In the postwar South, relationships between men and women were beginning to change. Gwendolyn Chabrier writes, “While the antebellum South was traditionally a patriarchy, by the time of the war and particularly afterward, this paternal system was undermined” (Chabrier, 66). But even as ideas about gender evolve, the transition from traditional ways of thinking to entirely different viewpoints is not easy. In the Compson family, we are confronted with two very contrasting images of women. Caroline is the traditional Southern woman who is submissive, domestic, dependent on men. Caddy, however, has transcended the boundaries set for women in the past, ignoring the importance of maintaining the innocent virgin image that a woman must maintain until marriage. However, neither woman is able to reconcile her lifestyle with a changing society. Caroline's attempts to recreate the past fail, and Caddy is banished from her family due to her refusal to conform to the family's image as a woman. At a time when traditional Southern thought is declining in importance, and before a body of ideas emerges to replace them, women are torn between the traditional mores of the past and the emerging and still uncertain ideas of modern times. . Faulkner depicts a time when women face the dilemma of defining their place amidst changing times, while still confronting lingering traditional ideas and standards of how a woman should live. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Chabrier writes: “The Old South is dead, or at least dying, but the New South has barely begun to breathe, and Faulkner's families are caught between these two worlds just as Faulkner himself is. even was taken” (Chabrier, 2). Caroline represents one extreme, a woman obsessed with her image as a true “lady” of the South and who defends the traditions of the past. Caroline repeatedly talks about the importance of being a woman. “I was taught that there is no middle ground for whether a woman is a lady or not,” she notes (Faulkner, 103). But what exactly is a “lady”? Family history is definitely a factor. Caroline is both proud to be a Bascomb, but irritated at being of a lower social class than her husband. “I was unhappy, I was just a Bascomb,” she remarks (Faulkner, 103). However, despite her ambivalent feelings, Caroline considers her heritage an important part of her identity. It's because of this mindset that Caroline doesn't want Caddy's daughter, Quentin, to know her mother. It's as if by cutting off Caddy, who Caroline sees as the source of trouble, Quentin has a better chance of becoming a true Southern lady. “It will be hard enough as it is, with the inheritance she already has,” comments Caroline (Faulkner, 198 years old). Although her plan ultimately fails, Caroline's actions reveal the importance she places on the family legacy. Caroline's characteristics fit the image of the pre-Civil War Southern lady, as she is submissive to male authority, fragile, and virtually powerless. Chabrier writes: "[Faulkner's] fictional families, like his and other Southern families, were descendants of a patriarchal society in which women were relegated to a ceremonial pedestal" (Chabrier, x). Caroline demonstrates her lack of authority by providing no maternal role for her children, and later loses control of Quentin, not even having the power to make her attend school. Caroline is like an ornament with no real use andpractical. Still ill, she needs Dilsey to help her with the simplest tasks, like filling her hot water bottle or picking up the Bible where it fell on the floor. Caroline orders Dilsey to put the Bible within reach, complaining, "That's where you put it before. Do you want me to have to get out of bed to pick it up?" (Faulkner, 300). She is completely submissive to her husband, and later to Jason, without ever contradicting them or being able to make her own decisions. The sickly Caroline shows her weakness by crying whenever Jason disagrees with her, always giving in to her final decision in a wave of tears and self-pity. She urges Dilsey to take the same attitude with Jason, criticizing him for not immediately following Jason's orders. She said: “He is the head of the house now. It's his right to demand that we respect his wishes... It's not up to you or me to tell Jason what to do. Sometimes I think he is wrong, but I try to obey his wishes for the good of all (Faulkner, 278). Caroline's insistence on clinging to old values ​​such as extreme submission to male authority contributes to her weakness as a mother and grandmother. . Chabrier comments: “Women, from the pre-Civil War South, although trained to embody the ideals of perfection and submission, were incontestably assigned a lower social position than men” (Chabrier, 58). Unfortunately, Caroline fits the role of "Southern Lady" at a time when this image is losing its importance. The Compson family is deteriorating, its land assets are diminishing, but Caroline refuses to see what is happening and to change with the present. She believes that because she is a "lady" she will always have a special privilege in society and even in the eyes of God. Absorbed in her illusions, Caroline told Dilsey that her son, Quentin, could not have intended to harm her. by committing suicide. "Under God's heaven, what reason