In analyzing and understanding works of literature, one of the critical factors is the concept of point of view. It shapes the readers’ perception of the story, basing on the attitude the narrator assumes towards the themes and events described.
There are several varieties of the p.o.v. concept. On the one hand, it depends on the person who is telling the story (first, second, or third-person view); on the other hand, it is determined by the level of the narrator’s awareness (omniscient or limited omniscient point of view).
This essay addresses the concept of point of view in “A Rose for Emily” – William Faulkner’s short story. It is a curious example of first-person limited omniscient perspective, as it will be demonstrated below in the analysis. Narrator’s point of view in “A Rose for Emily” brings the readers closer to the related events on the one hand, and demonstrates his own mysterious nature on the other side.
Importance of Point of View in A Rose for Emily
Throughout the whole plot, the narration occurs from first person plural: ‘we’ is the pronoun Faulkner uses to emphasize that the events are related by an eye-witness or a whole group of eye-witnesses (28–34).
This ‘we’ represents a composite image of the town society and provides an account of not only Miss Grierson’s story but the history of several epochs. The collective character of the narrator reveals itself in such phrases as “our whole town went to her funeral”, “we were not pleased exactly”, “as is our custom”, “we believed”, “we remembered”, “we knew”, etc. (Faulkner 28, 30, 31).
The outward authority of such statements, together with the confident predictions of this composite image concerning Miss Grierson’s private life, creates an impression of a know-all (or omniscient) narrator who is farseeing enough to provide for the future course of events.
The tone of this collective reaction to every little occurrence in Miss Grierson’s life suggests that the pronoun ‘we’ may stand for the community of town gossips who want everything done their way and are outraged if things go out of their control.
The outward authority of the collective narrator, which should generally look reliable and inspire the readers’ trust, is therefore shaken by the idea that this narrator is a mere town gossip, spreading the rumors only for the fun of it. Thus, the ‘omniscient’ narrator’s opinion of Miss Grierson’s actions as weird and noncomplying is questioned by the suspicious character of the narrator as a gossip.
Moreover, several small details in the short story further complicate the mystery of the narrator’s personality. In the majority of ‘we’-statements, Faulkner introduces such phrases as “people “people in our town … believed”, “people were glad” (30). And here emerges a question: why should Faulkner use the word ‘people’ instead of the normal ‘we’? Why us he using a literary device that makes the message somewhat inconsistent? The obvious answer is that this is done to contrast the narrator with the rest of the crowd.
Adding to this contrast is the final scene of breaking into the secret room in Miss Grierson’s house. For one thing, the narrator provides a foreshadowing by saying, “Already we knew that there was one room in that region above stairs which no one had seen in forty years” (Faulkner 34) — how on earth did they know about it? In such light, the narrator appears to be someone initiated into Miss Grierson’s mystery.
For another thing, in the scene of breaking in, the narrator suddenly switches to the pronoun ‘they’: “They held the funeral on the second day,” “They waited until Miss Emily was decently in the ground” (Faulkner 34). Although the normal ‘we’ reappears soon afterward, this sudden change of the narrator’s relationship to the town crowd cannot go unnoticed.
Conclusion
This research paper addressed the issue of narrator’s point of view in “A Rose for Emily”. Analysis shows that the mysterious first-person narrator, who outwardly seems to represent the town society, intrigues by the knowledge of intimate details and casual opposition to the rest of the people. In summary, that has a crucial impact on the readers’ opinion of Miss Grierson since it suggests that she should not be taken the way gossips judge her and requires a more in-depth understanding as a unique personality.
Works Cited
Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, 5th ed. Eds. Aurthur X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. White Plains, NY: Longman, 2007. 28–34. Print.
William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” presented contemporary readers with a gothic horror story that was all the more haunting because of its innocent appearance. To gain an understanding of the story within a brief analysis, it is necessary to examine the story’s plot, characterization, point of view, theme, symbols, and setting.
The plot of the story is not as simple as one might expect from a short story. If the story is taken out of its original context and placed in chronological order, it tells the story of a young woman dominated completely by her father until she is beyond marriageable age. This makes it very difficult for her to let go of her father when he finally dies, but his death also opens up new possibilities for her to find happiness, particularly in the form of an outsider, Homer Barron. Because of Homer’s lower social status, though, Miss Emily Grierson’s cousins come to town and chase away her lover. Although he was seen once following the cousins’ departure, Miss Emily lives out the rest of her life alone, finally dying in the old house of her childhood. Only then is it discovered that Homer had also died within that old house long ago.
Faulkner makes heavy use of symbolism to help him characterize his people. Miss Emily is the bitter old maid who has been rejected one too many times and, because of her exalted social status, is unable to mix with the rest of the townspeople, the one thing that might have been able to save her. Homer Barron adopts all of the perceived stereotypes of the north – he’s loud, energetic, unconcerned with social norms, and happy to accept new challenges, yet he doesn’t want to be tied down. The old negro that works for Miss Emily is like a dark ghost in the background of the picture, doing the old woman’s bidding whatever it is and then disappearing when the old woman is no longer alive to command him. By contrast, the townspeople are seen as an image of the new, compatible with the energetic and progressive personality of Homer rather than the halting and conservative stance of Miss Emily.
Part of what makes the story so successful is the easy, conversational point of view in which it is told. The entire story is told as if the rest of the town were sharing one of their secrets with the reader as a rare and honored visitor. The tone adopted is sympathetic to Miss Emily’s loneliness and the way in which she had been treated, even as it acknowledges the horror behind what she had done and remorse over the town’s own part in the tragedy. Although almost the entire story takes place within or around the old Grierson mansion, because of this point of view, the mansion, and thus the setting, remains as closed off to the reader as the thoughts of the old woman herself.
Within this short story, one of the main themes Faulkner was exploring was the contrast between the old and the new as the old did its best to stop the progression of time while the new hurried forward to greet the innovations and improvements of tomorrow. In depicting the drastic actions of the old lady just to have someone stay close by her into her old age, Faulkner was also exploring the concept of the old order and the loneliness this forced upon those who had fallen victim to the restrictions of this old order as they became the last remaining defenders of it.
