An Androgynous Interpretation on A Rose for Emily

Abstract：Androgyny is also called “hermaphrodite”. In biology， androgyny is the combination of the male and female in physical structures. After introduced into the areas such as philosophy， theology and psychology， the concept of androgyny is widely used. The original biological meaning has been gradually abandoned， and a series of new conceptions appears. The concept of “androgyny” in Carl G Jungs concept belongs to the system of mythology and archetype. That is， each individual has some characteristic of the opposite Sex. Virginia Woolf， a well-known British female writer， is the first to introduce the theory of androgyny to the field of literary criticism. This thesis is an attempt to have a comprehensive， if not exhaustive， review of the theory of androgyny in the short story A Rose for Emily.

Key words：Androgyny; A Rose for Emily; Anima; Animus; Mother Archetype

I. Introduction of Androgyny

The term “androgyny” can be tracked back in the legendary of human beings. Initially， it was used in botany and biology to identify plants and animals that had the capacity to change sex or to fertilize themselves. After being introduced into psychology and literature， its meaning has been enriched and expanded. Androgyny was not an important and established term in literature until Virginia Woolf introduced it formally into literary criticism， in which it has adopted an additional significance of sex dissolution or transcendence ever since. ?e holds the idea that the ideal state of mind for writing is a dynamic balance of masculine and feminine traits.

The concept of “androgyny” in Carl G Jungs concept belongs to the system of mythology and archetype. That is， each individual has some characteristic of the opposite Sex. Jungs and Virginia Woolfs androgyny concept are presented in this essay. The short story A Rose for Emily demonstrates a combination of anima， animus， and mother archetype.

II. Anima/Feminist in Slave Tobe

Anima is the “l(fā)iving thing in man that lives of itself and the soul， man would rot away in his greatest passion， idleness”. Tobe is dumb and silent： “He talked to no one， probably not even to her， for his voice had grown harsh and rusty， as if from disuse” And readers never learn anything more than what his name tells us：He is servant of Miss Emily. His lifetime career is a combined gardener and cook， going in and out with a market basket， and he is the only sign of life about the Grierson Family after Miss Emily locks herself alive from the outside world and no longer went out. Tobe is also the protector of Emily， and his destiny is to be with her.

Tobe doesnt give birth to Emily， but he has been taking care of Emily， just as exactly as what mothers do. From this point， Tobe and Emily are baring a mother-child relationship and this kind of relationship is symbolic. Anima in Tobe appears when he gets along with Emily.

III. Animus and Masculinity in Miss. Emily

The development of animus in Emilys character is absolutely unavoidable. Emily is born in a southern noble family. In this period， female has no rights and their own statues. “Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background， her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground， his back to her and clutching a horsewhip”. Emilys father suppressed the personality development of Miss Emily. Under the control of her father， though Emily has tried to have her own lovers， the end is no good. After her fathers death， animus in Emily shows more clearly. The cutting off of her long hair is a good example.

The animus in Emily is also shown through the way she deals with other people. It seems that she never knows how to talk with people friendly. Her eyes are scared and her words are always harsh. From all these people can even say that Emily is just like a male. In the fourth part of the story， there is a description about Emily： “During the next few years it grew grayer and grayer until it attained an even pepper-and-salt iron-gray， when it ceased turning. Up to the day of her death at seventy four it was still that vigorous iron gray， like the hair of an active man.” Having not experienced the care of her birth mother， grown up under the power of patriarchy， and even having not got a true love， Emily is losing the soft and kind as a woman and animus is reflected in her obviously.

IIIV. Conclusion

The thesis is about the theory of androgyny in the short story A Rose for Emily. All the four parts describe and analyze the reflection of androgyny in the story. Anima and animus are a harmonious union. Anima， animus and mother archetype combine to make the full sense of androgyny. A Rose for Emily is not the last to show the conception of androgyny. Literature is and will always be connected with countless examples of androgyny.

【Bibliography】

[1] Frederick， L. Gwyin， Joseph Blotner. Faulkner in the University. Virginia： The university of Virginia Press， 1995.

[2] Faulkner， William. A Rose for Emily. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press， 2004.

[3] Jung， C. G. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. China Social Science Publishing House. 1980.

【作者簡介】

郭清瑩（1994—），女，河北省滄州市鹽山縣人，單位：河北大學(xué)外國語學(xué)院。主要研究方向：英語。