Civil War in Southern Gothic
So, we've mentioned the Civil War a few—okay, a gazillion times already. Don't blame us: it's because that war is really freaking important in Southern history, and in Southern Gothic literature. Southern Gothic writers were doing their thing in the aftermath of the Civil War (it was a long aftermath), and its shadow is always looming over their work. Faulkner, in particular, is totally obsessed.
The point is that the Civil War came to define Southern identity. This was a huge, huge loss for the South—at least for the people there who weren't slaves, that is.
Shmoops:
Take a look at how Mr. Compson, in William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, comments on how everybody came out a loser in the Civil War (Quote #1).
A character in Carson McCullers's The Heart is Lonely Hunter reflects on her great-grandfather, who fought in the Civil War (Quote #5).