Rose is considered to be the symbol of love but, Emily hardly ever experienced love from anyone but her father. After his death, she was a loner up until she met Homer Barron but as we all know from the text, this meeting can hardly be called a happy love story. So the rose here is a symbol of lost love in Emily’s life, it’s a symbol of her emotional suffering and struggle to be a happy woman.
Another symbol is Mr. Grierson’s portrait. Emily’s father always stood on her guard and had a great influence on her not only during his life but even after his death. His portrait in Emily’s house is also a symbol of time. It represents the past and reminds of the way they used to live when Mr. Grierson was alive.
The locked door room and the dead body of Homer is one of the symbols too. This scene symbolizes the dream that is not supposed to come true - Emily’s dream to be a happy woman. Faded rose color curtains, rose-shaded lights of the room, the delicate array of crystal and the man’s toilet things- all together, it is a symbol of a simple desire of a woman to love and to be loved. It’s a symbol of Emily’s pain. The corpse of Homer in this room is also a symbol of Emily’s struggle for her so-called happiness.
To sum up, it should be noted that each and every symbol plays a huge role in this text. Faulkner creates a story shrouded in mystery and uses symbols to enhance the plot and create a broad