Miss Cahline

One character in Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury that is beginning to fascinate me is that of Caroline Compson. Earlier in the Benjy section, she is portrayed as very shallow and obsessed with appearances and social graces. For instance, she refuses to call her children by their nicknames because she claims that only “common people” use nicknames. In fact, it is through her that we first learn that Caddy’s real name is Candace. Furthermore, she has Benjy’s name changed from Maury to Benjy for the sake of maintaining her image. It is unclear whether the name change happened as a result of Maury’s fight which was a huge embarrassment for the family, or if it had any to do with Caroline’s shame over having her mentally-retarded son named after her brother. She shows very little affection for Benjy and even complains that he should not be a burden to her when she has servants to watch after him. It is also stated in the Benjy section that he is to be sent away to the state mental institution when Caroline Compson dies. It is a reasonable assumption that Caroline made this arrangement so it would appear as though she were the only one willing to take care of him during his lifetime and that with her gone, there would be nobody to care for Benjy in the Compson home.
In the Quentin section, it becomes apparent that Caroline favors Jason and Quentin. She speaks of Jason as her “pride and joy”. She even thinks of leaving the family and taking Jason with her so that he could grow-up without the corrupting influence of Caddy or disruption from Benjy. Her preference for Quentin over Benjy is also shown when she sells Benjy’s pasture in order to send Quentin to Harvard. When Benjy’s pasture is turned into a golf course, he suffers severe emotional distress because he keeps hearing his sister’s name even though she is gone.
Caroline begins to like Caddy less and less as she grows older and approaches womanhood. When Caddy loses her virginity and becomes highly promiscuous, Caroline states that she is more like her own side of the family than the Compsons because of her behavior. When Caddy is married off to Herbert, Caroline essentially disowns her in order to avoid disgrace. Caroline, like Caddy, married a man of higher social class. In Caroline, the desire to accordingly impress others manifests itself in a snobbery that no one else in the family possesses. Caroline represents the traditional Southern woman through her attitudes and behavior. She adds to the tragedy of the story because her desire to preserve order and tradition is overcome by the sequence of events that unfolds throughout the novel. (456)

A Young, Feminist Firebrand

In her novel “Jane Eyre” Charlotte Bronte presents a refreshingly rebellious protagonist. Other novels I have read which feature a young orphan girl portray her as very docile and tacitly accepting of any abuses inflicted upon her. The character Jane Eyre is the antithesis of the “little orphan girl” stock character. She brazenly confronts those who wrong her and refuses to be treated as an inferior. Her mettle is shown early in the novel when her cousin throws a book at her and she punches him in retaliation. Jane’s refusal to submit to her cousin’s wrath reveals a feminist streak that continues throughout the novel.
Even her aunt’s Petunia Dursley-esq, blatant favoring of her own children does not dampen her spirit. She stands up to her authority on her last night in her care when she matter-of-factly tells her of the wickedness of her ways. During this time period it would have scandalous for a woman to speak in such a manner to a person of authority, let alone a child. Not only does this incident further demonstrate Jane’s refusal to be mistreated, but it also makes her more likable. She does what the reader is always secretly hoping a protagonist such as her will do.
When Jane arrives at The Lowood School, it is the first place where her wit and intelligence are admired instead of begrudged as signs of an ill-behaved child. The school is somewhat of a feminist utopia because the institution is run exclusively by women (with the exception of the perpetually-disgruntled and pedantic Mr. Brocklehurst) to educate women. When Helen Burns is first introduced, we are given the impression that she is rebel much like Jane. It is somewhat disappointing when we find out that her philosophy on life is almost the complete opposite of Jane’s. A fascinating scene ensues in which the two young girls discuss their perceptions of the workings of the world. Helen sees authority as a force that is merely looking after her best interests and seeking to cure her of her faults. She forgives those who wrong her because she feels that that is the moral course of action. Furthermore, she accepts her numerous punishments because she genuinely believes that her character is riddled with faults.
Jane, however, sees authority as an oppressive force that is squelching her individuality. She believes that by allowing herself to be mistreated by others, they will continue to do so and that she “could not bare” to be humiliated by accepting mistreatment. Helen presents a clever rebuttal to Jane’s point when she says that it is absurd for her to say that she cannot bear what she is fated to bear. Helen also represents the inferior status of women in society through her docility. Jane is a foil to her in that she represents a rise in feminism through her rebelliousness. Helen’s eventual death is symbolic of the need to raise the status of women. (492).