It was any easy choice when it came to picking a quote to write about. In Faulkner's story it was easy to see the tragedy, and it was at this point in the story that I felt I really understood our heroine, the smelly recluse known as old Miss Emily.
It was the words "high" and "fallen" that really caught my attention. These two words have two completely opposite meanings, and were a perfect way to describe not only the situation of seeing Miss Emily on the street that day, but also of her story as a whole. Her attempts at seeming untouched by tragedy, of "holding her head high", were a perfect contradiction to the way the people around her perceived her; as a hopeless soul, as "fallen".
The passage was of great importance to the story. Miss Emily was an overall mysterious person. This quote added to the feeling of mystery surrounding her as a person. It gave some insight into her personality. She puts on this front, perhaps out of pride, appearing composed when her past and the resulting recluse-ness speak otherwise. If I had to sum up Emily in just one sentence, I would have put it just like that. However, her short-lived and unsuccessful attempt begs the question of why she gave up putting on a brave face for the public? If she managed to play up her "sanity" so well then, why did she eventually cut herself off from the real world?
What interested me most about this quote was it's simplicity. It said so much in so few words. It captured the essence of Emily's life quite well. It also interested me was how lightly the people around her took her strange behavior. It was as if her refusal to behave as she was expected to given the circumstances was not at all concerning to them.
While reading this story, I was vaguely, yet continuously, reminded of a character in The Virgin Suicides. She was Cecelia Lisbon, the youngest sister of 5, and the first to commit suicide. Cecelia was different than Emily in only one small way; she was not afraid of her actions seeking attention. Cecelia's two suicide attempts consisted of slitting her wrists in the bathtub and having no apparent motive for doing so, and then flinging herself out her window during a party for her and her sisters. Emily, though her behavior was equally as bizarre, especially knowing she was housing the body of her dead lover and possibly sleeping with it, was not as boisterous about her insane plans as Cecelia. However, Cecelia was very much the same as Emily. They both appeared fine and put on a front to hide their true feelings, hoping nobody would be the wiser, and for the most part, it worked.
Great analysis, Brianne. I like the discussion of the "high" and "fallen," which seems to stress Emily's resistance to the town's opinion of her, a burden of loneliness that must have been difficult to bear. I also like the connection to your other reading. Nancy
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