In the post-war 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 especially afterward, that paternal system was undermined” (Chabrier, 66). But although ideas about gender are changing, the transition from traditional ways of thinking to completely different points of view is not easy. In the Compson family we are presented with two very contrasting images of women. Caroline is the traditional Southern woman, 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 uphold until marriage. However, neither woman is able to reconcile their 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 of a woman. In an era when traditional Southern thought is losing its relevance, but before a set of ideas emerges that can serve as a replacement, women are torn between the traditional mores of the past and the emerging, still uncertain ideas of the modern times. Faulkner portrays a time when women are faced with the dilemma of defining their place in the midst of changing times, while encountering persistent traditional ideas and standards about how a woman should live. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Chabrier writes, "The Old South is dead, or at least dying, but the New South has only just begun to breathe, and Faulkner's families are trapped between these two worlds just as Faulkner himself was trapped" (Chabrier, 2). Caroline represents one extreme, a woman obsessed with her image as a true Southern "lady" and upholding the ways of the past. Several times Caroline refers to the importance of being a lady. “I was taught that there is no middle ground between whether a woman is a lady or not,” she notes (Faulkner, 103). But what exactly is a "lady"? Family background is certainly a factor. Caroline is proud to be a Bascomb, but at the same time resentful of being of a lower social class than her husband. “I was unlucky, I was just a Bascomb,” she notes (Faulkner, 103). However, despite her ambivalent feelings, Caroline sees her heritage as an important part of her identity. It is because of this mentality that Caroline does not want Caddy's daughter Quentin to know about her mother. It's as if by cutting out Caddy, who Caroline sees as the source of the trouble, Quentin has a better chance of becoming a true Southern lady. “It will be hard enough as it is, with the legacy he already has,” Caroline comments (Faulkner, 198). 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 woman, as she is subservient to male authority, frail, and virtually defenseless. Chabrier writes, "[Faulkner's] fictional families, like his and other Southern families, were the fruit of a patriarchal society in which women were relegated to a ceremonial pedestal" (Chabrier, x). Caroline demonstrates her lack of authority by failing to provide any kind of maternal role to her children, and later loses control of Quentin, not even having the power to make her attend school. Caroline is like an ornament without a concrete and practical use. Always sick, in needthat Dilsey assists her with even the simplest tasks, such as filling the hot water bottle or picking up the Bible from where it had fallen on the floor. Caroline orders Dilsey to put the Bible within reach, complaining, "You put it there 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, never contradicting them nor able to make decisions for herself. 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. He urges Dilsey to adopt the same attitude with Jason, scolding her for not immediately following Jason's commands. She says: Now he is the head of the house. It is his right to ask us to respect his wishes… It is neither my nor your job to tell Jason what to do. Sometimes I think he is wrong, but I try to obey his wishes for the sake of all of you (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, starting in the pre-Civil War South, although trained to represent the ideals of perfection and submission, were unequivocally given a lower social standing than men” (Chabrier, 58). Unfortunately, Caroline fits the role of "Southern Lady" at a time when this image is losing its relevance. The Compson family is deteriorating, their land holdings 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 special privilege in society and even in the eyes of God. Absorbed in her illusions, Caroline tells Dilsey that her son, Quentin, could not have meant to hurt her. committing suicide. "Under God's heaven, what reason was he? It can't be simply to mock me and hurt me. Whoever God is, he wouldn't allow it. I'm a lady" (Faulkner 299-300). Caroline clings to her naïve delusions of privilege as her family falls apart around her. Chabrier comments, "[The Southerner] must function in a universe in which both he and his value system are antiquated" (Chabrier, xi). Caroline banishes her daughter from the family, loses Quentin to suicide, her husband to natural death, and is left alone with the domineering, embittered Jason and "the idiot," Benjy, who she knows Jason will send to the state hospital next. she dies. Despite her emphasis on the importance of family heritage and her great efforts to maintain her image as a woman, Caroline remains alone, unloved, and defenseless. Chabrier highlights the Southerner's reluctance to stop living in the past. Faulkner's work is a mirror of Southern society, which is a traditional, homogeneous world reluctant and unable to adapt to change. It is a society whose inhabitants seek to continue their uniform perception of the world from a common vision of life and morality (Chabrier, 2). Because of Caroline's efforts to maintain an outdated image, rather than become involved in the affairs of the present, she is left completely helpless in Jason's hands, estranged from the decision-making process, helpless and hopeless. Unlike her mother, Caddy has no interest in the ways of the past. She displays this attitude through her lack of respect for authority and her lack of concern for maintaining her image as an innocent virgin, as an unmarried woman should. Since she was a child she has shown her tendency to oppose her father's wishes by climbing the tree in the middle of the night to attend the funeral. Despite Versh's warning, "Your paw told you to stayout of that tree," Caddy climbs anyway. She retorts, "That was a long time ago... I guess he forgot. Besides, she said look after me tonight" (Faulkner, 39). Aside from this "unfeminine" tree-climbing behavior, Caddy differs from her mother in her ease at undermining male 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 individual, the only Compson to assert her. independence from the humiliating environment of her youth" (Bassett, 411). As Caddy grows up, she takes her rebellion a step further by starting to "experiment" with boys, despite the social stigma against premarital sex. Caddy's mother, Caroline's generation, there are only two labels for unmarried women: virginity, connected to purity and innocence, and the opposite, promiscuity Caddy, part of the new generation, does not see the importance of make such a distinction, and so continues to have sexual relations, completely ignoring society's view that a young woman's worth is based on her sexuality Michael Gresset comments: It doesn't take [Caddy] long to resolve the issue. only problem he faces: that of environmental sexuality.' Within the social unit of the family, integration soon proves impossible: therefore... she will exclude herself from it, 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 woman, and the resulting pregnancy, lead to her exile from the family and, ultimately, separation from her daughter. Although Caddy, in a sense, acts as obstacle for her mother, Caroline, their fates are similar. Like Caroline, Caddy ends up feeling alone, without any possibility of raising her daughter, first offering him money to reunite her with her daughter, then simply begging him to treat her well Quentin. Don't lie to me now. I won't ask you to see anything. Just be nice to her I can't, they won't allow... (Faulkner, 209). Like her mother, Caddy has no power to influence Jason's behavior. Caroline is sick, old and living in the illusions of the past and completely dependent on her son. Caddy, who chooses not to pay attention to past traditions and perceptions of being a woman, is also dependent on Jason, who is forced to rely on him to raise her daughter. Chabrier writes, “Faulkner's women are not themselves the source of female evil, but are instead victims of codes and standards of behavior that 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 views on family structure and social hierarchy are losing the importance they once held. In contrast, Caddy's contempt 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 it impossible 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., 1982. pp. 408-424. Chabrier, Gwendolyn. Faulkner's Families, a Southern Saga. New York: The Gordian Press, 1993. Chabrier analyzes the conflicts that arise.. 173-181.