A Study of "Southern Complex" in William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily

Abstract

A Rose for Emily is William Faulkner's most critical short story in expressing the "Southern complex". The characters in the story can be divided into two categories in their attitude towards the "Southern Complex". The first type is represented by the older generation and the black people, who always shows their blind worship to everything in the old South. The second group is made up of the new generation and Emily, who tries to break through the old Southern system while also being dominated by it. By telling Emily's tragic story, Faulkner not only unveils the veil of the "Southern Complex", but also profoundly reflects on the old Southern traditions and people's conventional ideas.