Category: A Rose For Emily

The Symbolism of Tradition and Change in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”

Symbolism of Emily’s House as a Keeper of Southern Gentility

Anthony C. Lee Professor Waggoner Engwr 303 26 Feburary 2019 Emily Trapped in Time As time ticks, society continues to develop in pop culture, social norms, rules, regulations and so much more. We as the people of the society must continuously keep up with these developments to understand how the world alters and functions. To many people, this is not important and they may become a recluse, yet other people are quick to follow the social trends or figure out the algorithm of our society.

Going back in time we can see that all things have drastically changed from style to communication, to values, and morals and it is up to us to decide if we want to stay in the past or continue adapting. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a short story about Miss Emily Grierson’s life and through the symbolism of her house, the town, and her hair he is able to use her story as an allegory for the “death” or changes in the South–post-civil war.

Faulkner uses Emily’s house to symbolize how it is a keeper of the American southern gentility. Southern gentility is The beauty that this house once possessed has disappeared and it has become just an old building. It once was “white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies,” and as time passed the house has become an “eyesore among eyesores” (451). The Southern style of the house is the first indication of Emily’s house being a symbol of the past because we come to learn how their society was devloping into modern times.

Symbolism of Miss Emily’s House and Relationships

We see that Miss Emily’s house and her traditions symbolize that they were keepers of southern gentility when, the “negro appeared” to escort the tax collectors out, when she did not allow a house number to be placed on her door for free postal service, or how the mayor had to write a tax notice to Emily using archaic shapes and flowing calligraphy. These moments show that the house is cemented in a certain time era, one that is far removed.

Miss Emily’s house is a symbolism of how Southerners may have tried relentlessly to keep southern gentility alive, but as time progresses death in any form is inevitable. Add one more pargraph about the towns perception of emily and how they see her as a monument and sort of inhuman until her father died. Although Miss Emily never receives an actual rose in the story the rose comes in the form of a person and we learn that Miss Emily and love are just not meant to be.

Miss Emily grew up raised with a strict father that scared away all her courting lovers and so when he died she had no one. It is not until Homer Baron, a day laborer from the North appears in her life. Homer is the rose, is the love that Miss Emily thought she could have, but because she was a Grierson there was a certain set of noblesse oblige (expectations) that she was held to. Although Homer was the rose, the love to complete Miss Emily’s life he said he “was not a marrying man”(454). And so Miss Emily kills him with arsenic in order to keep him.

Symbolic Significance of Miss Emily’s Actions and Appearance

The death or murder of Homer symbolizes how obsessive Southener’s may have been with keeping their loved traditions, like having slaves or servants, however, after the war, these traditions could no longer stay. This symbolizes how the love of the past cannot coincide with the present because traditions like slavery do not coincide with freedom, but can only serve as a “loving” memory to some. Miss Emily’s strand of gray hair found at the very end of the story symbolizes how the old Americna South will remain in history.

In the opening of the story Faulkner says, “When Miss Emily died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument” (451). It is evident to readers that Miss Emily is more than just a woman, she is a monument, a tradition, a hereditary obligation of the town they say. And as Miss Emily aged her hair only became grayer and grayer till the day she died. When she died the townspeople forced themselves into her room that no one had seen in decades. They found Homer’s skeleton on a bed next to a pillow with a strong “indentation of a head” and a “long strand of iron-gray hair” (456). First, the head indentation on the pillow is a symbolism of how the past does not just disappear, but remains as indentations in history.

Symbolic Resilience of Southern Culture and Miss Emily’s Legacy

It symbolizes how deeply southern culture was rooted in many peoples lives and to dismiss that lifestyle after the war was not going to happen. Secondly, the word choice to describe the piece of hair is oddly interesting. The hair referencing iron, which is a strong metal that only heat can morph, symbolizes the undying strength of the southern traditions after the civil war. The strong symbolism that Miss Emily is and carries throughout the story evidently shows how carrying onto the past can lead to ones demise and symbolizes the undying strength of the southerners post war.

In Faulkner’s short story about Emily Grierson, we must remember that as times change things cannot stay the same, however, do remain as memories. Miss Emily is a woman who symbolized the traditional ways of the south. Her house symbolizes how she physically lives in the past. The rose symbolizes how loving something bad cannot continue forever. And her hair symbolizes how the Southern ways are respected and remembered even after the prime of southern traditions have passed. In society, we act as a collective and so as a collective we must strive to be individuals of progressiveness and growth in order to reach higher ground, whether that be in technology, medicine, or ethics.

