A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner - Essay Example

 A Rose for Emily, the story by William Faulkner, when looked at from a feminist theoretical perspective, it is clear that the society looks at the women as the inferior sex. They are not allowed to construct positive self-identity in the society, because they are viewed as the second after men (Benson 2013). The women are perceived weak with no ability to prosper in positive ventures and are largely associated with positive achievement and powers of men and not that of their own. However, in some instances women represent trouble, destruction and evil. As observed in the story, Emily is described physically and given a passive role compared to men who have an active role. The men’s attitude toward women is analyzed and the consequences associated with a male dominated society disregarding feminism. A Rose for Emily demonstrates how it is impossible to oppress without being oppressed. Emily has a central role in the society, her every act is gossiped and seized as a justification for their interference to her private life. Although she shuts herself in the house and rarely leaves, her isolation is in direct proportion to the town’s obsession to her. As much as the women in the society are victimized and betrayed, Faulkner shows how they can reflects and defines the culture that produces them. Emily’s father asserted authority by not allowing her to make her own decisions, even in her death his presence is felt, symbolizing the degree he had dominated and shadowed her life. Her fathers’ back is turned and her identity is determined by the construct of his mind. The authority of the men in the society is derived from the continuous oppression with no opposition at all from the women. Even when Emily’s father died, she still did not want to bury him for she had no other person to cling on and he was the only companion. In the story, Emily is characterized by her ability to understand and utilize her muscle that accrues to her from the reality that men do not see her but rather their concept on feminism. The men who entered her house rose when she entered, giving her power that renders the gentlemen unable to function in the situation where she does not sit nor asks them to. In relation to Emily’s disposal of Homer Barron, Faulkner demonstrates most clearly the power of conventional assumption about the ladies to blind the town with what is going on and to allow Emily get away with impunity. When she buys the poison the people assumed she would use it to commit suicide, but it occurred to no one that she would use it for murder. It is strongly presumed that a lady is more likely to commit suicide and not murder. The presumption that female response to bereavement is madness can be used to explain the behavior of ladies whose activities are odd. Emily wields power indirectly and controls the gentlemen. For instance she allows the burglars to see that she is watching and she does nothing as reporting to the sheriff for trespassing. Female power comes from their ability to control their environment without being noticed or opposed directly. The people in the society fail to acknowledge Emily as superior visit her only due to curiosity. After her funeral is only when they opened the upper room by breaking in and realizing what she had done, this was an image her oppression and her vengeance to the entire society. In the story hills like white elephants, Ernest Hemingway writes about the controversial issues between men and women in a relationship. By displaying the difficulties women are faced with in the American society in the early 1990’s, he brought to light the problem of women being dominated by men and so afraid to do anything about it. The women are less participative in making the decisions on their relationship and are willing to oblige out of love. Jig represents women who are superior in imagination and are sensitive to what will happen in future. The men are viewed as senseless and selfish caring less about the women or their children. Men consider women as sexual beings that satisfy their needs. However, women tend to be more optimistic about their future and that of their children. The man controls the money by buying the drinks and the language since he made the order for the drinks. He asserts authority when he assumes that he knows best about the specifics and result of what would ensue if she were to have an abortion, without considering her feelings on the subject. Through money and language control, the man tries to force control over Jig. Therefore, the man’s control is derived by being the provider and protector to her. The woman, Jig, starting to realize what is in her mind, asserts herself towards the man to let him know her position on abortion. The fertile side of the hill side is used to represent the unborn baby. She moves to the opposite side of the station as a symbol of not accepting the idea for abortion. The man however, calls her back to the shade in the other side a symbol of his thinking about the subject. Jig keeps her distance to allow herself realize what she is feeling about the topic. Her resistance is further displayed by telling him to shut up. Jig gains power over the man because she stood her ground about how she felt about the abortion and he had to submit. Carrying the bags to the opposite side of the station is a symbol from the man to give in to Jig’s disinclination to have the abortion. Jig smiling was symbolized by Ernest by a way of her realizing that he was defeated. Ernest shows how a selfish, insensitive man is overwhelmed by a woman that learns how to wield herself and express her own feelings. When Jig realized that she was being oppressed and controlled someone, she changed that situation by acknowledging that she had the command within her to make him change his mind. Ernest wanted women to realize that they can follow their own hearts and minds and make decisions that they feel are right to them. A white heron story is about a young girl who comes from a state of virtuousness to a state of awareness about the world around her. It looks at the power and role of women in the society. Through this encounter, we are able to discover the socializing power of girls, the balance of power between men and women and above all how a woman should be true to her nature and source of power. Men are considered unfriendly to girls and assume an abusive role to young women. Silvia was separated from the society but instead found her strength from nature by befriending animals. She is not treated as equal as other members of the society rather looked down and considered not interesting. The men in the society are given a superior role and use women only for their needs. The young man who went with Silvia to the woods seduced her thrusting her into yearning for womanhood. It is a portrayal of using masculine device on the innocence of a young girls’ heart in order to satisfy their needs. Jewett uses the white Heron and Silvia as synonymous characters in the story. Jewett emphasizes on the journey to knowledge as a flight that negates a traditional concept of a journey as a linear passage. The crucial transformation to her knowledge is when she recognizes her own independence through her flight up the pine tree. A bird like character has only imitated her immense and awesome logic of the world. The male authority in this instance came from the wealth and power that the young man possessed. He therefore exploited the harmony of the world by dominating it. He asserted authority by using money and is insensitive to others surrounding him since he did not notice any sense of the families’ sorrow. Sylvia possessed power when she acknowledged her growth, through which she recognizes the accord that exists in the ranch and with the white heron. Sylvia protects the bird from the world that has caused her much fright and oppression. It is not out of compassion that she does this, but she recognizes and appreciates what the natural world has offered her. The natural world in the farm has preserved her freedom from male oppression that dictates her roles and limits her exploration. Jewett makes male heroism less important by making Sylvia the protector of the environment that preserves her individuality as a woman. In this story exploration of nature allowed Sylvia regain her confidence since it was not based on any gender to explore. Her power is possessed indirectly because she can control what happens to nature surrounding her and by protecting animals from the unfortunate situations. Sylvia represented the women that were becoming less subservient to a man’s wishes in order to obtain their right. They choose nature to seek comfort in rather than be oppressed by a man. Masculine activity that was associated with nature as hunting was viewed as not a feminine field but to overcome patriarchy, Sylvia used that ideology against the society and protected the nature that gave her inner self-esteem. Female power comes from their ability to overcome the societies oppressing nature and victimization on the women. They let the society overlook them by concentrating on their position as inferior rather than looking at them as the independent people they are. Patriarchy in society makes men authoritative in families where they are viewed as the heads and their decisions unchallenged was not respected as a powerful leader by her towns’ men. It gives the male institution power to rule and enjoy privileges in the society (Benson, 2013) Work cited Benson, Jackson J. New Critical Approaches to the Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. Durham: Duke University Press, 2013 Print Read More