The document analyzes Southern Gothic literature, focusing on the works of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor, and explores themes related to the influence of the past, particularly the antebellum South and its decay. It discusses the conflict between characters representing the past and the present, as well as societal misfits reflecting the aristocracy and the 'cult of true womanhood.' The document highlights female characters' struggles with societal expectations and the lingering effects of historical traditions on their identities.

1. Southern Gothic Literature William Faulkner &
Flannery O’Connor

2. http://xchanges.org/xchanges_archive/xchanges/1.2/wilson.html

3. Southern Gothic Literature: Themes
Taken from the Natalie Wilson online article

4. Southern Gothic Literature: Setting
“An awareness of the past and its influence on the present” (Wilson)
• One event that seems to loom in the setting of Faulkner and
O’Connor’s literature is the South’s defeat in the Civil War, marking
the end of the South’s Antebellum lifestyle
• Mansions (representing the Antebellum South) are shown in decay
• Characters either believe they are living in the past (often alluding to
people who are dead) or identify themselves with the past and the
Antebellum tradition

6. Southern Gothic Literature: Central Conflict
Characters representing the past,
• Antebellum South (1812-1861)
• Civil War, (1861-1865)
Characters representing the present:
• Reconstruction (1865-1877)
• Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968)

7. Southern Gothic Literature: Characters
Taken from the Natalie Wilson online article

8. Southern Gothic Literature: Societal Misfit
• Historically, the Antebellum South relied on
the socio-economic structure of plantations
and the Southern aristocracy
• The social hierarchy of the Southern
aristocracy is reflected in what Natalie Wilson
terms “societal misfits”

9. Southern Aristocracy
• The Southern aristocracy was the group of families who
controlled power in the South = social, economic, and political
privileges
• To be part of the Southern aristocracy, an individual needed to
be:
• From a family established as Southern aristocrat, either through birth or
through marriage
• Therefore, marriage of children was closely guarded and scrutinized
• Preferably, a child of the aristocracy would marry another member (who
was wealthier)

10. Southern Aristocracy: Expectations for Women
• Women within the Southern aristocracy were
expected to follow what is know as the “Cult
of Domesticity”
• Between 1820 and 1860: a restructuring of
society's views towards the “proper role of
women”
• Defined by Barbara Welter as the “Cult of True
Womanhood”
• Four (4) pillars of the “Cult of True
Womanhood”: Purity, Piety, Submissiveness

11. “The Cult of True Womanhood”
• Piety: Being devout, fidelity to natural
obligations such as to parents, dutifulness in
religion
• Purity: Chastity, being modest in dress and
manner, virginal qualities
• Submissiveness: Yielding authority to others,
men held power over women, who often
could not make decisions for themselves
• Domesticity: Relegated to the house to fulfill
obligations of wife/ mother

12. Consequences of “The Cult of True Womanhood”
• Male members of the family supported female
members
• Women found themselves not allowed to work
(which was considered a demeaning status) =
dependent on male relations
• When male members of the family passed away,
women could not inherit = left to depend on
others for money and support or were left
without support and penniless

13. Gothic Portraits of the Southern Aristocracy
“Societal misfit characters”
• Although members of the Southern aristocracy lost their wealth
during or after the Civil War, many clung to their titles that
retained power and privilege
• The irony of many Southern Gothic “misfit characters” is that
they want to enjoy the privileges and status of their ancestors
although they live in a different historical period in the South (no
longer the Antebellum South with its social traditions)

14. Female Societal Misfit Characters
• Look for female characters who are aligning
themselves with the past by displaying
characteristics of the “Cult of Domesticity”
• For William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” Emily
Grierson seems to be trapped by the traditions of
the Antebellum South as the last Southern belle of
Jefferson, Mississippi
• For Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to
Find,” the author seems to mock the “Cult of
Domesticity” with the exaggerations found in the
grandmother’s character