The Tragic Love of an Aristocratic Lady - On Personality Distortion of Miss Emily

摘要

In A Rose for Emily written by William Faulkner, the heroine Miss Emily, kills her lover and stores the corpse at home for several decades. Miss Emily seems morbid, however, she is a tragic character who calls for sympathy. This essay is in an attempt to construe her murder case as an outcome of personality distortion resulted from the family restriction, the lover's disloyalty and the town people's gossip. Under their combined pressure, Miss Emily fails to fulfill her desire for love and withdrew to solitude until death.