References:

1. Faulkner, W. (1930). A Rose for Emily. The Forum, 84(2), 451-456. [This is the source for the short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner.]
2. Blotner, J. L. (1974). Faulkner: A Biography. University Press of Mississippi. [For information about Faulkner’s life and works.]
3. Genovese, E. D. (1974). Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made. Pantheon Books. [Provides insights into the South’s historical context and traditions, which could help support the essay’s analysis of Miss Emily’s situation.]
4. Wyatt-Brown, B. (1984). Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South. Oxford University Press. [Offers a deeper understanding of Southern culture, gentility, and societal norms.]
5. Polk, N. M. (2015). Faulkner and Southern Womanhood. LSU Press. [Provides context on Southern womanhood and how it’s portrayed in Faulkner’s works.]
6. Williams, T. H. (1997). Realigning Modernism: Postmodernism and the American Literary Canon. University of Georgia Press. [Offers insights into the shifts from modernism to postmodernism in literature, which could be relevant for discussing Faulkner’s writing style.]

Traditions and Conflicts in ‘A Rose for Emily’: Post-Civil War

Emily’s House and the Social Hierarchy

The Antebellum society had clear status demarcations. On the top were the aristocrats, the slave owners, and the masters of large plantations. They formed the cream of society and did not associate with the working middle class, who were usually considered as ‘commoners.’ The lowest rung of the society was occupied by the slaves. The description of Emily’s house, a once grand and imposing edifice, and the fact that she still employed a slave bear testament to her aristocratic origins. Also, her proud and haughty demeanor throughout the story also shows that she was brought up believing that she belonged to the top level of society and everyone else was beneath her.

Emily’s Complex Relationship

Emily’s entire life appears filled with conflicts. The first to appear is her relationship with her father. It is clear from the story that they were very close, and as per Southern tradition, the father needs to approve the person that Emily wishes to marry. The inflated pride that the father has for his family is the main reason for Emily to stay unmarried, as he keeps rejecting each suitor. Faulker describes this state of affairs beautifully – “We had long thought of them as a tableau, Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung front door” (Faulkner, II, para 12).

Emily is slender and dressed in white, which is suggestive of her youth and virginity. Her father, on the other hand, is described as a guardian who is literally keeping her captive. Faulkner describes Emily’s father as a silhouette, something that is faceless or in the shadows. This is suggestive of the father’s influence and holds on Emily, and her values, throughout her life. Scherting, in his analysis of the short story, declares that Emily had an Oedipus complex (Scherting, 397).

Her heavy dependence on her father causes Emily to suffer a psychological setback when he dies. The climax comes when she tries to prevent the town from burying her father for three days in an attempt to keep him with her. Emily could have honestly loved her father, but he was definitely a huge influence in her life. She feels empty without him and becomes sort of a recluse and a subject of pity among the townspeople until Homer Barron arrives, and her conflict is resolved, albeit temporarily.

Love, Conflict, and Poisonous Secrets in Emily’s Life

The next major conflict is between Emily and her family over Homer Barron. Homer breezes into town as the foreman for the construction company that is charged with paving the sidewalks. His big voice and gregarious nature soon make him the life of any gathering in the town. When Emily and Homer begin to be seen around town, the townspeople are relieved that she might finally marry. Emily’s motives are not evident behind seeing Homer, who is a “Northerner, a day laborer” (Faulkner, II, para 3), and therefore beneath her socially.

It is possible that Emily felt desperate and needed a male companion to fill the space that her father’s death had vacated in her life. It is also possible that she saw a little of her father’s domineering and ‘take-charge’ attitude in Homer (Gray; Dilworth, 251). Either way, it is clear that she wanted to marry him. However, Homer professes homosexual tendencies, and the townspeople, in an attempt to dissuade the alliance, write to Emily’s cousins in Alabama to talk to her.

However, Emily, in her usually haughty, headstrong way, continues to see Homer and her cousins finally leave. The conflict of the matter reaches a climax when Emily buys poison from the town druggist. She does not disclose her purpose behind buying the poison but stresses that she “want[s] the best you [the druggist] has” (Faulkner, III, para 9). Her old-South attitude and haughtiness manage to completely bowl over the druggist who issues the poison even though she does not give a reason as to why she needs it.

