Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner is a tale set in the deep south during the civil war. Women are primarily portrayed with “southern belle” characteristics in Absalom, Absalom! Gradisek argues that because of the civil war women are forced to find unconventional roles for fulfillment. Furthermore, because of the Civil War the ideology of a southern woman is forever redefined. The article focuses mainly on the lives of Judith Sutpen and Rosa Coldfied as their societal roles are drastically changed because of the war and specific events that both women endure. Gradisek also examines the development and change of women’s roles through Mr. Compson’s narrative. First, women are addressed and developed through Mr. Compson’s narrative. Gradisek writes, “Mr. Compson’s …show more content…
The male characters in the novel do not understand the hardships women faced during wartime. While the men were fighting in the Civil War, women were forced to provide for themselves, which changed the roles of southern women. In turn southern women became as “ghosts” through the eyes of their male counterparts. Next, Gradisek focuses primarily on the life and domestication of Miss Rosa. Miss Rosa is forced to teach herself the “normal” labors of a southern woman, as she never had a significant woman figure in her life. Gradisek writes “she begins to sew and make clothing herself. This sewing, inept as it may be, serves as a means by which she saves herself from an unhappy, unfulfilled life” (6). The fact that Miss Rosa teaches herself to sew is ironic because she was raised to think that she is “not only delicate