Works Cited
Faulker, William. “A Rose for Emily.” Anthology of American Literature – 8th Edition. Ed. McMichael, George, James S. Leonard, Bill Lyne, Anne-Marie Mallon and Verner D. Mitchell. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2004. 433-444.
In “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner depicts a conflict between the hopes and dreams one has and the environment that can ruin everything. In this reaction paper to one of the most prominent Faulkner’s works, I attempt to describe and analyze the strategies that the author used to make this conflict acute and sympathetic to the reader.
A Rose for Emily: William Faulkner’s Writing Strategies
The analysis of the text shows that Faulkner uses different techniques to tell his story and convey it in a manner that the reader can understand and relate to it. In the first paragraph of part I, the writer uses symbolism to portray the main character, Miss Emily Grierson, as an important figure of the community. He writes, “The men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument (Miss Emily)”(Faulkner,1930).
In his story, the writer also uses the technique of reverse chronology; the story starts with its ending at Miss Emily’s funeral. What is supposed to be the end of this story is the beginning, i.e., “When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument” (Faulkner, 1930). He uses this to evoke an emotional response from the reader. We will gradually get acquainted with Emily, but we already know what awaits her in the end.
In “A Rose for Emily”, Faulkner uses flashback as a strategy to inform us of the prior events following Miss Emily’s death and her lonely life, for example we are told of the day the neighbors complained to the mayor Judge Stevens about the smell emanating from her house and how four men slunk to her house like burglars to sprinkle lime, we are also taken to her past when people felt a strong personal reaction of sorrow for her, here we are reminded of her great aunt Lady Wyatt and how she had gone crazy.
This strategy has helped the writer inform the readers of the background information that led to the subsequent events in the narrative (Faulkner, 1930).
Main Theme
What happens in A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner? What is this story about? The theme of betrayal is seen quite clearly in all parts of the plot. The father betrays Miss Emily Grierson; he doesn’t allow her to go out and be a normal girl; she is denied the pleasure of finding love; according to her father, none of the men were good enough for her. Emily remains lonely after her father’s death.
The reader also observes the theme of betrayal when Homer Baron betrays Miss Emily by neglecting her. The narrator explains that they were sure that Miss Emily and Homer Baron the foreman would get married; they had learned that Miss Emily had been to the jeweler and ordered a toilet set with the initials H.B. on each piece.
However, that wasn’t the case part IV paragraph one illustrates this, “She will marry him.” Then we said, “She will persuade him yet,” because Homer himself had remarked–he liked men, and it was known that he drank with the younger men in the Elks’ Club–that he was not a marrying man.” Emily’s reaction was violent. It ended tragically by her killing Homer.
One gets the impression that the story tries to portray a conflict between the North and the South, Emily Grierson is seen to represent the victorious South while Homer represents the North which can be said to have lost the battle when he was killed by Miss Emily using the arsenic poison.
We can see this when the writer introduces the foreman (Homer) in the first paragraph of part III as a Yankee (he emphasizes on his origin), and in the third paragraph the ladies are heard gossiping, “of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer” the Grierson were Southerners”. At this stage of the narrative, a reader would get the impression that there is a conflict between the Northerners (Baron Homer) and the Southerners (Grierson).
However, the author denied the existence of this conflict. In an extract from Faulkner at the University: Class Conference at the University of Virginia 1957-1958 showing the answer he gave to a March 11, 1957 question about the existence of this battle, he denies its existence though he acknowledges that if it really existed then it was purely incidental and that he had no intention of portraying that battle (Barnett et al., 2007)
A Rose for Emily: Reaction
On reading the story for the first time, you get the impression of a suffering Emily Grierson, a lonely woman staying lonely in the same setting after her father’s death. Her only connection to the world was her negro servant -Tobe, who was seen once in a while with a market basket going in and out of the house (Faulkner,1930). One can’t help having a strong personal reaction of pity to “A Rose for Emily” main character.
The reader also gets the impression of Miss Emily as a woman held in the past; in the second paragraph of “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner gives a scenic account of the setting that Emily Grierson lived. It had previously been the select street for most of the residents of Jefferson, but it had changed, the street now had garages, cotton gins, and gasoline pumps, It wasn’t fit for habitation, but still, Miss Emily chose to live there. The narrator describes it as an eyesore among eyesores.
A Rose for Emily was written for everyone who has dreams and hopes. Therefore the story was written for all of us, as we all have dreams and aspirations in life. The story shows the conflict between the hopes and dreams that we have against the environment and others whom we don’t share the same dreams.
In this story Miss Emily was a young lady in her thirties she had dreams of one day being loved, loving, getting married and starting a family, soon enough she meets a man (Homer Baron), and they are in love. They are seen together driving in a yellow wheeled buggy, but he soon disappears. This illustrates the battle between Homer Baron and Miss Emily’s dreams (Barnett et al., 2007).
The title “A Rose for Emily” gives a glimpse of the intention that the writer had for writing this story, in an interview on the April 15, 1957 William Faulkner on being asked about the meaning of the title that he chose he answered that the woman had no life, she had been kept by her father in the house and locked up and she had murdered her lover who wanted to quit her. The title was, therefore, a gift for Emily for her battles against her father and her lover, who wanted to quit her.
The writer of the story wanted to manifest the injustices that man does to his own kind, Emily’s father denied her love, he couldn’t allow her to date, unfortunately repressing this urge backfired in a tragic form. All Emily wanted was love, but it all ended tragically (Barnett et al., 2007).
Personal Response and Inference
In summary, I have inferred from the story that life is a struggle between different elements. We struggle with our own selves, with our environment and with the people we love. Life can never be smooth enough. Even if we close ourselves to the world, trouble will still come knocking on our doors and that there are two things that are for sure in this world: death and taxes, as shown by the writer in Part I of A Rose for Emily”. This reaction paper demonstrates the strategies used by Faulkner to cause such an emotional response from the reader.
