MLA A Rose For Emily

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A Rose for Emily

The story is centered on Miss Emily, a respected lady in town who belongs to the aristocratic

class. ‘A rose for Emily’ evokes grotesque and southern gothic, the literary structures with a

general tone of terror, gloom, and violence (Su-ping 35). The story contains dark and

unimaginable images of a decaying mansion, a murder, a corpse, a mysterious worker who

disappears, and necrophilia- an affection towards the dead. The essay will, therefore, summarize

and analyze the story, chronological order of events, the narrator’s point of view, and the social

structure.

Summary

‘A Rose for Emily’ brings a contrast of an admired woman in town to the extent of exemption her

from paying tax, and a fallen monument who murdered her boyfriend Homer and also retained his

decomposed body inside the bedchamber (Harris 169). Miss Emily sleeps next to it for such a long

time that people notice a strand of iron-gray hair on the pillow next to the lover’s remains. The

contrast of the aristocratic lady and the horrible secrets are the basics that build the story. The

Griersons held themselves too high to the extent of Emily’s father forbidding her from dating and

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scaring away all suitors. The situation makes her desperate for human love that she kills her lover

and clings to his corpse.

The aristocratic position enables her to cover up for the murder, but ironically she isolates herself

from the society and embraces the dead for solace. Through the use of the two literally techniques,

Faulkner creates a seamless but intriguing story through suspense, a jumbled chronology of events,

and narrators shift to emphasize of Emily’s aloofness, the strength of purpose, gratification, the

horrors and contempt of her deeds.

Chronology of Events

The goodness of this story lies in its absence of a chronological form. Although the story’s division

incapacitates it in some manner, the outlook enables a reader to view Faulkner’s like a genius

especially in his unique method of story-telling. The book mentions a few specific dates from

which one can generate a certain sequence of events. For instance, Colonel Sartoris remitted

Emily’s levy in 1894, and by the time that Emily confronted the aldermen colonel had been dead

for more than ten years (Ruthmann 15). Since she dies at 74, these facts can be used to develop a

framework of chronology according to the arrangements of events.

Ironically, the construction of a chronological arrangement in a linear fashion shows the

injustice in the story. Focusing on primary concepts; Emily buying the toxin, the disappearance of

Homer Barron, and the stench coming from the house, it is logical the reason behind buying the

poison and the cause of the bad smell (Ruthmann 12). Sleeping with the corpse makes the killing

frivolous in comparison to necrophilia. The masterpiece of ‘A rose for Emily’ lies not in the

chronology of episodes; it is in the dilemma through which the story is built. Faulkner leaves a

reader horrified as he interprets why the perceived noblewoman is, at last, a fallen monument.

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The Narrator’s Point of View

A rose for Emily becomes successful not for the complicated chronology, but also for the unique

narration. The gender of the narrator is not identified and nor is his age disclosed. At the beginning

of the story, the narrator tells reasons for people attending Emily’s funeral. The men went to show

their respectful affection for the fallen hero. It is questionable on whether the town saw Emily as

polite or if she had done something honorable to be called a monument. Harris mentions that

sometimes grudgingly and unabashedly, the narrator admires Emily for using her social class to

buy poison and defeat members of the city council (169).

Apart from the admiration of Emily as a monument, the narrator pities her for refusing to

bury her father immediately after death. After the appearance of a homer, the narrator, as a

representative of the town says they are glad that she is getting interested in love. However, their

feeling turns into anger at the thought of Emily, an aristocratic southern lady engaging with a lowly

northerner. Unlike the town who believes she is adulterous, the narrator recognizes Emily’s dignity

through which she faces adversity (Faulkner & Noel 97). She walks with her head held high,

confronted disaster with dignity, rose above common masses, all of which are aspects of the

southern aristocracy.

Social Structure

Social structure is a minor theme in the story, centered on South American that is being replaced

by the new south. To prevent Miss Emily from embarrassment, Colonel Sartoris comes up with a

lie that he owed her father Grierson a Jefferson pre-civil war debt (Zhuo &Peng 77). However, it

is the same man had ordered a beating of African American women who appeared on Jefferson

Street without an apron. In this way, he did not want to seem like he was giving charity to Emily,

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so the families of the Jefferson’s sent their daughters to Miss Emily’s house for Chinese painting

lessons. The most significant aspect of the social structure is Jefferson’s attitude towards Emily’s

relationship with Homer Barron. Initially, the town does not approve of the coupling, but they

gradually accepted him as a good choice probably as a matter of necessity.

Conclusion

In summation, through the story, one gets an idea about the society and how people lived a specific

time in the south. ‘A rose for Emily’ is presented as horror and leaves a reader pitying the heroine

who could not adapt to changes in her environment leading to a lonely and unfulfilling life.

Faulkner keeps the audience engaged by using foreshadowing and symbolism by starting with

Emily’s death and finally to finding Homer’s corpse in the house, which was the main cause of

the stench many years ago. It is clear that Emily was not afraid of dying, and her unstable mind

and the pressure from unending gossip in town that judged her every move was probably the

reasons for her decisions. Whatever her reason, she got to keep her rose ‘Homer’ forever.

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Works Cited

Faulkner, William, and Noel Polk. A rose for Emily. Harcourt College Publishers, 2000. Pp. 97.

Harris, A. "In Search of Dead Time: Faulkner's" A Rose for Emily"." KronoScope 7.2 (2007):

Pp. 169-183.

Ruthmann, Davina. "The Chronology in William Faulkner's" A Rose for Emily", 2005. Pp.12-22.

Su-ping, C. A. O. "An Exploration of the Narrator and Point of View in" A Rose for Emily"[J]."

Huazhong Normal University Journal of Postgraduates 1 (2010): 020. Pp. 35.

Zhuo, L. I. U., and P. E. N. G. Chang-liu. "An Ambivalent Southerner: An Interpretation of Emily

Crierson in Faulkner's A Rose for Emily [J]." Journal of Northeastern University (Social

Science) 3 (2004): 021. Pp. 77-80.

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