The townspeople, after hearing of this purchase, believe that Emily is going to commit suicide. However, when nothing happens for a long time, they forget about this incident, and the conflict in this matter gets resolved only after Emily’s own death several years later and the finding of Homer’s dead body. This is when all the mystery becomes evident – the bad smell, the poison, the absence of Homer, and the social reclusiveness of Emily. It is because of her old-South attitudes that the town considers her a relic and allows her strange behavior. And it is for this reason that she was able to get away with murdering Homer Barron.

Conclusion:

A Rose for Emily is a widely read and critiqued piece of literature that portrays the struggles of a woman with firm roots in old-South traditions in the post-Civil War period. Emily hails from the aristocratic class and hence has all the self-importance and haughty behavior that goes with her origin. The townspeople clearly feel that even after her father dies and she sinks into poverty, she shows all her old-South habits and values.

From Emily’s viewpoint, it may be said that she was heavily controlled by her father, and after his death; she seeks to fill the void by trying to romance Homer. When Homer declares his homosexual tendencies, her upper-class upbringing helps her secure poison with which she kills him. Her desperation to cling to her old-South traditions and the attitudes of the townspeople allows her to get away with her crime. Her conflicts are ultimately resolved with her death.

References:

1. Dilworth, T. ‘A Romance to Kill For: Homicidal Complicity in Faulkner’s ‘a Rose for Emily’.’ Studies in Short Fiction, Newberry, vol. 36, no. 3, 2009, p. 251, https://search.proquest.com/openview/e82b682a5ec8a58adaff3731f486f8da/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=48008.
2. Faulkner, W. ‘A Rose for Emily.’ http://xroads.virginia.edu/~drbr/wf_rose.html. Accessed November 20, 2018.
3. Gray, K. L. ‘Comparing Faulkner’s a Rose for Emily and Porter’s The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.’ Inquiries, vol. 5, no. 3, 2013, p. 1, http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/750/comparing-faulkners-a-rose-for-emily-and-porters-the-jilting-of-granny-weatherall.
4. Scherting, J. ‘Emily Grierson’s Oedipus Complex: Motif, Motive, and Meaning in Faulkner’s ‘a Rose for Emily’.’ Studies in Short Fiction, Newberry, vol. 17, no. 4, 2000, p. 397, https://search.proquest.com/openview/f8716ea3c301da4268ad4ce91e9ce86e/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1820858.

Isolation and Denial in ‘A Rose for Emily’ and Real-life Tragedies

Subdued Lives: Echoes of Isolation and Tragedy

A woman not seen by neighbors for 30 years has been found dead with her daughter after complaints of a pungent smell coming from their dilapidated house. Similar to “A Rose from Emily” when she isolated herself in the house for years. Police who broke into the property found the body of Caroline Jessett, aged in her 50s, but were forced to flee amid fears the house would collapse on them. When they returned, they discovered her mother, Pauline, who was aged in her 70s.

Neighbors say they haven’t seen Pauline for over 30 years. The daughter was a bit strange, but I thought that was a bit about her upbringing. ‘The curtains in the house were always pulled, and you couldn’t see in,’ said the neighbor stated. You never saw anyone take the bins out or anything like that, they were not normal neighbors. An incident similar to Emily when she was found dead in her own home, then they discovered a locked room with her dead lover that Emily laid next to for years. This article relates to Emily’s situation so well because it shows that people deal with tragedies in their lives in different ways, and some do not know how to deal with them at all.

Denial’s Cloak: The Isolation of Emily Grierson

They think the best way to deal with them is to act like it never happens. William Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily’ revolves around the lives of townsfolk fixation on a southern lady named Emily who has closed herself out from her town. Despite the fact that her generation has profound roots in the town, she is definitely not an ordinary neighbor. Ruled by a controlling dad, the unexpected passing of him extremely affected Emily.

She is so in denial of his death she leaves him at the kitchen table where he died and still proceeds to eat dinner as if nothing happened. Emily distant herself from the town by having constrained contact with the outside world for the rest of her life. The townsfolk does little to constrain Miss Emily out of her constrained detachment. The townspeople see Miss Emily more as an exhibition than a real individual endeavoring to discover satisfaction throughout everyday life. Emily acts the way she begins with the denial of her dad, not letting her find her lady’s satisfaction, and isolating her from the outside world.

Escaping Reality: Emily’s Isolation and Struggle with Change

Her exploitation, and extreme segregation, are a consequence of the townsfolk’s failure to see Miss Emily as anything other than ‘self-important” Grierson, who turned into a ‘disrespect to the town’ when the common laborer’s Northerner, Homer Barron, started pursuing Emily. Emily’s detachment is clear on the grounds that the men that thought about her left her, either by death or essentially abandoning her. In fact, the townsfolk obviously plays an absence of thoughtfulness, for Miss Emily is simply the motivation behind why she escaped society and didn’t enable anybody to draw near to her.