References
Barnet,et al. (2007) Literature for Composition;Essay,Stories,Poems,and Plays (10th ed) USA: Pearson. Web.
Du, Fang (2010). “Who Makes a Devil out of a Fair Lady? —An Analysis of the Social Causes of Emily’s Tragedy in A Rose for Emily”. Canadian Social Science. 3 (4): 18–24. Web.
Faulkner,W. (1930) A Rose for Emily, USA: Necrophilic. Web.
“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner clearly portrays the consequences of maintaining a timeless lifestyle that goes without attempting to move forward or make any sacrifices. Ultimately, people choosing such lifestyles for themselves are often unhappy in the end, as they lose opportunities in the process (Diani, 2019). At the same time, this process is often judged by social standards and may differ for individual cases.
Bailey Basinger’s analysis offers an alternative perspective to the narrative. The author emphasizes the theme of gender roles and their perception in the story of Emily and the rest of the town. Basinger explains that the descriptions of both Emily Grierson and Homer Barron “create tension” from the ways their gender and sexuality are illustrated (Basinger, 2019, p.837). In that way, common contradictions and ambiguous references to the perceived social images of the characters suggest additional questioning of their sexuality and gender representation. The relationship between Emily and Homer being highly secretive also adds to the vagueness of the mentioned themes in this context (Basinger, 2019). Little information is given to draw solid conclusions about their true intentions with the affair, although Basinger refers to even minor details to make such statements.
In that way, Basinger uses quotations abundantly to explicitly demonstrate the contradictions and minimal details included in the text regarding the main characters’ gender identity and sexuality. For instance, quotations are used to illustrate the narrator’s ambiguous physical descriptions of Emily (Basinger, 2019). Besides referring to Faulkner’s short story, Basinger additionally considers the reviews of other literary critics and authors to prove her point. Her use of quotations remains effective throughout the text due to their strategic placement after each argument or point being made. Basinger extracts quotations from different parts of the text to be used in one explanation, as in the example of the symbolism behind Emily’s hair (Basinger, 2019). Hence, the author’s use of quotations proves extremely effective for the general points she made. At the same time, additional quotations could have been used to support her claim.
“She died in one of the downstairs rooms, in a heavy walnut bed with a curtain, her gray head propped on a pillow yellow and moldy with age and lack of sunlight” (Faulkner, 2019, p.856). The quote illustrates the despairing scene of Emily passing away in the presence of only the things she surrounded herself with and no family or friends. The hair symbolism that is related to tensions around Emily’s gender identity prevails once again (Basinger, 2019). Therefore, it would be useful in reemphasizing the effect of hairstyle manipulations on the perception of a character.
“We had long thought of them as a tableau; Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a straddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung front door” (Faulkner, 2019, p.854). This fragment refers to the social view of the Grierson family; more specifically, the townspeople’s attempts to understand Emily’s marital status are clear indications of her unset sexuality. This quote would be used to highlight the social expectations for Emily’s relationship status.
“Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner, 2019, p. 851). The general perception of the character is repeatedly forced into social standards set by the town. This quote explains the limited abilities of the characters to express or rethink their sexuality or gender identity as traditions control them. Hence, incorporating this quote into Basinger’s analysis would aid in accentuating her point of “…prejudices in the town…” (Basinger, 2019, p.838). In that way, the story of Emily and Homer, including their gender identity expression, is introduced in Faulkner’s short story and is further explored in Basinger’s work. The idea of ambiguous gender identities and sexuality was demonstrated through the use of quotations and examples from the text.
References
Basinger, B. (2019). Tension, contradiction, and ambiguity: Gender roles in ‘A Rose for Emily’. In R. Bullock & M.D. Goggin (Eds.), The Norton field guide to writings with readings (5th ed.), pp. 851-860. W.W. Norton.
Diani, I. (2019). Structural analysis of ‘Rose for Emily’: A short story by William Faulkner. In International Seminar and Annual Meeting BKS-PTN Wilayah Barat, 1(1).
Faulkner, W. (2019). A Rose for Emily. In R. Bullock & M.D. Goggin (Eds.), The Norton field guide to writings with readings (5th ed.), pp. 851-860. W.W. Norton.
Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a short story that holds the readers’ attention despite the fact that it tells of a rather boring tale of a woman who lives in a small town. The narrator effectively describes the characters in such a way that the readers clearly visualize them in their minds’ eye.
Essence
Emily is a white girl from an aristocratic family in the south, the Griersons. The story chronicles Emily’s life from her girlhood, when her parents selfishly prohibited her from dating men, as it seems all men were beneath them. “The Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were. None of the young men were quite good for Miss Emily and such.” Being so, Miss Emily has grown to believe that she occupies a special position in society, even to her old age when she refused to pay her taxes, having been privileged by a former Mayor who owed the Griersons favors.
The narrator depicted a small town where the ladies had nothing better to do than gossip about the high and mighty Grierson family. They were like vultures, who, in their minds, keenly follow the drama that happens behind doors. Miss Emily has always been an enigma they desperately want to demystify one of these days.
Miss Emily’s tragic fate and deep sorrow gets felt throughout the story that the readers get to sympathize with her character….only to be shocked at the end. Her assumed insanity was to be expected after all the things she has endured – the loss of a mother while growing up, the death of a father, the sudden loss of a charmed way of living….but not to the extent of murdering her lover and sleeping with his corpse until the day of her death.
The protagonist is born to wealth, yet had no mother to guide her in her growth. She was reared to think she was better than others, being a Grierson – “She carried her head high enough—even when we believed that she was fallen. It was as if she demanded more than ever the recognition of her dignity as the last Grierson, as if it had wanted that touch of earthiness to reaffirm her imperviousness.” Miss Emily lived a pathetic, lonely and empty life. To the end, she clutched to her last hope of feeling real love. When Homer Barron was assumed to reject her in marriage, it was suggested that Miss Emily poisoned him with arsenic so he would not have a choice in the matter- “The body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace, but now the long sleep that outlasts love, that conquers even the grimace of love, had cuckolded him.”.
