Femininity In A Rose For Emily And Bronte's Jane Eyre

Female Monsters: Departure from Femininity

Eve Sedgwick writes in her seminal work The Coherence of Gothic Conventions, that in Gothic literature, character doubles are often representative of a self that is “massively blocked off from something to which it ought normally to have access” (13). In both Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily and Bronte’s Jane Eyre monsters exist in the form of an other, separate, but still tied to that character. In A Rose for Emily, Emily Grierson acts as her own double; appearing as a “poor” unmarried woman to her inquisitive, judgmental town, while in reality being someone quite nefarious. In Jane Eyre, Bronte portrays two characters; Jane who increasingly adopts and upholds the notions of proper femininity as an upper

As Jane allows the reader to be privy to her innermost thoughts, she illustrates a self that cannot be accessed, a sort of ungovernable otherness that is blocked by her outer persona. Gilbert and Gubar write in The Madwoman in the Attic that maddened doubles function as asocial surrogates for docile selves (xi). Bertha Mason, on the other hand is the uncontrollable other of Jane’s compliant exterior, and functions as Jane’s surrogate. To be considered a proper lady at this time, women were expected to be passive and doll-like. What Jane cannot express as a woman trying to fit into the mould, Bertha embodies without constraint (Gilbert and Gubar, 319). Bertha is the picture of passion, she is femininity out of control, she is mad with ungovernable excitement. Bertha is the gothic lunatic, who functions as the more demure heroine’s double, breaking from the constraints of society. Bertha’s subversive behavior, as well as foreign race, represents a woman who is atypical of the society that surrounds her. Therefore, Bertha is seen as unmanageable, and villainized for outwardly expressing her inner rage. Emily Grierson disregards convention in Faulkner’s short work in ways that depict her as a monstrous female as well. Parallel to the plight of Bertha Mason, Emily is in everyway, also trapped in the architecture of a patriarchal society, bound by a noble

There is however more reason for this than just a thirst for gossip. Emily Grierson embodies her society’s discomfort with their own value system, and her continued disregard of social progress is an uncomfortable reminder of things past. With her “big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies” (Faulkner 1), Emily, like the house she lives in, is incongruous with the gasoline pumps and modern landscapes of the town. She lives as a ghostly, gothic phantom, a reminder of the town’s own communal horrors. Thus, the town’s ability to move away from the last vestiges of the old south and its history of slavery is blocked by Emily Grierson. Emily’s presence thereby prevents her society from progressing in perceived socially acceptable steps. Emily is the town pariah, obstructive to the town’s desire for progress. Emily becomes a monster not only by her ghastly act, but also in the eyes of the town by preventing any healing from their southern guilt. Monsters in the same way do not wish for their subjects to forget, but rather to inflict harm. Similarly, Bertha Mason blocks Jane Eyre from achieving her socially acceptable path. Jane must marry Rochester in order to achieve the title of a proper Victorian woman. This however, is not possible since Rochester is already married to