle of this, as an archaic society sails out of the picture with her at the helm.
posted by Brian at 6:35 a.m.
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