Discrimination In A Rose For Emily

Honors English III

Research Paper Rough Draft

Female discrimination or the basic negative overall view on women has been around for centuries. Relating back to the time period when women did not have rights, women were often forced to follow social norms. These norms, known as the acceptable behavior in a group or society, dictated women’s roles in families, society, and politics. Before the turn of the century, women did not have any rights and were forced to have only few responsibilities. Women were discriminated due to their sex, which made them less equal than man. In the story, "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner, Miss. Emily, being the main character is faced with the changes that came along during the turn of the century.

The short story tells about what life was like for Miss Emily, and also talks a little about her African-American servant. During the turn of the century, different ideas and social norms began.
Women were mainly thought of doing only certain tasks. The men were expected to be the head of the family, which meant having a job where the income would be used to sustain the family, and other issues relating to the representation of the family. The women however, were expected to mainly be in charge of the household, growth and development of the children, which caused women to be dependent on their husbands. Women were mainly thought of being more property, than actual individuals. Miss Emily is a great portrayal of some of the social norms women had to face. Some of these were such as being married, having a specific role in the family household, and being taken care of by the husband. "A Rose for Emily", by William Faulkner, accurately portrays what life was like for women during the turn of the century by showcasing the views of women in society and their roles in the family structure.
Women were discriminated due to their gender, which made them be considered second class and viewed did not have any rights, which made the male the supreme dominant in all family or business affairs. Males were mostly considered the top of the society only due to their gender. As a result, women were considered second class and under the man. In The "Right of Women and the Problem of Power”, the author writes, "a focus on citizenship and political rights and more than exclude women; it subsumed them within a discourse, largely of, by and for men"(Cayton 298). This proves how women were viewed poorly and only considered to a certain extent. This quote shows how women were often dominated by man. In A Higher "Standard of Life" for the World: U.S. Labor Women's Reform Internationalism and the Legacies of 1919, the author writes, "The two hundred women who responded to the call demanded a voice for working women in shaping a new world order". Before the turn of the century women were not allowed to work, however as duty called, women began to join the workforce. In doing so women who worked encouraged to have equal rights in order to not be overpowered by men anymore. Since women only had begun to work, they needed to at least have rights in order to protect themselves. This was because women were viewed poorly, especially those who had began to stand against the traditional ways/ideas in which women did not work. Women and men were both created different, which as an outcome caused one to dominate the other. Women had been dominated most of the centuries before a change began. "It began not in the mid-1920s with the battles over the equal rights treaty but a decade earlier in the prewar search for machinists to promote global economic justice and working women's right". This quote written in A Higher "Standard of Life" for the World: U.S. Labor Women's Reform Internationalism and Legacies of 1919, shows how the fight for equal rights for women had been since a long hard battle. Women were not considered equal and did not receive the same rights or any as men did. Women for years were considered less than men because of gender. Thus, being the same reason as to why they are viewed poorly. It is a true injustice on how women were viewed for so many years. Women are able to do just as good if not better than men in a lot of tasks, only thing to do is see it first hand.
Due to society, women were only considered to be in charge of the household and child birth. From the very beginning, women were always thought of for childbirth. Which meant that the big role they ever played was mainly in the household. Women were to keep the household in good and proper shape while taking care of the children. Women because of this, were merely thought of as property, which assured them to have no say in family matters. The husband had the finally say in whatever the tasks was. In The "Right of Woman" and the Problem of Power, the author writes, "Yes, marriage potentially united the interests of powerful men through an exchange of women who produced heirs and daughters to marry to other heirs". This quote tells of how were mainly thought of property to create more "heirs" as in men. Since men were dominant, it was important in a family to have an heir. Being the woman or wife in the family, it was the job of them to create/give birth to a boy. The boy would be the man who would be left in charge once the father/husband died. Another quote that the authors writes is, "women mattered to the extent of their attachment to powerful men". This quote explains how women were not considered to be equal as men, instead they were property. Due to being viewed as property, women were not allowed to have equal rights. In Ratifying Women's Rights, the author writes, "to achieve the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the inferiority or superiority of either of the sexes or on superiority roles for men and women". This is a great example of how the old and stereotypical ideas had a great effect on the roles for both men and women. Women because of this were confined to have specific roles both in society and in family matters because of their sex gender. Women were injusticely confined to specific roles due to stereotypical views on both sex genders. Women should have always had the same equal rights just as men did. Never judge a book by its cover.
"A Rose for Emily" accurately portrays the way women were treated and thought of.

In "A Rose for Emily", Miss Emily is judged throughout the entire short story for being a women. In the short story, other take pity on her because of her father's death leaving her all alone to take care of. "Only a man of Colonel Sartoris' generation and thought could have invented it, and only a woman could have believed it" (Faulkner 8). This quote explains how Colonel Sartoris took pity on Miss Emily because she was alone and had no man other than her father who had past to take care of her. Which lead him to create a lie in which meant she would not have to pay taxes. The way the authors writes only a man of that certain generation and thought would come up with such a thing explained how some people continued to have the old views. “So when she got to be thirty and was still single, we were not pleased exactly, but vindicated; even with insanity in the family she wouldn’t have turned down all of her chances if they had really materialized" (Faulkner 14). This quotes points out the way in which society was judging Miss Emily due to her lack of being married or being engaged to a man, who would take care of her. Some still had the views in which the man was the head of the entire family, and with Miss Emily having no one else than her passed father, she was all alone. “Then some of the ladies began to say that it was a disgrace to the town and a bad example to the young people" (Faulkner 19). Since Miss Emily, was still dealing with views and judgements from society many started to believe she was a disgrace because she was a women without a man. Miss Emily was considered a second class women who had no one to take care of her, which brought others to think she would disgrace the following generations. Miss Smily did indeed face the harsh judgments from society due to stereotypical and social Norma's which had been created so long ago, which roves of how "A Rose for Emily"

did accurately portray the way women were treated at the turn of the century. Which is clear to say, old habits die hard.
Women discrimination along with the stereotypical views and social norms force upon, did a great injustice to woman in the United States. These created harsh and forced upon life roles for women, which only limited their capabilities. The views on woman had been greatly influenced from old traditional views, however over time the battle for equal rights for women did appear. In the short story, "A Rose for Emily", William Faulkner does portray the views and ways women had been treated during the turn of the century. Which needless to say was a different and long battle for the equality of women. It just goes to show that one should never judge a book by its cover.