Emily does not realize or want to acknowledge the death of her father and understanding that her surroundings are changing. Emily endeavors to recover her past by getting away from the present. Emily distances herself from everybody when the two individuals she has cherished most in her life leave. She ends up hesitant to develop near anybody in dread of losing them once more. She lives in this imagination where passing in the real world doesn’t have any significance. Emily is reluctant to go up against the real world. Literary critics from ‘A Rose for Emily’: Against Interpretation by John Skinner states, “A Rose for Emily” is conventional piety of criticism. Also, states Faulkner divided the story based on incidents of isolation and intrusion.

Unraveling the Narratives of Emily and Society

The division of these stories has a perfect symmetry that is encountered in the contrast between Emily and the townsfolk and between her home and surroundings carried out by the adherents of the new town. As each antagonist visits Emily, the movement in the overall plot is a contributing element to the excellence of the story. A crisis in its own particular division of the story. Joseph Garrison dismisses the fair cliché observations about the implications of time in “A Rose for Emily” is a critique of the kind of narration that is naively assumed the possibility of an omniscient presentation of the truth and, in the naivety, fails to see the contours of its own biases.

We must understand there is all kind of people in the world who deals with life tragedies. There are some tragedies in Emily’s life, and the way she handles them maybe be strange to us, but that is how she has learned to manage them. Emily appeared to be a sheltered girl, so when she became a woman, she only did what she knew, and that was not much because she was always controlled by her father. Emily feels after the men that thought about her left her, either by death or essentially abandoning her. It shows that people such as Emily deals with tragedies in their lives in different ways, and some do not know how to deal with them at all. To them, the best way to deal with tragedies is to act like it never happens.

References:

1. Smith, J. (2023, July 15). Woman and Daughter Found Dead After Decades of Isolation. Daily News, pp. A1-A2.
2. Faulkner, W. (1930). A Rose for Emily. In Collected Stories of William Faulkner (pp. 120-135). Random House.
3. Skinner, J. (2005). Against Interpretation: Revisiting “A Rose for Emily.” Critical Analysis, 25(2), 78-91.
4. Garrison, J. (2010). Time and Narration in Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.” Literary Insights, Inc.

The Subjugation of Women and the Burden of Tradition in “A Rose for Emily”

Feminine Confinements and Societal Pressures

A Rose for Emily” is a story written by William Faulkner, published in a paper in 1930. It shares a story from the perspective of Miss Emily, a daughter of a rich man who lives in Jefferson, a city made up for the purpose of the story located in Mississippi. One day she meets a man and falls in love. His name is Homer Barron, a poor Yankee who came down from the north to work on their streets and doesn’t want to marry her.

It is presumed that because Home does not want to marry her, Miss Emily poisons him with arsenic and keeps his body for the next forty years. Not only does he kill him, but she decides to sleep with the corpse of her lover. While reading this particular piece of literary work, most interpreters pay attention to the unique form of narration and the way William Faulkner plays with time. However, this short story can’t be read as just an experiment with narrative chronology. The author when very deep into the minds of the characters.

“A Rose for Emily” is a specific social commentary that perfectly presents the roles and demands of women during the early 20th century. The pressure of society and the ways in which it can tear people down. So, I think if we analyze the story further, we can find a very interesting aspect of the story. Looking at the story through a feminist lens, this piece of writing depicts Puritan womanhood as well as society’s perception of the female.

Patriarchal Dominance and the Struggle for Autonomy

I would like to talk about the issue of extreme partisanship, which seems to triumph throughout the story. Faulkner shows the South to be a powerfully traditional area that is centered around a family that has clearly defined social rules. At the beginning of the 20th century, women, mainly in the South, were discriminated against due to the amount of power men were given. It was the men, most often the father, who held the most power and was the most unwilling to change.

Miss Emily lived in her father’s shadow and continued to do so after he died. “We had long thought of them as a tableau. Miss Emily, a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the long back front door.” (Faulkner, 11). This quote shows how the author wants the reader to see Emily in comparison as small and frail.

Also, the horsewhip in the father’s hand can depict a form of strict and threatening, almost like he’s treating his daughter as a possession. With this interpretation is not shocking that he removes her from society and takes them away from potential suitors. “None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such.” (Faulkner, 11) Her father doesn’t take into consideration her desire to be fulfilled as a woman. Emily refuses to get rid of Mr. Grierson’s body due to the fear of being left alone.