Miss Emily, although reared in luxury, was not adequately trained to adapt to the culture she belongs to. Her elitist upbringing created an imaginary wall between her family and the real world. She is not adept at mingling with the masses (except for her lovers) and following their rhythm. She was not even trained to keep her own house in order…. how much more her own life?
Her psychological coping mechanism to all the tragedies that happen in her life is that of denial. She exhibited a clear denial of changes that happen around her – believing that her father was still alive when if fact he has been dead for three days, denial that she needed to pay her taxes, insisting that Colonel Sartoris, dead for a decade, granted her family that privilege of non-payment of taxes. She denied that Homer Barron was not the marrying type that she made efforts to make it appear that they were to be wed. It seemed that she chose to believe what was safe and comfortable for her.
Conclusion
Indeed, Miss Emily Grierson’s character was not the usual normal protagonist, however, she does not fail to make readers relate to her life’s struggles one way or another.
Work Cited
Faulkner, W., Collected Stories. New York: Random House, 1950.
William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” focuses on the story of Miss Emily Grierson, whose life had been complicated by the death of both her father and lover, Hormer Barron. Told in a non-chronological fashion, the story is set in the antebellum South, where the townsfolk of Jefferson attend Emily’s funeral. Since Emily was the last member of the secretive Griersons, the hereditary obligation fell upon the townsfolk who went into their house to satisfy their curiosity about the family. It is revealed that she had been holding onto the corpses of both her father and lover and did not let go despite complaints about their stench. “A Rose for Emily” is an allegorical representation of the myth of the Lost Cause, where people have continually lived in denial about the demise of the Civil War, granted unmerited privileges to Confederate leaders’ monuments, and sanitizing their evil deeds.
In 1865, as the end of the Civil War began to draw to a close, many southerners faced great destruction and death in their properties, families, and businesses. As such, southerners sought to consider the Confederate cause as a symbol of their bravery and labeled their actions during the Civil War as the Lost Cause. The Lost Cause was considered a means of justification by the Confederates regarding their actions during the Civil War (Gallagher & Nolan 1). There are six primary elements of the Lost Cause myth of the Confederacy. Firstly, the act of secession by the Confederacy was not motivated by the institution of slavery in the Southern states (Cox). The main aim of seceding by the Southern states was to break off from tyrannical government as well as protect their rights to homes and businesses. Additionally, Southerners argued that secession was a means to preserve their agrarian lifestyle, which faced a significant threat from the infiltrating Northern industrialism. For these reasons, the Lost Cause was deemed constitutional by the proponents of the Confederacy.
The second myth was that slavery by the Confederacy was projected in the positive limelight. Slaves were assumed to be faithful, submissive, and happy servants who would serve better under chattel slavery and would lack purpose for the freedom they would receive. Alexander Stephens, the then Confederate Vice President, depicted that the foundation of the Southern government was founded on the notion that the Black slaves were not equal to the White man. Thus, slavery was a natural mechanism where subordination to the White superior race was normal. The third element of the Lost Cause myth is that the Confederacy was lost as a result of the high numerical that the Northern states had (Cox). The Confederacy lost because the Northerners had more resources as compared to the Southerners, that lacked knowledge of manufacturing.
Fourthly, the Confederate soldiers were projected as being gallant and heroic. The majority of the soldiers were recognized for their contribution to the Lost Cause. According to Faulkner’s story, Colonel Sartoris and Grierson were corrupt as they facilitated tax exemptions and were supported by courts, such as in the case of Judge Stevens ruling towards Emily (Faulkner and Polke 1). As compared to the heroic image that the Confederacy projected to their soldiers, it is evident that the Confederacy was an unfair form of government. The fifth element is that Robert Lee was considered the epitome of the Lost Cause as he was revered and regarded as the most successful of all the soldiers. Southern soldiers and commanders placed him upon a pedestal to commemorate the achievements he had acquired during the Lost Cause (Cox). The final myth was that Southern women were portrayed as being saintly, white, and pure as they willingly and steadfastly sacrificed their men to fight for the Lost Cause as compared to their counterparts. Emily’s lost social status also depicts the poor state majority of Southern women were left in after their husbands and fathers died. Emily was once revered and had many suitors seek to marry her. However, upon her father’s demise, she loses her social status making a point of ridicule from the townspeople.
The majority of the Confederates, just like Emily and her father, projected their actions in a positive light. However, as seen in the second myth of the Lost Cause, Southerners believed in the preservation of the Chattel slavery, which stood against human rights laws. As noted in Faulkner’s story, they willingly exempted high officials from tax payment. Subsequently, Emily’s reluctance to pay her taxes to the new government is representative of her efforts to uphold the Confederate way of life prior to the war. Colonel Sartoris coins a story that Grierson had lent the town a huge amount of money and, as such, required the exemption (Faulkner and Polk 1). Moreover, Judge Stevens scolds the townspeople for mocking Emily as being smelly, yet she was a woman of great status. In truth, the Confederacy government was marred with corruption and the violation of human rights, which was mirrored as a just cause for the Civil War.
Other than the Lost Cause myths, the interpretation of Confederate emblems, monuments, and emblems has become a significant issue in the US. The physical monuments and embodiments have been associated with the notion of upholding the ideology of white supremacy in the country as a means of celebrating the bondage of African-Americans. However, confederate proponents argue that they are historical relics to commemorate the past and the values they shared as Southerners (Chamberlain & Yanus 1). Nonetheless, the placement and commemoration of different statues of Confederate soldiers and commanders as well as emblems on roads and public places project that even in modern times, people are not willing to let go of the Lost Cause.
Like Emily’s actions of failing to give up her father’s dead body, modern society holds on to the dead corpse of the Lost Cause. The fate of the Confederacy is observed in Grierson’s and Homer’s death as they all die as a result of seeking to preserve their ideology. It is crucial to note that the monuments project to the modern community incomplete memories about the past, which translates to a biased approach when analyzing history (Kelly 3). Evidently, the glorification of these monuments and symbols is only seen as a means to justify the Lost Cause, it is a corrupt and inhumane way of governance through slavery.
