A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, and Eveline by James Joyce - Essay Example

Order 444333 Topic: compare and contrast the themes from A rose for Emily by William Falkner, and Eveline by James Joyce. The themes concerning the life of a woman may differ apparently in two different stories, but in substance her suffering in one way nor the other, cannot be avoided. On has, perhaps, never heard a discussion of symposium on the topic, “Men-their role in the society.” The discussion is always about women. Men perhaps, have no role! The never-ending talk of giving equal rights to women goes on unabated. All the Acts of Parliaments all over the world will not bring equality for women. The change has to be achieved within-both by men and women. How can one give equal rights to women? God has created her, given her the status of more-equal. Nobody can take that right away. It is the mother, who gives protection for the initial nine months to the divine creative force of the future-male or female! Unfortunately, a female child is victimized at every step of life, in one way or the other, from the moment of birth, notwithstanding the fact that it she who sacrifices at those steps. Women need to be the legal and spiritual equals of men. Who is responsible for the altered roles of women? To certain extent it is the economic necessity and the refusal of the women herself to be the stereotype. The expectations of the women have changed; their roles in the society have changed. The changes unfortunately have created negative impact on her individual personality and her domestic/social life. Their normal growth is impaired and somewhere they feel the lacuna in their lives. How over-protective attitude of the parents dwarfs the personality of the children? The most unpleasant situation in the life of a woman is being compelled to lead the type of life which she detests. In “Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner, the character Emily Grierson, was deeply impacted in her later years of life, on account of the disposition of her father towards her. With the death of Emily’s mother when she was young, her father did not know how to play the dual role of father and mother, became over-protective, took absolute control and rudely rejected all the suitors, because he thought they were not good enough for the hand of Emily. Is it not fair for a girl steeped in poverty in the parental house to seek a lover and a comfortable lifestyle through him? The frame of Eveline’s character in James Joyce’s story “Eveline” is the same as that of “A Rose in the Family.” Her mother also died when Eveline was young. Eveline owns the duty and steps into the shoes of her mother as for domestic responsibilities, and dons the mantle of the lead role of the woman in the household. The never-ending household chores, go shopping at the market, and handle the abusive father—this becomes her day to day routine. But the essential difference between Eveline –she remains true to her name Eve--she chooses her Adam! He is a young man from South America, by name Frank. They love each other. Frank promises to liberate her from her present difficult position, and Eve agrees to leave with him some day. Another important theme of “A Rose for Emily” is the impact of setting and the society around an individual, a female, at a young age, when the mind is impressionable. Due to that strange societal pressure one’s normal thoughts go haywire, and one behaves in an incredible manner. Since Ages, many thousands of households are affected and each house has peculiar women characters, which are forced to lead the life much against their will. The role may change, marginally or substantially, but the suffering of the woman does not change .Place and time line to which the story belongs also play an important role in the structure of the story. Emily’s story belongs to the period of 1800’s and the early 1900’s. It refers to the townspeople in the southern town of Jefferson. Emily makes her decision as per the social spirit prevailing at the time. The society in which they live, the people of Jefferson, indirectly impact the life of Emily. Being an important family having close connection with the political bigwigs like the Mayor Colonel Sartoris, their every action is closely watched and scrutinized by the people. This is, however, not to assume that they interfere in the life of the father and Emily directly. But the fact that their moves are under watch, is sufficient to block the free movement of initiatives they may otherwise take for bettering their lives. It was the era of Confederacy; to keep a watch as to what is happening in the other family was the social system in vogue in that era for more than one reason. The dominating nature of her father and the tremendous authority he wields over her can be understood when the narrator describes, "Emily a slender woman in white in the background, her father a straddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip." (Basic English….) Just as the movements of a horse are at the absolute mercy of the one who controls the horse, her father has all-out control and does not allow her to date anyone. This hard discipline continues till her death. When her father died, her mind is hardened to such an extent, that she has lost the ability to think coolly and rationally. Her involvement with a gay man named Homer is the outcome of the decision made by her confused state of mind and she believes that she will eventually marry him. It is her total reliance on a male figure, without a second thought, that has lands her in such a predicament. Emily finds it impossible to forget the past impressions on her mind. Something fixed about the past controls her personality. She is in constant battle with the present era, the changed conditions, which she refuses to acknowledge or accept! James Joyce’s, “Eveline,” is also a story of emotional turmoil of a girl, who lost her mother at a young age. Another important theme in this story is what happens when a girl fails to take the right decision concerning her own life at the opportune time? She wishes to get her relieved from the strong familial bonds and seek her life of free love. The story depicts her inner struggle. The common theme between both stories is the familial bonds. The story hovers between the two extreme themes, loyalty to the familial values, in the present case the promise she made to her mother and her predicament of leaving the house to join Frank that would change her lifestyle far beyond her present standard of living. For Eveline it is love plus opportunistic attitude. She is desperate to embark upon a new lifestyle and get out of the present rut of the life of poverty. But her main drawback is she is unable to take the concrete decision. Her inner indecision finds expression in her body language. In between her promise to her mother and the fascinating lifestyle that is ahead of her, she remains dysfunctional, due to fear of failure. She is guilty-conscious about leaving her family behind, for the sake of personal comfort. She remembers her mother’s death and her intense suffering, her uneventful, routine, sad life and finally decides to leave with Frank, to escape the fate of her mother. But that doesn’t happen in the final stages of her attempted escape with Frank. Recollection of the past is too strong for her. The wise saying goes, ‘the known devil is far better than the unknown angel.’ In the final analysis, the weighing scale seems to tilt in favor of hard life and suffering than the fantasized life of luxury in the company of Frank. Eveline and Frank are ready to board a ship, but in the final moments, she is immersed in prayers and seeks direction from God. As the whistle blows, Frank shouts, “Come!” Eveline remains transfixed to the ground, emotionless. She doesn’t move. James Joyce describes the situation thus: “He rushed beyond the barrier and called to her to follow. He was shouted at to go on but he still called to her. She set her white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition.”(Eveline….) Eveline remains transfixed to the ground. She doesn’t move. Thus the two stories are identical on two counts: Both the girls have lost their mothers when they were young; both are harassed by their fathers, in different styles. But the essential difference between the two stories is, Emily is brave and she tries her best to withstand the pressure on her by the societal attitudes; Eveline is timid, and is unable to take a decision, when everything seems to go as per own way, with the support of her lover. *************** Works Cited: [DOC] Basic English File Format: Microsoft Word - View as HTML Retrieved on May 26, 2010 Eveline by James Joyce- Retrieved on May 26, 2010 Read More