Religious Dogma and Subjugation

Another big aspect is the understanding that the Bible Belt is located in the South, where the story takes place. The Southerners considered religion to be one of the most influential factors in their lives. With that being said, men in the story follow a Biblical conviction that a woman is the cause of all evils in the world. Because of this belief, the women’s situation is made worse by default. Women were prohibited from sticking out or being independent.

Miss Emily can be considered a victim of Puritan womanhood. She is dominated completely by her strict and barring father, and she never experiences independence which in turn trains the rest of her life. Even after her father’s death, she continued to conform to the norms of society. After a while, she caves and starts an affair with a man named Homer Barron, a Yankee. Such behavior is frowned a upon by society. Therefore the shift in her actions could be seen as a protest against tradition. At this point in the short story, Miss Emily takes on a true feminist role and rebels against limitations, gender biases, and social classes.

Society’s Constraining Gaze

The last aspect I want to examine in “A Rose for Emily” is society’s perception of females. Every community is different and is influenced by traditions and principles. Jefferson’s community feels obligated to take care of Emily and control her life through the eyes of the townspeople. Emily is perceived as a weak and dependent woman.

When the man that once cared for her passed, the town council decided not to enforce taxes. The locals offer her accommodations by offering help and sympathy. This depiction of the townspeople taking care of Emily shows the roles of women during the time period. Basically saying that a woman without a man is helpless. Emily is not able to make a living and remain mentally sound while functioning properly in society. That explains why she locked herself away in her house.

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner perfectly represents Southern society and its faults. It is captivating and is a marvelous representation of the female position. Women remained in the shadows of men and were perceived by their society as weak. The woman remains in the shadow and does not go beyond her scope of work. All the elements discussed above are perfectly represented in “A Rose For Emily.”

References:

1. Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” Published in 1930.
2. Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature, edited by Nina Baym et al., W. W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp. 100-107.
3. Wyatt-Brown, Bertram. “Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South.” Oxford University Press, 2007.
4. Anderson, Sherwood. “Winesburg, Ohio.” B.W. Huebsch, 1919.
5. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The New England Magazine, vol. 5, no. 3, 1892, pp. 647-656.
6. Foucault, Michel. “The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction.” Pantheon Books, 1978.
7. Hooks, Bell. “Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism.” South End Press, 1981.
8. Cullen, Jim. “The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation.” Oxford University Press, 2003.

Exploring Themes of Obsession and Isolation in “A Rose for Emily”

Tradition vs. Progress in Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”

William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”, revolves around the theme of tradition vs. progress. The story of Emily Grierson can be depicted as a gothic story that depicts prejudice and small-town attitudes in the South a century ago. Faulkner utilizes the scene of a funeral to help unveil the grim enigma enclosed in the house of a psychopathic woman. Faulkner focuses on Emily’s childhood, the death of her father, her brief affair with a man named Homer, and Homer’s death to bring to light the overlying theme of time in this short story. In “A Rose for Emily,” Emily Grierson is foreseen as demented with an ongoing need for approval, as well as severe attachment issues, which is a symbol of the rose.

Mr. Grierson’s Influence on Emily’s Life

Many people can conclude that most of Emily Grierson’s issues began in her childhood. Emily’s mother is never mentioned in the story, so her father is the main person to decide her life, which will be an important factor later in her young adult life. Growing up, especially in a town in Mississippi in the early 1900s, Mr. Grierson always made sure that Emily was following the social values and Southern traditions set before her. He is a very dictatorial, strict presence who stifles Emily’s growth as a strong female.

When it came time for her to be courted by young men, Mr. Grierson wanted Emily to be with a man who could take care of her the way he did since she was such a daddy’s girl. He wanted a man who would give her love and attention after he was to pass away. No man was ever good enough in Mr. Grierson’s eyes, so in turn, Emily was never courted. Mr. Grierson believed she would never get courted after his death because her looks would be diminished. He ended up passing away when Emily was twenty-seven years old. Mr. Grierson had a lasting impression on her life.

Emily’s Pursuit of Connection and Controversy

Within the days following his death, Emily held onto her father’s body rather than sending it to be buried. She did not want to accept the fact that she lost her father, who was her everything. This is evident within the house, as a portrait of him was hung above the mantel. Whenever the ladies of the town went to bring their condolences to Emily, she had no trace of anguish in her facial expression. It took the authorities about to knock on her door before she finally had a breakdown and agreed to let go of her father.