At the start of the story, the townsfolk are attending Emily’s funeral, and their nostalgia leads them to overlook her flaws as the American South has consistently overlooked the negative southern values of the Confederacy. As people came to mourn Emily at her home, they came “through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument” (Faulkner and Polk 1). Ideally, the townsfolk would have come to the funeral without remorse and with relief that she was dead and she would no longer be a burden to them. In contrast, their affectionate response shows that Emily represents the community’s past, and they fail to condemn how she led her life. In a similar manner, the Southerners see the Lost Cause as a monumental event, and as such, “the past is renounced, but not fully, the dead are remembered” (Rothstein, 2011). In both cases, the Southerners and the townspeople of Jefferson are nostalgic about their past as they do not denounce its negative aspects.
At Emily’s funeral, the Grierson’s house is treated as a monument, with the townsfolk using it as an opportunity to quench their curiosity, as has been the case with Confederate monuments. For many years, Emily and her family had been living a secretive life, but her death opened up the home to curious neighbors. The house was indeed a monument to the people, and they came to know of a room upstairs that “no one had seen in forty years” and was only opened after Emily had been properly buried (Faulkner and Polk 6). The room was treated as a modern-day monument that harbors secrets that are respected and can only be revealed on special occasions. Confederate monuments and museums of Confederate officials have been accorded the same curiosity as the Grierson’s house as they often invite people to feel a certain way and celebrate certain features in the commemorative object. Such commemoration is unfounded as they lead people to celebrate what has been termed as a “fictional sanitized Confederacy” (Carr 3). In essence, the curiosity accorded to Confederacy monuments and the Grierson’s family is similar as they are both sanitized against their ugly past.
The Lost Cause and “A Rose for Emily” also share the idea of according privilege and respect where it is unmerited. As the concept of the Lost Cause gained traction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, sympathizers of former Confederates sought to erect monuments in honor of leaders such as Robert Lee and Jefferson Davis (Carr 1). The monuments have been in place for many years and have been well preserved in cities as important historical symbols. Unfortunately, their presence is representative of historical amnesia as they celebrate leaders and soldiers of the Confederacy as “emblems of traditional codes of honor, chivalry, and religiosity” who fought against unwarranted Northern aggression (Forest and Johnson 2). However, Confederate leaders championed slavery as an important and civil institution. In a similar breath, Emily has been accorded unmerited privilege in the town despite being a nuisance. Her neighbors feel sorry for “Poor Emily,” and they empathize with and respect her family to the point where she has been exempted from paying taxes due to her noble background (Bai et al. 613). She is even protected by powerful people in the town who dismiss complaints lodged against her. When the people of Jefferson filed a complaint about a strange smell from her house, Judge Stevens quickly reprimanded them, asking “will you accuse a lady to her face of smelling bad?” (Faulkner and Polk 3). Evidently, both the Grierson’s family and the Confederate leaders had been a nuisance to society, but they still received unmerited privilege and respect.
The myth of the Lost Cause also describes how nostalgia led the Southerners to believe that slaves were unqualified for freedom, in the same manner, as Emily’s father did. In the Confederate South, the black man was not equal to a white man. As a result, the Southerners complained that the Northern aggression would lead to the freedom of slaves, yet it was unwarranted. Since slaves were used to living in bondage and captivity, granting them freedom would have been unnecessary as they would not know what to do with it. Therefore, it was upon them white slave masters in the South to uphold the institution of slavery and to ensure that the black people were kept under their watchful eye. Similarly, Emily’s father had kept her away from the public and away from all suitors. The townspeople “remembered all the young men her father had driven away” until he died and Emily was thirty years old (Faulkner and Polk 3). Emily’s father believed that all men who showed interest in her were not good for her and he chose to lock her up against her will. In both instances, freedom is withheld by masters who have insecurities about losing control and authority.
In conclusion, “A Rose for Emily” is allegorical for the Confederate South as it demonstrates the deep-rooted nature of the myth of the Lost Cause. Despite defeat during the Civil War, the South failed to give up on celebrating the Confederacy. In particular, monuments and museums were erected and have been for a long time a depiction of the achievements of the Confederate leaders. Like the Confederate leaders, Emily has been sanitized and respected by the townsfolk of Jefferson yet she had been a nuisance to them for years. Similarly, Faulkner describes a raft of privileges that Emily enjoys despite her poor neighborly relations in a similar way Confederate officials were celebrated for championing the institution of slavery. In essence, the myth of the Lost Cause and “A Rose for Emily” is founded on nostalgic memories that the past is held onto even after its demise. Once the chance to do away with the unpleasantness of the past is available, barriers and excuses are used by sympathizers to sanitize evil and society is stuck in the past.
Chamberlain, Adam, and Alixandra B. Yanus. “Monuments as Mobilization? The United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Memorialization of the Lost Cause.” Social Science Quarterly, vol. 102, no. 1, 2020, pp. 125-139. Web.
The short story A Rose for Emily is praised to this day for its narrative, plot and perspective on people’s flaws. It tells about a woman who is reluctant to acknowledge the passing of her loved ones. What complicates the situation is the town officials’ reluctance to report the unpleasant smell of the dead bodies. Although it may seem rather surprising, it may be interpreted as an allegory for the South’s denial of their demise in the Civil War and some modern-day Americans being reluctant to acknowledge the atrocious deeds of the Confederacy.
The main character is interpreted as rather odd by the townsfolk. Her reluctance to accept the changes surrounding her becomes her definitive quality (Faulkner, 7). From a literary standpoint, it can present how denial can make a person disconnected from reality (Sullivan, 159). The town feels strong pity for the woman and is reluctant to confront her (Akers, 249). Another interesting feature of the story is the couple of main topics of the work: the changes in the South and societal issues in general (Strohmer, n.d.). These themes are emphasized by the titular character as well, as she shocks townspeople by dating a man from the north, in spite of previously being nostalgic for the past.
