Tragic Age, Miserable Fate

William Faulkner is indisputably considered to be a giant in American literature. Being not only a notable Mississippi writer, but also a Nobel Prize-winning writer, he is known as one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers in the world. As one of Faulkner’s masterpieces, Light in August is recognized as one of Faulkner’s most impressive fictional achievements and acknowledged as one of his best works by some critics.This novel is full of tragic women characters. Joanna never gets married; Lena is abandoned by her lover. Milly Hines is bled to death by her crazy racist father. Mrs. Hightower is driven to suicide. Besides, there are some minor women characters who also live a miserable life under various prejudices. Their miserable life is doomed in that certain period of history, when racism, Puritanism and sexism dominated the ideology of human beings. In fact, racism, Puritanism and sexism are three dark powers, which squeeze all of human kindness out of human nature. By his true-to-life observation on women, Faulkner reveals the irrational discrimination towards women, and shows his sympathy to them.This thesis intends to explore the tragic fate of the women characters in this novel from three aspects by illustrating racial discrimination, analyzing the impact of Puritanism on human nature, and criticizing the destruction of sexism on women as a whole.Chapter one centers on the tragic women characters under racism. The concern over racial problem and people’s attitudes toward the black are indispensable elements in the society. The whites and anyone who has connection with the blacks are excluded and punished severely. Women characters in this novel, such as Joanna and Milly. can neither live a harmonious life within the community nor can they enjoy beautiful love.Chapter two analyses the tragic women characters under Puritanism. The first part discusses the influence of Puritanism on women’s twisted sexuality taking Joanna and Mrs. Hightower as examples. Besides, the stern self-control lifestyle of Puritan families also advocates fathers’and husbands’supreme power. As a result, daughters and wives are thrown at the humble position in the family. The second part of this chapter concentrates on women’s servile lifestyle under the requirements of Puritanism. Discussed in the third chapter is the poisoning and destructive effect of sexism on women. Women are essentially excluded from the man-dominated society and under the oppression in patriarchy. They are docile bodies with no discourse right, so they always keep silent. The first part is about women’s voiceless state in man-centered society. The second part concentrates on women’s roles as men’s tools either to satisfy men’s instinctive needs or to fulfill the biological reproduction duty. On no condition are women allowed to show their natural sexual desire at their free will. Moaning in the inferior position, women as a whole are repressed by men in the society...