Both, "Rose for Emily", and "Old Gardiston", are two different stories that about two different women, but they both struggle with trying to keep time stand still. In a Rose for Emily, she is a very mysterious woman in her town. She never marries, but she did fall in love. Many men always chased after her, but no man was ever good enough for her by the standards of her father, and later the town. The man was just a common man, so it would be against society if she was seen with him. Instead of embracing time and enjoying every moment, Emily holds on to certain moments. When she died, there was a room found in her house, covered in dust, with her lover's skeleton on the bed and a piece of her "iron grey hair" lying on the pillow next to it. Emily had a hard time letting go of what once was, and the only way she finally was able to let go, was by death itself. At the same time, Gardis, the main character of Old Gardiston, wanted to make time stand still. She inherited a great southern mansion, that was falling apart because nobody had the money to keep it up. Gardis wanted to make time stand still, and hold onto the family name, what they once were, which was southern and proud. Event the house is described through proud personification, "Gardiston house, the living reminder and the constant support of that family pride in which she had been nurtured, her one possession in the land which she had so loved". After resisting letting go of the house, and resisting her northerner suitor, Gardis succumbs to both of these things. In the end the old house burns down, and she finally allows herself to fall in love with a man even though he is from the north.
The fact that these women wanted to make time stand still, created a Gothic element in these short stories. In a "Rose for Emily" the end scene was very Gothic including, the mystery of what might lye behind Emily's door, extreme amounts of dust, and a skeleton in the bed. In "Old Gardiston" there was the old southern Gothic mansion, the ending of a family line, and later the burning of the house.
I totally agree with you, in all of the southern gothic lit. it seems like the main theme is making time stand still.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that a major theme in these southern gothic stories is making time stand still. I think that with everything changing in America after the restoration, making time stand still symbolizes tradition, and how people of the south didn't want the restoration to change that.
ReplyDeleteI always thought this was a very interesting concept, how southern gothic novels like to make time stand still. I agree that this has to do with the time period. Before the civil war slaves used to try as hard as they could to keep their traditions from home alive. When reconstruction happened the white people joined in and wanted to preserve their way of life from before as well. I may be biased because Im from the North, but I think it's healthy that they finally give in and accept the change.
ReplyDeleteTo reiterate what others have already stated, I too think that the idea of time standing still in southern gothic novels is very intriguing. The fact that the South wanted to keep slavery around like it always had been had a large influence on this overall theme.
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