her life nor the rights she should have, but her chastity and virginity. It exposed the negative side of the Old American South that men actually controlled women in the name of moral. Living in this society was the beginning of Emily's tragic fate. Emily was just made to be such an ideal woman, and she was always regarded as a symbol of the tradition and the past in the Jefferson society. Though she got respect and attention from the townspeople, Emily was never treated with a sense that she was also a flesh and blood human being. No one had ever thought that she should also have the rights to live a normal life, and to get what she needed and desired. On the contrary, they destroyed all her chances to be a normal person. 4.2.2 Downfall of the Traditional Southern Values

After finding the roots of the social evils, we look back to the story.

Dominated by her aristocratic father, and fettered by the tradition, she was deprived of the rights to enjoy her own life. In the townspeople's eyes, she was an idol because of her status. Without the aristocratic status, what else had she got? Wealth? In fact, after her father's death she was left alone and penniless. Kinship, friendship, or love? Nothing. Then, what did the community really worship about? It was their past glory which had already gone.

In many Faulkner's novels, the female characters often play an important role to exposing the theme. Like Caddy Compson in The Sound and the Fury, her promiscuity foreshadows the downfall of the traditional Southern Values. Similarly, Emily's crime also can indicate that the downfall cannot be avoided.

In the story, Emily was the representative of the old tradition which could be viewed as the root cause of the whole tragedy. After suffering a lot, she let her soul stay in the past. With her dead lover, Emily locked herself in the faded traditional bridal room. And eventually, when she died, the old tradition and the Old American South that she represented were brought to the end and buried with her death. It is a tragedy of the southern tradition, and it is also a funeral for the southern culture buried by time. So, A Rose for Emily is not only considered as a dirge for Emily, but also a

eulogy dedicated to the downfall of the traditional southern society. V.Conclusion

In the southern literature, we can see a strong sense of hierarchy, a belief in white superiority, and a stereotype of a Southern \influence in the history of American South. After the Civil War, the invasion of the Northern industry and commercialization caused great tension among the southerners and inevitably changed their code of morality and ways of life which had been well established in the past decades. The unique cultural tradition of the South suffered fatal blows during the Civil War and went into decline during the Reconstruction. After the war, the relic forces of the slave owners have undergone great psychological changes. They were proud of their past glory and dreamed that they would be able to go back to the lost old world.

William Faulkner, as one of the most typical American South writers in the 20th century, focuses on the people's life of the Southern society after the Civil War. In his most famous short story, A Rose for Emily, the last aristocrat, Emily Grierson, was deeply fettered by the southern tradition and was totally psychologically twisted to murder her lover. In review of her individual tragedy, we can generally attribute the root causes to three aspects, the aristocratic status, the suppression of patriarchy and her own violent psychological conflicts.

Through examining her tragedy, Faulkner launched a fierce attack against the patriarchal system and the moral fetters forced upon the women of the American South. He offers a rose to express his sympathy and appreciation for Emily and her like who struggles unconsciously against the tyrannical patriarchal system and the moral fetters on the women. Furthermore, he sings a dirge for the inevitable contabescence of the traditional southern society.

References

[1] A. Nicholas Fargnoli. Critical Companion to William Faulkner: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work[M]. New York: InfoBase Publishing, 2008:242-244.

[2] Charles Reagan Wilson & William Ferris. Encyclopedia of Southern Culture Volume 3 Literature- Recreation[M]. New York:Anchor Books Doubleday,1990. [3] Cleanth Brooks & Robert Penn Warren. Understanding Fiction[M]. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1979.

[4] Harold Bloom. Bloom’s Modern Critical Views: William Faulkner, New

Edition[M]. New York: InfoBase Publishing, 2008.

[5] James L. Roberts, Faulkner's Short Stories[M]. New York:Hungry Minds, Inc., 1997.

[6] Philip M. Weinstein. The Cambridge Companion to William Faulkner[M]. New York：Cambridge University Press，2006.

[7] Theresa M. Towner. Reading Faulkner Collected Stories[M]. New York: University Press of Mississippi, 2006.

[8] Theresa M. Towner. The Cambridge Introduction to William Faulkner[M]. New York: Cambridge University Press，2008.

[9] William Faulkner. A Rose for Emily[M]. New York: Perfection Learning Corp, 2007.

[10] 刘卓,彭昌柳. 艾米莉：矛盾的南方人 [J]. 东北大学学报，2004(5).

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