Abstract:Written by William Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily” is known as the most distinguished representative of the southern gothic literature of America. This story tells about the horrible life of Miss Emily, which is full of suspense, and with an air of mystery, gloom and terror hanging throughout the whole story. The main purpose of Faulkner is to reveal the dark side of American southern society, and denounce the prosecution of women in patriarchal society and let people clearly recognize the crime and danger of reality. This paper tries to explore the gothic features in “A Rose for Emily” from four perspectives: the character of Emily, the theme, the description of the environment and the narrative techniques after searching for many references for gothic literature and learning about the gothic tradition in western literature. The gothic features are reflected perfectly in the story, and because of the combination of different gothic features, the author demonstrates precisely and fully his complicated feeling to the American Civil War.

Key Words: “A Rose for Emily”; gothic features; theme; narrative techniques

CONTENTS

摘要

Abstract

1. Introduction.1

1.1 Introduction to William Faulkner and His Works

  1.2 Introduction to “A Rose for Emily”

2. Brief Introduction to Gothic Features in Western Literature.2

3. Gothic Features in “A Rose for Emily”3

  3.1 The Gothic Character of Emily

  3.2 The Gothic Description of Environment

  3.3 The Gothic Theme 

  3.3 The Gothic Narrative Techniques 

4. Conclusion8

Bibliography.10

Acknowledgements11