摘要

福克纳的《献给爱米丽的玫瑰》是一部经典的哥特式小说。无论是小说的主题，人物，环境还是情节，都是典型的哥特式。作者通过描写爱米丽悲剧的一生, 深刻反映出在北方工业发展冲击下，美国南方旧传统体制不仅不能跟上时代的脚步反而给人们带来了巨大的社会压力。小说通篇充满了神秘，恐怖的氛围。本文将从哥特式主题、哥特式人物、象征手法这三个方面剖析《献给艾米丽的玫瑰》中的哥特式特征，从而再现福克纳对南方文明的哀思。

关键词：福克纳；哥特式特征；主题；人物；象征

ABSTRACT

William Faulkner’s novel A Rose for Emily is a classical gothic novel. The topic, characters, environment and plot are all of typical gothic style. By depicting the tragedy of Emily in Gothic style, the author sharply criticizes that the old south traditions and systems can’t pace with the times and bring people a great deal of social pressure. The whole story is filled with a horrible and mysterious atmosphere. This paper mainly makes an analysis of the novel’s Gothic characteristics from three aspects: the gothic topic, the gothic characters and the gothic technique of expression. Through this novel, Faulkner would like to express his deep feelings of lament and regret towards the lost southern civilization.

Key Words: Faulkner; Gothic characteristics; theme; the characters; symbolism

1.    Introduction
1.1     Gothic Novel
Gothic novel, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, originated in England. It is a special genre in the Romantic period. And the critic called it “dark romanticism”. The topic of gothic novel is often full of death, violence, revenge and horrible scene. The purpose is to render the atmosphere，then to reveal the darkness and evil, and to criticize the society. Tracy Ann (1988), in her book The Gothic Novel 1790-1830, points out that the gothic novel describes an overturned world, and we could feel such a world from its plot, environment and characters.

1.2 Faulkner and His Gothic Novel
William Faulkner, who was born in the Southern America, is one of the greatest American writers in the 20th century. Faulkner writes numerous famous novels, such as As I Lay Dying (1930), Light in August (1932), Absalom, Absalom! (1936) and so on. He was a prolific writer of short stories, and he got Nobel Prize in literature in 1949.