On Welty's Deconstruction Of The "Southern Family Romance" And Her Exploration Of Harmony

Eudora Welty, a twentieth-century American Southern writer, enjoys high prestige in the world of American Southern literature. Her novels Delta Wedding and Losing Battles are concerned about the American South where she grew up and are regarded as two of her most successful works.The thesis consists of five parts. The introductory part includes a brief introduction to Eudora Welty, her literary achievements and the literature review on her main works. In addition, the purpose and significance of the thesis as well as the critical theories applied are expounded in the introductory part.Chapter One focuses on a brief survey of the main aspects of the Southern family romance. Coming into being during the post-War (the Civil War) years, this romance, as a form of wish-fulfillment, stands for the white Southerners' dream about the survival of the lost past in the era of transformation. Therefore, the past inequalities were woven into the texture of the family romance and were expected to remain in stasis. Specifically speaking, this romance incorporates six parts: the wholeness of the family, honor as an underpinning, the dominant father and masculine heroism, women's "Southern belle" stereotype, the blacks' docile image as well as the white elite's hostility to the poor whites.Chapter Two analyzes the deconstruction of the Southern family romance in the two novels mainly by applying Derrida's deconstruction theory. From what is expounded in Chapter One, it can be deduced that in the logocentric system of that romance lie a set of binary oppositions-collectiveness/individualism, male/female, white/black, and planter/poor white-where the disharmonious state suggests the ingrained inequalities. In the two novels, Welty tries to deconstruct each binary opposition mentioned above, thus subverting the whole logocentric system of the romance as well as uncovering its falsity.Chapter Three puts emphasis on Welty's elementary exploration of a harmonious environment through displaying the representations of the integration or reconciliation between the original opposites in the novels. By using special characterization and allusion to myth of fertility, Welty attempts to reconcile the seemingly irreconcilable in her artistic manner.Finally, in the conclusion of the thesis, the author of the thesis will demonstrate: Welty is not as unconcerned with social issues as some critics have commented; nor is she a dreamer on the Southern narcissistic dream; on the contrary, in her novels, she reassesses the pivotal dimensions of the Southern society with a detached attitude, and meanwhile, she gives insight into the harmonious balance between the original opposites existing in this romance.