Theme,Thethemeofastoryiswhatevergeneralideaorinsighttheentirestoryreveals.,Athemeneednotbeamoraloramessage;itmaybewhatthehappeningsaddupto,whatthestoryisabout.Thethemeinfictionisitsgeneralizedviewoflifeandhumannature.,Subjectsortopics:,“lossofinnocence”,“loyaltyandconspiracy（背叛）”,“revenge”,“lifeanddeath”,“racialdiscrimination”“womensselfidentity”,Onereasonforthedifficultyofabstractingthethemefromastoryisthatthethemeisfused（熔化）intotheotherelementsofthestory,andtheseelementsmustbecarefullyexaminedinrelationtooneanotheraswellastotheworkasawhole.,Thus,thethemeemergesfromtheinterplayofthevariouselementsofaworkandbecomesvalidwhenitsdetailsofcharacter,plot,pointofview,andotherelementsaretakenintoaccount.,Whydoweneedtofindthetheme?,Tryingtosumupthepointofastoryinourownwordsismerelyonewaytomakeourselvesbetterawareofwhateverwemayhaveunderstoodvaguelyandtentatively.,Whydoweneedtofindthetheme?,Byexaminingthethemeofaliterarywork,wetrytofindawritersmeaningfulandchallenginginsight（領悟）intohumanexistenceandhumancharacter,whichwillhelpusreflectcriticallyaboutourownbeliefsandvaluesandenlargeourvisionoflife.,ARoseForEmilyWilliamFaulkner,WilliamFaulknerwasborninNewAlbany,Mississippi,onSeptember25,1897.,Faulknerbelongedtoaonce-wealthyfamilyofformerplantationowners.Bothparentscamefromwealthyfamiliesreducedtogenteel(上流社會的)povertybytheCivilWar.,HisinventionofthemythicalYoknapatawphaCounty,Mississippi,gavehimanalmostendlesssourceofcolorfulcharactersandstories.HisgreatestnovelsandshortstoriesaresetinYoknapatawpha.ARoseforEmilyhappensinJefferson,atowninthiscounty.,BecauseFaulknercamefromafamilywithanaristocratic（貴族的）bearing（舉止風度）andassociatedwithothersimilarfamilies,hewasfamiliarwiththearrogance（傲慢）ofcharactersliketheGriersons.Someofthesepeoplecontinuedtobehaveasiftheywerestillprivilegedplantationownersalthoughtheirwealthwasgone.,However,Faulknerspentmuchofhistimeobservingordinarytownspeopleaswell,andthisiswhyhewasabletocapturethevoiceofthecommonpeopleofJeffersoninthecharacterofthenarrator.,Faulknerusedpiecesofhisownlifeandfamilyhistoryinhisfiction.Hisgreat-grandfather,WilliamClarkFalkner(Faulkneraddedthe“u”tothespellingofhisnamewhenhejoinedtheRCAFsothatitwouldappear“moreBritish”)whowasalsoknownastheOldColonelservedastheinspirationforColonelSartoris.,ColonelSartoris,whoplaysasmallbutimportantrolein“ARoseforEmily,”isalsoamajorcharacterinthenovelFlagsintheDust.FaulknerbasedpartofthecharacterofEmilyonacousin,MaryLouiseNeilson,whohadmarriedaYankeestreetpavernamedJackBarron.,HewontwoPulitzerPrizes,aNationalBookAward,andtheNobelPrizeforLiterature.FaulknerdiedonJuly6,1962,thesamedayhisgreat-grandfather,theOldColonel,hadbeenbornon137yearsearlier.,CriticalOverview,FaulknerisnowregardedbymostcriticsasoneofthegreatestAmericanwritersofthetwentiethcentury.,AsisoftenthecasewithmanychallengingAmericanauthors,FaulknerwasidentifiedasauniqueAmericanvoiceinEuropelongbeforehegainedrespectathome.,Infact,aslateas1950,afterhewontheNobelPrizeforLiterature,theNewYorkTimes(quotedinRobertPennWarrensintroductiontoFaulkner:ACollectionofCriticalEssays)publishedaneditorialclaimingthathisworkwas“toooftenvicious(cruel),depraved(immoral),decadent（頹廢的）,andcorrupt（腐敗的）.”,“Americansmostfervently（熱誠地，熱烈的）hope,”TheTimescontinued,thatneithertheawardgivenbySwedennorthe“enormousvogueofFaulknersworks”amongforeignersmeantthattheyassociatedAmericanlifewithhisfiction.,SouthernGothic,GothicnovelorGothicromance,astoryofterrorandsuspense,usuallysetinagloomyoldcastleormonastery(修道院)(henceGothic,atermappliedtomedievalarchitectureandthusassociatedinthe18thcenturywithsuperstition).,Inanextendedsense,manynovelsthatdonothaveamedievalizedsetting,butwhichshareacomparablysinister(threatening),grotesque(strange),ormysteriousatmospherehavebeenclassedasGothic.,HaddonHall,Bakewell,Derbyshire,England(2002)Thehallthatinspiredthecreationofthornfieldhall,WutheringHeights,SouthernGothicisasubgenreoftheGothicstyle,uniquetoAmecicanliterature.Likeitsparentgenre,itreliesonsupernatural,ironic,orunusualeventstoguidetheplot.Unlikeitspredecessor,itusesthesetoolsnotforthesakeofsuspense(懸念）,buttoexploresocialissuesandrevealtheculturalcharacteroftheAmericanSouth.,TheSouthernGothicauthorusuallytakesclassicGothicarchetypes（原型，典型）,suchasthedamselindistress（落難的少女）ortheheroicknight（有英雄氣概的騎士）,thenportraystheminamoremodernandrealisticspinster(老處女),orawhite-suited,fan-brandishing（揮舞扇子的）lawyerwithulterior（秘而不宣的）motive（動機）.,AndthereareseveralimportantAmericantalesandnovelswithstrongGothicelementsinthissense,fromPoetoFaulknerandbeyond.CharlotteBrontsJaneEyre(1847)EmilyBrontsWutheringHeights,Faulknersmostfamous,mostpopular,andmostanthologizedshortstory,“ARoseforEmily”evokesthetermsSoutherngothicandgrotesque,twotypesofliteratureinwhichthegeneraltoneisoneofgloom,terror,andunderstatedviolence.,ThestoryisFaulknersbestexampleoftheseformsbecauseitcontainsunimaginablydarkimages:adecaying（腐朽的）mansion（宅第）,acorpse,amurder,amysteriousservantwhodisappears,and,mosthorribleofall,necrophilia(戀尸癖)aneroticorsexualattractiontocorpses.,CulturalContext,TheOldSouthhasbeenidealized(理想化)asalandofprosperousplantations（種植園）,largewhitehouses,culturedpeople,andastableeconomybasedoncotton.Likeanyutopia（烏托邦）,however,thispictureisadistortion.Ithidesmanyoftheunpleasant,evenappalling,realitiesofplantationlifeoneofwhichwasslavery.,Still,longaftertheCivilWar(1861-1865),withmuchoftheSouthdestroyedandbeset（困擾）byeconomichardship（困難）,themythpersistedamongmanywhiteSoutherners(likeEmilyandherneighbors)asakindofnostalgia（懷舊）foragoldenage.,ThemesoftheStory,Amongotherthemes,itemphasizesthedifferencesbetweenthepast,withitsaristocracy（貴族）ColonelSartorisgallantry(politeunselfishattentionpaidbyamantoawoman),theGriersonsaloofnessandpride,andtheboardofoldaldermens(地方官員)respectforMissEmilyandthemoderngenerationsbusiness-likementality（心態）,embodiedintheboardofnewaldermenandthemanymodernconvenienceswehearabout.,AsFrankA.LittlerwritesinNotesonMississippiWriters,“ARoseforEmily”hasbeen“readvariouslyasaGothichorrortale,astudyinabormalasychology,anallegory(寓言)oftherelationsbetweenNorthandSouth,ameditationonthenatureoftime,andatragedywithEmilyasasortoftragicheroine.”,Whysuchatitleforthestory?,Whenaskedataseminar（討論課，研討會）attheUniversityofVirginiaaboutthemeaningofthetitle“ARoseforEmily,”Faulknerreplied,“Oh,itssimplythepoorwomanhadnolifeatall.Herfatherhadkepthermoreorlesslockedupandthenshehadaloverwhowasabouttoquither,shehadtomurderhim.,ItwasjustARoseforEmilythatsall.”Inanotherinterview,askedthesamequestion,hereplied,“Ipitiedherandthiswasasalute(致意),justasifyouweretomakeagesture,asalute,toanyone;toawomanyouwouldhandarose,asyouwouldliftacupofsaketoaman.”,PlotoftheStory,Onewayofexplainingtheexcellenceof“ARoseforEmily”isbyconsideringitslackofchronologicalorder.Suchadissection(分解)oftheshortstoryinitially（一開始）mightappeartoweakenit,butthisapproachallowsustoseeFaulknersgeniusatworkparticularlyhisownuniquewayoftellingastory.,InthemannerthatFaulknertellsit,heleavesushorrifiedaswediscover,bitbybit,whythisso-callednoblewomanisnowa“fallenmonument.”,PointofViewoftheStory,“ARoseforEmily”isasuccessfulstorynotonlybecauseofitsintricately（錯綜復雜地）complexchronology（時間順序）,butalsobeca