The never-ending household chores, go shopping at the market, and handle the abusive father—this becomes her day to day routine. But the essential difference between Eveline –she remains true to her name Eve--she chooses her Adam! He is a young man from South America, by name Frank. They love each other. Frank promises to liberate her from her present difficult position, and Eve agrees to leave with him some day. Another important theme of “A Rose for Emily” is the impact of setting and the society around an individual, a female, at a young age, when the mind is impressionable.

Due to that strange societal pressure one’s normal thoughts go haywire, and one behaves in an incredible manner. Since Ages, many thousands of households are affected and each house has peculiar women characters, which are forced to lead the life much against their will. The role may change, marginally or substantially, but the suffering of the woman does not change .Place and time line to which the story belongs also play an important role in the structure of the story. Emily’s story belongs to the period of 1800’s and the early 1900’s.

It refers to the townspeople in the southern town of Jefferson. Emily makes her decision as per the social spirit prevailing at the time. The society in which they live, the people of Jefferson, indirectly impact the life of Emily. Being an important family having close connection with the political bigwigs like the Mayor Colonel Sartoris, their every action is closely watched and scrutinized by the people. This is, however, not to assume that they interfere in the life of the father and Emily directly.

But the fact that their moves are under watch, is sufficient to block the free movement of initiatives they may otherwise take for bettering their lives. It was the era of Confederacy; to keep a watch as to what is happening in the other family was the social system in vogue in that era for more than one reason. The dominating nature of her father and the tremendous authority he wields over her can be understood when the narrator describes, "Emily a slender woman in white in the background, her father a straddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip.

" (Basic English….) Just as the movements of a horse are at the absolute mercy of the one who controls the horse, her father has all-out control and does not allow her to date anyone. This hard discipline continues till her death. When her father died, her mind is hardened to such an extent, that she has lost the ability to think coolly and rationally. Her involvement with a gay man named Homer is the outcome of the decision made by her confused state of mind and she believes that she will eventually marry him.

It is her total reliance on a male figure, without a second thought, that has lands her in such a predicament. Emily finds it impossible to forget the past impressions on her mind. Something fixed about the past controls her personality. She is in constant battle with the present era, the changed conditions, which she refuses to acknowledge or accept! James Joyce’s, “Eveline,” is also a story of emotional turmoil of a girl, who lost her mother at a young age. Another important theme in this story is what happens when a girl fails to take the right decision concerning her own life at the opportune time?

She wishes to get her relieved from the strong familial bonds and seek her life of free love. The story depicts her inner struggle. The common theme between both stories is the familial bonds. The story hovers between the two extreme themes, loyalty to the familial values, in the present case the promise she made to her mother and her predicament of leaving the house to join Frank that would change her lifestyle far beyond her present standard of living. For Eveline it is love plus opportunistic attitude.

She is desperate to embark upon a new lifestyle and get out of the present rut of the life of poverty.

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