Motionless as an Idol - Columbus State University
Motionless as an Idol - Columbus State University Motionless as an Idol - Columbus State University
Bullock 18see her in the window in the first place; they are there to attempt to eradicate secretly thehorrible smell her house had begun to exude. By the end of the story, the reader learns theactual source of the smell is Homer Barron's corpse, but Ibelieve Faulkner meant thisdilemma of stench, and its consequent investigative scene, to be more telling than that:"Her house, once the grandest in town, develops a terrible smell, a sort of advertisementthat she has 'fallen'[...]" (Roberts 159). Faulkner uses the "mark" of scent to indicate thefall from purity, and the stench develops around Miss Emily's home at a chronologicallyappropriate time to mark her "fall" (Roberts). Thus, we can assume that the correlationbetween the scent and the fall established by Faulkner in other works applies to MissEmily as well. In this way, the marginalization of women as related to sexuality isfurthered, as Roberts explains:The debate [between the free play of sexuality and the social discourse demandingthe containment of the female body] is played out in Flags in the Dust and TheSound and the Fury, where Narcissa Benbow and Caroline Compson speak fortradition: either you are a lady or you are not. Those who have fallen from purityhave it written on them, a scarlet mark, or an odor: Narcissa says Belle Mitchellsmells 'dirty,' and when Caddy is no longer a virgin, she ceases to 'smell liketrees' [...]. (109)Therefore, the smell coming from Miss Emily's home would have been an indicator tothe town, the reader, and especially to the men who seek to stifle her sexuality that theirplan is awry. The deviance from their plan needs to be corrected as soon as possible,hence the secretive mission to obliterate the smell. The smell contradicts the image of
Bullock 19Miss Emily as idol, thus tarnishing the moral and ideal spinster posture outside of whichthe men of the town refuse to allow Miss Emily to live.The second layer of the men representing Miss Emily as an "idol" recalls thecontrolling elements visible in the tableau. The image of an idol relates to religion andrecalls the idea of Miss Emily as ki a tradition, a duty and a care[,]" with a specific focuson the elements of tradition and duty (74). As Theweleit explains, the idol also meansthat Miss Emily could be for the men:[T]he safe woman; clothed in her white uniform or dress, almost itseems, alreadyin her sepulchre, this woman inspires men to leave her to perform great deeds forher benefit - or so the men say. This woman is glorified and deified, always inabsentia; her image looms significantly, her body ignored completely, (as qtd. inRailey 90)The idea of Miss Emily as safe, deified, and perhaps even dead connects to theconceptualization of femininity Faulkner is revealing the men of possessing. For the mento perceive Miss Emily as either holy or dead allows them to continue perpetuating thesocial strictures they have developed because she is then rendered helpless and powerlessbeneath them. Kevin Railey takes this examination a step further:A key aspect of this definition of masculinity is the objectification of women.[He] objectifies women into ladies for whom he can fight the good fight, denyingtheir sexual presence, praising them as if they were statues, goddesses - ladies onthe pedestal. (87)
- Page 2 and 3: Digitized by the Internet Archivein
- Page 4 and 5: Bullock 2TABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCT
- Page 6 and 7: Bullock 4Iseek to establish my argu
- Page 8 and 9: "Bullock 6wrote about the artists w
- Page 10 and 11: Bullock 8As I Lay Dying and The Sou
- Page 12 and 13: Bullock 10Another art metaphor Faul
- Page 15 and 16: Bullock 13essence, both necessary s
- Page 17 and 18: Bullock 15We had long thought of th
- Page 19: Bullock 17but no longer considered
- Page 23 and 24: Bullock 21The art metaphor of Miss
- Page 25 and 26: Bullock 23Community and Religion in
- Page 27 and 28: Bullock 25Faulkner's response allow
- Page 29 and 30: Bullock 27setting. It is this preoc
- Page 31 and 32: Bullock 29male-dominated system whi
- Page 33 and 34: Bullock 31for Faulkner to communica
- Page 35 and 36: Bullock 33skewed sexuality and misp
- Page 37 and 38: Bullock 35from all walks of life, "
- Page 39 and 40: Bullock 37townspeople, readers can
- Page 41 and 42: Bullock 39one in which male dominan
- Page 43 and 44: The Eternal Feminine, Paul CezanneB
- Page 45 and 46: Bullock 43—. AsI Lav Dying . 1930
Bullock 18see her in the window in the first place; they are there to attempt to eradicate secretly thehorrible smell her house had begun to exude. By the end of the story, the reader learns theactual source of the smell is Homer Barron's corpse, but Ibelieve Faulkner me<strong>an</strong>t thisdilemma of stench, <strong>an</strong>d its consequent investigative scene, to be more telling th<strong>an</strong> that:"Her house, once the gr<strong>an</strong>dest in town, develops a terrible smell, a sort of advertisementthat she h<strong>as</strong> 'fallen'[...]" (Roberts 159). Faulkner uses the "mark" of scent to indicate thefall from purity, <strong>an</strong>d the stench develops around Miss Emily's home at a chronologicallyappropriate time to mark her "fall" (Roberts). Thus, we c<strong>an</strong> <strong>as</strong>sume that the correlationbetween the scent <strong>an</strong>d the fall established by Faulkner in other works applies to MissEmily <strong>as</strong> well. In this way, the marginalization of women <strong>as</strong> related to sexuality isfurthered, <strong>as</strong> Roberts explains:The debate [between the free play of sexuality <strong>an</strong>d the social discourse dem<strong>an</strong>dingthe containment of the female body] is played out in Flags in the Dust <strong>an</strong>d TheSound <strong>an</strong>d the Fury, where Narcissa Benbow <strong>an</strong>d Caroline Compson speak fortradition: either you are a lady or you are not. Those who have fallen from purityhave it written on them, a scarlet mark, or <strong>an</strong> odor: Narcissa says Belle Mitchellsmells 'dirty,' <strong>an</strong>d when Caddy is no longer a virgin, she ce<strong>as</strong>es to 'smell liketrees' [...]. (109)Therefore, the smell coming from Miss Emily's home would have been <strong>an</strong> indicator tothe town, the reader, <strong>an</strong>d especially to the men who seek to stifle her sexuality that theirpl<strong>an</strong> is awry. The devi<strong>an</strong>ce from their pl<strong>an</strong> needs to be corrected <strong>as</strong> soon <strong>as</strong> possible,hence the secretive mission to obliterate the smell. The smell contradicts the image of
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