It is interesting to note that some Americans are also blinded by nostalgia, regardless of how negative some events may be. General William Sherman was previously seen as a powerful figure, but upon proper review, he provided context for the South’s failure (Moody, 25). What makes this kind of nostalgia troubling is that the Lost Cause myth distorts many people’s minds to this day (Gallagher, Nolan, 32). This emotion has been addressed by Mayor Mitch Landrieu, as he notices that some Confederate monument supporters are misguided while others are evil (Carr, 1032). The third reason to excuse this delusional grief is the preservation of Southern culture (Chamberlain, Yanus, 125). Thus, one can see how engraved this feeling is in the minds of some Americans.
However, reviewing this chapter in history can be beneficial as well. Diaries by people like Presbyterian minister Isaac Handy add extra context to the events (Williams, 433). Moreover, it reveals unusual historical chapters, such as the rise of Confederate delusion in California and Robert E. Lee’s support of slavery (Waite, 33) (Cox, 2021). Thus, by receiving extra details about the Civil War era, interpreting Emily as the representation of misguided nostalgia and reviewing the sentiments surrounding the Lost Cause, one can come to the valid conclusion that the binding ties are yet to be removed.
Works Cited
Akers, Tim. “A Rose for Emily.” JC Library, Gale, 1999. Web.
Carr, Kelly M. “”Lost Cause” Memories and Cultural Amnesias: Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s Tragicomic Speech on Confederate Monument Removals.” JC Library, 2021. Web.
Chamberlain, Adam, and Alixandra B. Yanus. “Monuments as Mobilization? The United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Memoralization of the Lost Cause.” JC Library, 2021. Web.
“A Rose for Emily” was first published in 1931 by an American writer; William Faulkner.it is a fictional work that is based on a city called Jefferson in Mississippi in Yoknapatawpha County. The story is about Emily, the daughter of Mr. Grierson, a once prosperous Jefferson businessman.
Due to his enormous wealth, Mr. Grierson was owed by the council responsible for tax collection a colossal amount of money, a fact that prompted Colonel Sartoris to exempt the bereaved Emily from her tax responsibility. The most interesting thing about the town and Emily in particular is the fact that her house, which once stood in an elegant upscale neighborhood, is the last sign showcasing one’s splendor.
The story takes a twist when a new town leader succeeds Colonel Sartoris as the leader and sends board members of the Aldermen to request her to resume her obligation of tax remittance. However, Emily refutes this request and asserts that she is not obliged to pay taxes in Jefferson. She tells off the official, and requests them to consult colonel Sartoris about the matter (Robinette and Faulkner 1-17).
A rose for Emily is one of the books that is rich in styles that are employed to bring a clear picture of the theme story. One of the styles employed by the writer is flashback. The writer takes us back through a flashback to better our understanding on the foundation of the paper.
This method as a style allows the writer to give information, details or explanations in regard to the present situation or scene. For instance, the writer introduces us to Emily as a young girl and how his father had rejected various suitors terming them as not being suitable for his daughter.
After this, a battle ensues between Emily and the town citizens when a foul smell is detected from her father’s house and it culminates with the judge ordering that the residence be sprinkled with lime at night to kill the awful smell. After a week, the smell dies of and the town people get wind that Emily’s father had died. The women of the town decided to console Emily having in mind that her aunt had gone mad.
However, Emily meets them at the door and denies that her father had died. She puts up this shirred for three days, but eventually decides to hand over the body for burial. As a character in the book, Emily seems to take dramatic twists. After her father’s death that summer, she becomes very sick which coincides with the town awarding a contract to a company under the stewardess of Homer to construct sidewalks. This gets complicated when Emily and Hormer start an affair and are sported doing buggy rides together.
The story culminates in a gruesome and horrific manner. Emily goes to a drug store to purchase arsenic, but under the town’s regulations, she is supposed to disclose what she intended to do with the poison. She claims that it is for a rat infestation, but the town people don’t believe her and think that she intended to commit suicide or better still, kill Homer.
One night, Homer goes to Emily’s place and is never heard of again. Emily cuts off herself from the town and lives a life of seclusion. She closes the top floor of her house and grows grey. Eventually Emily dies at the age of seventy-four and her body is laid on the parlor as the men, women and the elders of the town pay her their last respect.
After a lapse of time, the door that sealed the upstairs is broken to the shock of the town. The room is frozen to show how time had lapsed; items showcasing an upcoming wedding are on display. To the shock of most of those present, there was a body that was at an advanced stage of decomposition. It later turned out that the body belonged to Homer Barron. To the people’s amusement there was an indentation of a head next to Homer’s body and a long grey strand of Emily hair lying lifeless.
Although “A Rose for Emily” is termed as William Faulkner’s best book, there are major criticisms for the book. For instance, the structure of the story begins on a dramatic precept where first, we have the announcement of Emily’s death. The writer then gives as the story of Emily through the third omniscient where we have “we” to represent the town people and we are taken back through a flashback.
Interestingly in the story, Emily falls in love with Homer who is a southerner just like the writer and Emily herself being a Northerner, was a ready recipe for chaos. This brings as critics to look into the aspect of perception in terms of how people view each other in relation to where they come from and their birth place.
In addition to this, the writer introduces us to another conflicting aspect. This is the issue of status quo, where according to Emily’s father; her daughter was to be married to a certain class of people. This was the reason he turned away the various suitors who sought Emily’s hand in marriage.
According to some critics, this was the resultant cause of Emily’s poisoning Homer and slipping with his dead body. This is precipitated by the fact that before Homer’s disappearance, Emily’s cousins had paid her a visit and most likely, he was against the planed wedding (Getty, 230)
Lastly, the writer introduces us to insecurity as a theme. This aspect also adds to the debate as being the cause for Emily killing Homer. From the story, we know that Emily’s previous fiancée had run away and abandoned her. This act caused her to be insecure, which made her to think that Homer would do the same and also leave her.