did he have? It can't just be to flout and hurt me. Whoever God was, He wouldn't allow that. I'm a lady" (Faulkner 299-300). Caroline clings to her naive illusions of privilege while her family crumbles around her. Chabrier comments: “[The Southerner] must function in a universe in which he and the value system that accompanies him are outdated” (Chabrier, xi). Caroline banishes her daughter from the family, loses Quentin by suicide, her husband by natural death, and finds herself with Jason, authoritarian and bitter, and "the idiot", Benjy, whom she knows Jason will send her to the public hospital afterwards. she dies. Despite the importance she places on the family heritage and her great efforts to maintain her image as a woman, Caroline finds herself alone, unloved and powerless. Chabrier notes the reluctance of Southerners to stop living in the past. Faulkner's work is a mirror of Southern society, which is a traditional, homogeneous world that is unwilling and unable to adapt to change. It is a society whose inhabitants attempt to maintain their uniform perception of the world based on a common vision of life and morality (Chabrier, 2). Due to Caroline's efforts to maintain an outdated image, rather than involving herself in the affairs of the present, she finds herself completely powerless in Jason's hands, uninvolved in decision-making, helpless and hopeless. Unlike her mother, Caddy doesn't care about the customs of the past. She displays this attitude through her lack of respect for authority and her lack of concern to maintain her image as an innocent virgin, as an unmarried woman should do. From her childhood, she displays her tendencies to oppose her father's wishes by climbing the tree in the middle of the night to witness thefuneral. Despite Versh's warning, "Your paw told you to stay out of that tree", Caddy climbs it nonetheless. She retorts: "It was a long time ago... I guess he forgot about it. Besides, he told me to take care of myself tonight" (Faulkner, 39). Aside from this "unladylike" behavior of climbing trees, Caddy differs from her mother in her ease in undermining masculine authority. John Earl Bassett notes: "While the rest of the family remains frozen in time like Quentin, or trapped in a self-centered past like his parents, or out of time like Benjy, Caddy is an attractive and rebellious person, the only one Compson to affirm it. own independence from the stupefying environment of his youth” (Bassett, 411). As Caddy grows up, she takes her rebellion a step further by beginning to "experiment" with boys, despite the societal stigma against premarital sex. For Caddy's mother, Caroline's generation, there are only two generations. labels for single women: virginity, linked to purity and innocence, and conversely, promiscuity. Caddy, who is part of the new generation, does not see the importance of making such a distinction and therefore continues to have sex, completely ignoring society's point of view. that a young woman's worth is based on her sexuality, comments Michael Gresset: "It doesn't take long for [Caddy] to solve the only problem she faces: that of the environment. Within the social unit of the family, integration quickly proves impossible: then... it will be excluded, like an expelled foreign body (Gresset, 174). Whether Caddy is "promiscuous" or simply "progressive", her lack of concern for being the image of a true Southern lady, and the resulting pregnancy, lead to her banishment from the family and ultimately her separation from his daughter. Although Caddy, in some ways, acts as a foil to her mother, Caroline, their fate is Like Caroline, Caddy finds herself alone, with no opportunity to raise her daughter. Caddy pleads with Jason, first offering him money to reunite her with his daughter, then simply begging him to treat Quentin well. Don't lie to me now. About her I won't ask anything to see. If that's not enough, I'll just send you more each month. do that. Things for her. Be nice to her. The little things I can't, they don't allow... (Faulkner, 209). Like her mother, Caddy does not have the power to influence Jason's behavior. Caroline, sick, old and living in illusions of the past, is entirely dependent on her son. Caddy, who chooses not to pay attention to traditions and past perceptions of being a woman, is also dependent on Jason, forced to rely on him to raise her daughter. Chabrier writes: “Faulkner's women are not themselves the origin of feminine evil but are rather victims of codes and norms of behavior which are deleterious to them” (Chabrier, 78). Although Caroline and Caddy have opposing values, each is a victim of their environment. In a time of great social change, Caroline's old ideas about family structure and social hierarchy lose the importance they had in the past. On the contrary, Caddy's disregard for tradition and image is frowned upon by a society that cannot easily shed old ways of thinking, leading to her daughter's separation. Each woman finds herself unable to define her place in an age of social flux, resulting in tragedy for both. Works Cited Bassett, John Earl. “Family Conflict in The Sound and the Fury.” Critical Essays on William Faulkner: The Compson Family. Ed. Arthur F. Kinney. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co.,.. 173-181.