Alienation in Faulkner's Emily and Eliot's Prufrock

Alienation is a curious thing. While we would like to think that it is something that happens to people against their will, that is often not the case. Two works of literature that demonstrate this point are "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot. Both works feature protagonists who are alienated from the world in which they live — and who are, to a significant degree, willing participants in that alienation. Emily Grierson has no intention of blending in with the community in Jefferson. She is simply too set in her ways to want to do such a thing. She chooses not to grow and change with those around her and, as a result, becomes an eccentric, neurotic old woman. Similarly, the protagonist in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" does not want to fit into his surroundings. He spends so much time obsessing over what he will do, his clothing, his words, the passing of time, and the importance of striking up conversation with others, that he does absolutely nothing — literally wasting his life away. To emphasize alienation, both authors utilize the literary techniques of imagery and the treatment of time.

Alienation might seem like an unnatural condition, but the protagonists in these works illustrate how it can be a matter of choice. In "A Rose for Emily," Emily is quite content living like a hermit. She stays in her home most of the time, and the community seems more troubled by this than she does. She rarely leaves, especially after her father dies. By establishing the story this way, Faulkner prepares the reader for her eccentric, neurotic behavior. Emily's personality is well suited to the kind of mystery Faulkner is constructing, because she herself is a mystery. The mood is set from the opening of the story, which begins with a funeral — a tone that signals a suspenseful, somber tale.

The protagonist in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" leads the reader down a path of complete avoidance. His journey illustrates the life he has left behind by choosing not to become involved with anyone. He experiences remorse for a life that could have been, and this remorse is riddled with indecision. That indecision becomes a primary aspect of the poem, which Eliot introduces with a quote from Dante's Inferno. The allusion to hell is deliberate and signals to the reader what lies in store for the protagonist. The poet proceeds to describe the protagonist's particular hell on earth — a hell that is largely self-induced, as the protagonist has alienated himself from all kinds of relationships. Eliot reinforces this mood with the poem's first arresting image: a "patient etherised upon a table" (Eliot 3). Both authors thus establish tone by carefully crafting mood from the very opening of their work.

Neurotic behavior is exhibited by both protagonists. Emily Grierson is, in many respects, a strange woman, and this strangeness is rooted in her upbringing. Her father raises her according to a set of values and expectations that make it difficult for her to function in a changing society. He teaches her the old ways at a time when her community is moving toward a new and modern way of life. While he protects her from many of life's difficulties, he also shields her from many of its joys. When he dies, she is simply unprepared to handle life's challenges. His death also consigns her to a life of loneliness, given that he "had driven away" (Faulkner 455) many of the men who might otherwise have pursued a relationship with her. Emily, in practical terms, has no choice about the kind of life she leads after her father's death, because the only life she has ever known is the one he taught her to live. She is a spinster in nearly every sense of the word.

Homer Barron only draws out Emily's strange behavior because he stirs within her a yearning for love. Homer, however, is not the kind of man who will settle down with someone like Emily, and this is the kind of rejection she cannot handle. She would rather act rashly than face his rejection. Notably, Emily does not seem troubled at all by what she is planning. She purchases the arsenic and follows through on her plan with little apparent hesitation. The disturbing aspect is not merely that she is successful, but that she is able to sleep beside the man's decaying remains. There is nothing ordinary about this woman. Unable to accept no for an answer, she avoids asking the question entirely and takes matters into her own hands. Whether or not she truly loves Homer, it seems safer to conclude that she was in love with the idea of being in love. Emily is a woman in denial from nearly the beginning of her adult life, and she stands as one of literature's most neurotic and compulsive characters.

Neurosis is equally present in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." The protagonist's neurotic behavior is most clearly expressed through his inner dialogue. He frets over details such as the clothes he is wearing — his coat, his necktie, his bald spot. He scans the room and takes note of much around him but never actually accomplishes anything. He considers speaking to the women present but stops short, unable to find a reason that would make the effort worthwhile. Conversation might not be worth the trouble of having "bitten off the matter with a smile / To have squeezed the universe into a ball / To roll it toward some overwhelming question" (91–93), only to have those same women criticize or reject him. The protagonist is filled with dread before anything has even happened, and his fear of rejection stops him from uttering a single word. He would rather play it safe than risk making a new acquaintance or pursuing a meaningful conversation.

The fear of the unknown stalls him into a state of paralysis. What is particularly striking is that he appears entirely content to live this way. He is not filled with regret, because he never acts. And yet he remains plagued by doubt. This forces the reader to conclude that the protagonist is aware of what he is doing — he simply lacks the motivation to step outside his comfort zone and change it.

Imagery is a literary technique that both authors utilize to convey moods of alienation. In "A Rose for Emily," many of the images point to death. At Emily's funeral, those who attend are described as paying "respectful affection for a fallen monument" (Faulkner 451). With this image, Faulkner reinforces the notion that Emily is a symbol for the old ways of doing things — she represents the Old South. Her house amplifies this meaning. Once white and attractive, it now carries the smell of "dust and disuse — a close, dank smell" (452). While it once sat on the "most select street" (452) in town, it is now surrounded by "garages and cotton gins" (452), and is described as an "eyesore among eyesores" (452).

These images help the reader understand Emily's world: what was once grand and desirable is now decayed and neglected. The image of the deteriorating house mirrors the deteriorating mental state of its occupant. Emily is trapped in an old-fashioned picture, and her personality reinforces this entrapment. She is living in the past and does little — if anything — to free herself from it.