Motionless as an Idol - Columbus State University

Bullock 10Another art metaphor Faulkner uses in relation to Addie is that of a bronzecasting:She looks down at the face. Itis like a casting of fading bronze upon the pillow,the hands alone still with any semblance of life:a curled, gnarled inertness; aspent yet alert quality from which weariness, exhaustion, travail has not yetdeparted [...] (51)This metaphor expands that of the composite picture with Faulkner reiterating just howmuch of Addie is the creation of other people. She is never described as vibrant or full ofpersonality. Instead, she is described as weary, burdened, and miserable - living throughthe role others have assigned her - or, in essence, cast her. Richard Pearce reminds usthat "Addie cannot break from society, or even escape her social construction. But shedoes not give in to it" (95).In this way, Faulkner conveys the continued plight of womenas itis passed on from father to son, perpetuated throughout generations.In As I Lay Dying, Faulkner offers a male character who could be seen asrepresentative of the possible changes in the South. Both As I Lay Dying and "A Rose forEmily" were published in 1930, so itis probable that Faulkner was considering some ofthe same issues with each text and providing alternate consequences based on thediffering characters and their differing representations of gender. The doctor, Peabody,comes to examine Addie and reads into her expression of resistance to him the plight hehas seen in the faces of other women. Peabody describes the scene:[Addie] watches me: Ican feel her eyes. It's like she was shoving at me withthem. I have seen it before in women. Seen them drive from the room them