Abstract:William Faulkner is one of the most influential writers in American literature. After the south was defeated in the American Civil War, Faulkner saw the evil of southern racism, and  created a lot of women images in his works, and indicated the decline of southern nobles. He also condemned many inhuman religions, values and social forces that destroy women. “A Rose for Emily” and “Dry September” are the two most classic short stories describing the decline of the myth of Southern lady.

    The thesis is intended to analyze two southern women, Emily and Minnie, and analyze the reasons for their tragic fate, including personal and social reasons. The thesis has five parts. The first is the introduction to the author and the two short stories. Then the second part introduces Faulkner’s southern complex, which is embodied in the two short stories. Faulkner’s deep concern for the southern women is also discussed in this part. The third part is the most important one, which analyzes the humanity distortion of the two women and the reasons for it. The fourth part is the conclusion.

Keywords:  William Faulkner  “A Rose For Emily”  “Dry September”

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Introduction to William Faulkner-1

1.2 Faulkner’s Two Classic Works-1

1.2.1 “A Rose for Emily”-1

1.2.1 “Dry September”-2

1.3 Literature Review-2

1.4 Structure of the Thesis-3

Chapter Two Faulkner’s Southern Complex-4

2.1 The American Southern Literature Tradition-4

2.2 Faulkner’s Southern Complex Revealed in His Novels-4

2.3 Faulkner’s Southern Complex Revealed in His Portrait of Southern Women-5

2.4 Faulkner’s Deep Concern and Sympathy for Southern Women-6

Chapter three Two Classic Southern Women Images-8

3.1 Emily in “A Rose for Emily”-8

3.1.1 Abnormal Emily-8

3.1.2 Reasons for Emily’s Abnormal Humanity-8

3.2 Minnie in “Dry September”-10

3.2.1 Distorted Minnie-10

3.2.2 Reasons for Minnie’s Distortion-11

Chapter Four Conclusion-14

References-15