I chose the works of Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and Poe’s “The Oval Portrait” to describe the theory of Structuralism. It is the goal of this theory in literature to discover the larger structure of the human experience by focusing on its binary opposition. These two stories demonstrate that a positive human experience can only come from being a male. As the woman is the obvious binary opposite a woman who seeks to define her life can only be met with death.
The most important aspect of Structuralism I learned was that there’s no relation between a word and its meaning, except what we give it which is often based on ideologies. Meanings are never universal. In terms of improving my essay to relate that particular aspect I would have interpreted Faulkner’s title and analysis of the painting itself in Poe’s work including the author’s lifetime.