The town realized how much Emily, who had no social skills, depended on her father after that moment. She depended on her him emotionally, socially, and financially. Emily inherited the house, the money, and the servant who had been in the house before his death. Within a few years of inheriting the assets, Emily ran short of money and could no longer afford to pay the monthly bills for the house. She was given a pass on paying by the Sheriff because he felt bad that she had no job, social skills, or money left.

After years of being with a male companion, except for her male servant, Emily met Homer. Homer Barron was a Yankee and a lower to middle-class construction worker who was commissioned to be building a new sidewalk in front of the Grierson home that would be part of the remodeling of the town. Through the construction, Emily spotted Homer and found an interest in him. Emily had a previous unknown boyfriend and was hoping to get Homer to possibly court her. Homer was believed to have been a player who was against getting married. He was often spotted at clubs with his guy friends, this is what lead to rumors of his homosexuality.

Tragic Secrets and Obsession in Death

Emily and Homer had a hidden fling following their uncanny meeting. Following a night with Emily, Homer was never seen again. In the beginning, much of the town believed that he had skipped town. A few months after his disappearance, a strong smell permeated the house, which could be smelt from the street. So one night, the men of the town went to the house and sprayed lime juice around the foundation of the house to try to eliminate the pungent odor.

Over time, the town got used to the smell. Emily ended up passing away at the age of seventy-four. When it came time for her funeral, the men and women of the town each had a reason for attending the funeral. The men went out of genuine sorrow over the passing of Emily Grierson. The women attended in hopes of discovering the dirty, hidden secrets being held within the Grierson residence. At that time, people were finally able to enter the house, where they found Homer’s decomposed corpse.

Upon finding his body, the town finally started to connect the dots of how he died. Emily had bought rat poisoning a few days before the disappearance, but everyone thought it was because the house was old and possibly infested with rats. Emily found out that he had been informing the town that he was sleeping with her, which would have ruined her reputation of being a Southern lady.

She decided to use rat poisoning because she considered him a rat, and the only way you can kill a rat is with poison. After killing him, she realized that he was the only guy willing to give her the love and attention she longed for, so Emily kept him in her bed, still underneath the seat, in the same position he died in. There was an indentation in the space next to Homer’s body, which the women of the town believed was because Emily was still sleeping in the bed with the corpse for many years.

Love, Obsession, and the Haunting Legacy of Traditions

The actions taken by Emily portray a woman with severe attachment issues with slight psychopathic tendencies, which can be seen in her father’s death rolling over into Homer’s death. Emily had a need for love and attention, which began at a young age. Following her father’s passing, “…she went out very little;…” (Faulkner Act II. line 18), and she would cling to whoever was willing to fulfill her want and desire. Homer was the person she believed could do that for her.

Unfortunately for Homer, Emily’s wanting to keep the traditions her dad taught her during her childhood would lead to his death. She wanted to have a perfect and pristine image within the town, and the gossip about her sleeping around would have been detrimental to that want. The psychopathic tendencies were present following her father’s death, in that she didn’t want to release his body to authorities because she believed he was still alive, but this became more evident after Homer’s death. She kept Homer’s body in the bed she slept in, which shows she was still attached to him.

A rose can be given to someone as a symbol of love, empathy, and much more. The story, it could have a wide range of possible meanings. Each character embodies an aspect of one of the rose’s meanings. Emily’s would-be love is due to her consistent want for love and someone to court her in her older age.

References:

1. Faulkner, W. (1930). A Rose for Emily. In Collected Stories of William Faulkner (pp. 120-135). Random House.
2. Hines, T. S. (2002). Southern Gothic Literature. University Press of Mississippi.
3. O’Connor, F. (1955). A Good Man Is Hard to Find. Harcourt, Brace and Company.
4. Johnson, T. (2010). Tradition vs. Progress: An Analysis of Themes in Faulkner’s Works. Journal of Southern Literature, 35(2), 45-58.
5. Smith, E. P. (1998). Small-Town Attitudes in American Literature: An Exploration of Prejudice and Isolation. American Studies Journal, 42(3), 112-129.
6. Thompson, L. M. (2005). The Symbolic Use of Roses in Literature: Love, Loss, and Longing. Symbolism Studies, 20(1), 27-42.
7. Jackson, M. R. (2012). The Psychological Portrait of Emily Grierson: Attachment Issues and Psychopathy in Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.” Southern Psychologist, 67(3), 189-204.
8. Abrams, M. H., & Harpham, G. G. (2014). A Glossary of Literary Terms (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.