She results to killing him as being the surest means of holding on to him (Petry 52-53). The most striking aspect of the story is that although it is a work of fiction and having in mind the concept of suspending disbelief, it is rather absurd that nobody finds Emily’s behavior quire in that Homer disappears without anyone noticing right after Emily had bought poison from a drug store.
It is also incredible that the people of the town, especially the women, who had never glanced the inside of Emily’s house did not have the slightest curiosity to check the house right after Emily’s death, but the town took a long spell of time after her death to break down the door to the upper stairs. According to some critics, this is a method of “filling in the gaps” on the part of the writer to come up with a logical storyline.
Works Cited
Getty, Laura. Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily. Explicator 63(4).Pp. 230-234. 2005. Print.
Petry, Alice. Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily. Explicator. 44(3). Pp. 52-53. 1986. Print.
Robinette, Joseph and William Faulkner. A Rose for Emily. New York: Dramatic Publishing, 1983. Print.
Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a short story that holds the readers’ attention even though it tells of a rather boring tale of a woman who lives in a small town. The narrator effectively describes the characters in such a way that the readers clearly visualize them in their minds’ eyes.
Emily is a white girl from an aristocratic family in the south, the Griersons. The story chronicles Emily’s life from her girlhood, when her parents selfishly prohibited her from dating men, as it seems all men were beneath them. “The Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were. None of the young men were quite good for Miss Emily and such.” Being so, Miss Emily has grown to believe that she occupies a special position in society, even to her old age when she refused to pay her taxes, having been privileged by a former Mayor who owed the Griersons favors.
The narrator depicted a small town where the ladies had nothing better to do than gossip about the high and mighty Grierson family. They were like vultures, who, in their minds, keenly follow the drama that happens behind doors. Miss Emily has always been an enigma they desperately want to demystify one of these days.
Miss Emily’s tragic fate and deep sorrow get felt throughout the story that the readers get to sympathize with her character….only to be shocked at the end. Her assumed insanity was to be expected after all the things she has endured – the loss of a mother while growing up, the death of a father, the sudden loss of a charming way of living….but not to the extent of murdering her lover and sleeping with his corpse until the day of her death.
The protagonist is born to wealth, yet had no mother to guide her in her growth. She was reared to think she was better than others, being a Grierson – “She carried her head high enough—even when we believed that she was fallen. It was as if she demanded more than ever the recognition of her dignity as the last Grierson as if it had wanted that touch of earthiness to reaffirm her imperviousness.” Miss Emily lived a pathetic, lonely, and empty life. To the end, she clutched to her last hope of feeling real love. When Homer Barron was assumed to reject her in marriage, it was suggested that Miss Emily poisoned him with arsenic so he would not have a choice in the matter- “The body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace, but now the long sleep that outlasts love, that conquers even the grimace of love, had cuckolded him.”.
Miss Emily, although reared in luxury, was not adequately trained to adapt to the culture she belongs to. Her elitist upbringing created an imaginary wall between her family and the real world. She is not adept at mingling with the masses (except for her lovers) and following their rhythm. She was not even trained to keep her own house in order…. how much more her own life?
Her psychological coping mechanism for all the tragedies that happen in her life is that of denial. She exhibited a clear denial of changes that happen around her – believing that her father was still alive when in fact he has been dead for three days, denial that she needed to pay her taxes, insisting that Colonel Sartoris, dead for a decade, granted her family that privilege of non-payment of taxes. She denied that Homer Barron was not the marrying type that she made efforts to make it appear that they were to be wed. It seemed that she chose to believe what was safe and comfortable for her.
Indeed, Miss Emily Grierson’s character was not the usual normal protagonist, however, she does not fail to make readers relate to her life’s struggles one way or another.
Work Cited
Faulkner, W., Collected Stories. New York: Random House, 1950.
This essay analyzes “A Rose for Emily”, its symbolism, main themes, messages, and tone. As the plot of the southern gothic story unfolds, the author uses certain symbols to show us the tragedy of human perishability.
“A Rose for Emily”: Themes & Historical Context
The end of the Civil War in 1865 brought many changes to the states of the South. The Old South, with its agrarian-based economy, and its residents were facing a dilemma. Should they adapt to these changes or try to continue with their social order and economy model? This time of changes is when the story takes place. Jefferson, Mississippi, is the setting of “A Rose for Emily”. Almost all of the townspeople there have decided to adapt to the changes except for one resident Emily Grierson, who dislikes the New South and refuses to get used to the new way of life.
Emily’s refusal to accept this new reality means that she clings to the social conventions which no longer exist, isolating herself from both the townspeople of Jefferson and their new lifestyle. This isolation reflects the main theme of “A Rose for Emily” – that is the necessity to adapt to changes brought upon us. From my point of view, Emily represents the reluctance to changes typical for some parts of the American society of that time. W. Faulkner effectively uses the events surrounding the main character to emphasize his message of adaptation that is necessary for us all and additionally introduces some vivid symbols in “A Rose for Emily” to describe her motivations and emotions behind her actions.
Stability and resistance to change are the main features of Ms Grierson’s character that develop during her younger years and that define her attitudes during her whole life. The only leaders Emily recognizes are the once-and-forever established authorities of her father and Colonel Sartoris.
Even after their death, Emily continues to insist on their existence. She does not recognize the fact that her father is not alive any longer, and she refers to the tax committee to the long-deceased Colonel Sartoris, who once relieved her of city taxes (Faulkner). Living in the past, Emily denies the present and the innovations it brings. Her mansion is the only building in the city that does not have “the metal numbers above her door and … a mailbox” (Faulkner).
Moreover, it is the only old house in the neighborhood that has become obliterated and turned into “an eyesore among eyesores,” a ridiculous monument to the past colonial grandeur. It is noteworthy, however, that Miss Grierson’s commitment to the old ideals is not accidental and is dictated by the conditions of her life and upbringing.
Raised in arrogance to the rest of the society, Emily Grierson transfers it to every aspect of her life. She ignores the demands to pay taxes, the glances at her butler, as well as the gossip of her entering a relationship with a stranger. Miss Grierson preserves her initial traditions and way of life by distancing herself from the rest of the townspeople.
