Caddy was the central character in The Sound and the Fury. There was no separate chapter to express her thoughts, but everything was connected with her. From Benjy to Jason, the narration of each of them reflected what Caddy’s life was like. Caddy was a tragic character in the novel.
In the novel, Faulkner used multiple-angled narration to express Caddy’s tragedy, and the causes of it mainly came from two aspects. One was the pressure from her family, Benjy, her youngest brother’s complete dependence on her. Quentin, her elder brother, who had a special affection for Caddy, thought excessively highly of her virginity. What Caddy had suffered caused his loss of mental balance; at last, he chose to commit suicide. Besides, her mother and brother Jason treated her heartlessly. The other cause was the backward feudalism and traditional code. All of these turned Caddy into a promiscuous, degenerate woman from a pure girl.
However, Caddy’s tragedy showed a fact that women had a low social position and were treated unfairly in the early 20th century. At that time, women got only few economical, political and educational rights, they could not enjoy equal rights with men and they were not respected by society.
Abstract..............................................................Ⅰ
Key Words.............................................................Ⅰ
摘要..................................................................Ⅱ
关键词................................................................Ⅱ
Introduction..........................................................1
Ⅰ.A Brief Introduction to William Faulkner...........................2
Ⅱ.A Brief Introduction to the Novel..................................3
III. The Causes of Caddy’s Tragedy...................................5
A. The Pressure from the Familyv.....................................6
Backward Feudalism and the Traditional Code..........................9
Ⅳ. Women’s Social Status Reflected from Caddy’s Tragedy............10
A. Women Having Fewer Rights at That Time............................10
B. Women’s Unfair Treatment.........................................11
Conclusion............................................................13
Acknowledgements......................................................14
Bibliography..........................................................15
