The
story by Faulkner takes place in the fictitious Yoknapatawa, specifically in
Jefferson.
Emily
comes from an aristocratic and respected family. She lives under the yoke of
his father. She lacks freedom and free will.
When
Emily’s father dies, she gets emotionally involved with a northerner. Which
produced ambivalence among local people. They were happy that Emily was dating
with someone, but at the same time they were quite angry about the fact that
she was dating with a northerner that was not worthy enough for her.
Homer
was an alcoholic loud man that represented and depicted all the qualities that aristocratic
people were not.
the
fact that Emily was a bourgeois woman will prevent her from having normal
relationships. What’s more, the fact that she started a relationship with that
men in particular, will imply certain prices that she will have to pay. She
becomes normal, she stops being considered as an extraordinary, exceptional and
respected woman.
What
amazed me about the story was the underlying meaning of it. On the one hand, we
can see that on the whole, the story is not only about an obsessive 30 year-old
woman who defies all the socially correct ways to behave, but it also
depicts the death of the old values of the south. The lost of all the traditional
values, and the intrusion of the north into the south.
All in all, the intrusion of the North will
bring capitalization and industrialization into the south. That will expose the
south to destruction. The south will try to survive and to endure the invasion
of the north but all the attempts will be in vain.
By Maria Susana Cabrera R
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ResponderEliminarI find myself in accord with your entry since is pretty much what I also understood about the story. Furthermore, I also agree with you when you said that this story was not only about this single and solitary woman but also represents the death of the old values of the South and this happened when she met Homer; she became equal to the rest of the town, she breaks the rules because she became human, a sexual being.
ResponderEliminarIn addition to this, we have to take into consideration that for Emily the past was a better moment, and she decided to stayed there. This is manily related with the relationship that she had with Jefferson, which is kind of similar with the one that she had with her father: not crossing boundaries, separated from the rest of the society (ordinary life), and not having normal relationships.
Finally, her isolation makes her extraordinary, but at the same time perverse for the decisions that she took in her life. In the end, Emily is the faithful representation of the south that doesn’t want to change nor died but died anyway because of the past of the time.
I believe that the point that you made about the dying southern values is very important. Why? Basically because we can't prevent that from happening. For example, if we extrapolate that to Chile, we will learn that Pinochetismo will never die until (hopefully) the last person who went through those years under the dictatorship and supported no matter what to this character dies. It is something rooted in a person. It will not go away, same as with Miss Emily, she will not give up her ideas, not until she dies.
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