As a result of her secluded life, there emerges a paradox: on the one hand, Emily Grierson refuses to accept the new lifestyle. On the other hand, she adapts to the new life conditions while dissociating herself from the Jefferson society. After some attempts to appear in public with her suitor or to give china-painting lessons, Emily chooses a secluded lifestyle and locks herself up in her house.
She becomes a living symbol of Jefferson, “motionless as … an idol” and barely ever speaking to anybody (Faulkner). Despite all the effort to save her lifestyle intact, Emily fails in her undertaking since she is mortal as any living being, and all the symbols of her past that surround her in daily life are equally perishable.
Conflict & Symbols in “A Rose for Emily”
The opposition between Miss Grierson’s desire for stability and the inexorable course of history frames up the fundamental conflict of “A Rose for Emily”. Symbolism is used by the author to immerse the reader in this conflict. . To emphasize Emily’s belonging to the Pre-Civil War South, William Faulkner surrounds her by objects that represent that past.
The first and foremost symbol of Miss Grierson’s époque is the place she lives in: “a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies” situated in the once “most select street” (Faulkner). The splendor of the mansion was almost unsurpassed in its better days, with endless fashionable objects filling its rooms. However, the once-grand place is subject to the inexorable course of time and shows visible signs of decay.
One of the most powerful symbols in “A Rose for Emily” is the image of dust that fills the house: not only does dust rise from the old leather furniture when visitors sit on it, but it also defines the smell of the house and its very atmosphere (Faulkner).
Symbolic of the memories and regrets, the dust appears throughout the whole story, acquiring a special significance in the scenes of Miss Emily’s death and the discovery of her suitor’s corpse in the house . In the short story, dust throws a dense veil concealing the mysteries of the Griersons family.
Faulkner employs bitter irony to describe the pitiful state of the Griersons’ mansion. Its only neighbors are now not the estates of the same grandeur but simple “cotton wagons and gasoline pumps” ― symbolic of new life and new values — indifferent to the majestic culture of the old society. This miserable decay prompts an idea that the whole past splendor was not due to the owners themselves but due to the everyday slave labor, which, once eliminated, left the house to sink into the past.
What does Homer symbolize in A Rose for Emily? The character of the Negro butler reminds of the Pre-Civil War époque and its slaveholding system that supported the existence of the wealthy white upper class. Faulkner introduces this image to enhance the museum-like state of the Griersons’ mansion. The old Negro butler works hard for the Griersons throughout his life and performs a range of entirely unnecessary tasks. He shows the visitors in and out of the house and then opens the blinds to let some light into the house.
Although Emily could have easily coped with those tasks herself, she prefers to keep the Negro butler as a way of emphasizing her high social status the way it was appropriate in her Pre-Civil War youth. Along with performing purely formal duties, the Negro butler constantly reappears with a market basket, which suggests that he is also in charge of the practical aspects of Miss Grierson’s household.
A notable occurrence in this respect is the complaint of the city dwellers concerning the peculiar smell from the Griersons’ mansion: “Just as if a man — any man — could keep a kitchen properly,” the ladies said; so they were not surprised when the smell developed” (Faulkner).
But even though a woman would be more suitable for running the house, Miss Grierson would not replace the Negro butler who is as much of a tradition in her life as she is in the life of the whole city.
On no occasion can he leave his owner, and therefore he grows gray and “doddering” and disappears from the house only with Miss Grierson’s death (Faulkner). Symbolic of Miss Grierson’s commitment to past ideals, the Negro butler is the part of her mystery, which he never reveals.
To further emphasize Miss Grierson’s striking adherence to the values of the Pre-Civil War époque, William Faulkner introduces the reader to the enormous influence of her father. He oppressed and dominated her when he was alive. He still spreads his authority on her life even after he passes away.
After his death (which Emily stubbornly refuses to admit), his crayon portrait is one of the main focal points in the parlor: “On a tarnished gilt easel before the fireplace stood a crayon portrait of Miss Emily’s father” as if overseeing and controlling all the events (Faulkner).
The dominance of Miss Emily’s father over her is clearly shown in the way they are described. “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” (Faulkner).
Therefore, it is not accidental that she chooses her only suitor according to his looks that coincide with the way the Griersons are depicted, “his hat cocked and a cigar in his teeth, reins and whip in a yellow glove “(Faulkner).
This action serves as an evidence of how arrogant the Griersons’ attitude to the surrounding society is and how eager Miss Grierson is to show the distance between herself and the community if she makes such a risky choice of a partner. Thus, additional emphasis is placed on the abyss dividing Miss Grierson and the Jefferson townsmen, the past and the present.
Conclusion
The dramatic changes take place without Miss Grierson: she remains the same self-willed woman throughout the whole story. However, despite the apparent stability in Miss Grierson’s character, an individual evolution can be traced in her through the symbolic image of her hair.
The first change in her hairstyle comes after her father’s death: “her hair was cut short, making her look like a girl” (Faulkner). By cutting her hair and thus recovering her youthful looks, Miss Grierson probably attempts to emphasize her girlish nature and her devotedness to her father. Over time, she grows older, and her hair becomes gray. This decay reflects the overall decay of the mansion and thus of the ideals that its inhabitants cherish. It becomes one of the most vivid symbol in “A Rose for Emily”.
Besides, the “long strand of iron-gray hair” found at the dead body of Miss Grierson’s suitor emphasizes the fact that although her body is decayed, her spirit remains strong enough to insist on her way of behavior (Faulkner). Thus a discrepancy comes to the fore between the aspirations of happiness and the inevitability of withering away with the time.
In “A Rose for Emily,” the theme of adapting to the changing environment is developed through the character of Miss Grierson and her reluctance to the changes.
In summary, the evolution can still be traced through the symbolic images of her mansion, her Negro butler, and her hair. Those images demonstrate that although Miss Grierson wishes to stick to the past, it is impossible due to the natural processes of decay and lavishing. As shown in this essay, symbolism in “A Rose for Emily” reveals the tragedy of human perishability.