A Rose For Emily Grierson Character Traits

Yi An Pan

Mr. Timothy Johnson

English

24 October 2007

In William Faulkner’s memorable short story, “A Rose For Emily”, the main character, Emily Grierson, is very complex and not easily forgotten. In order to fully grasp and comprehend her character traits, we also have to take into consideration her way of life and other external factors that contributed to her character. First and foremost, she embodies the pre-war tradition of the South and this makes her very averse to change. Miss Emily is also a possessive and insecure person who becomes a recluse in the later years of her life, and throughout the development of the story, she is presented to us as a character who is slightly insane. In addition, due to the way she has been brought up, she is a very arrogant woman with a great amount of dignity. In the story, Emily strikes the reader as a traditionalist who despises change. Her aversion to change is one of her key character traits and is also the main theme of the story. She is a good representative of the people from the ‘Old South’, who were firmly rooted to their old values and beliefs and were not keen on change. For example, “When the town got free
postal delivery, Miss Emily alone refuses to let them fasten the metal numbers above her door and attach a mailbox to it. She would not listen to them” (134). She simply refuses to accept the fact that society is changing and modernizing; she prefers the old ways and sticks to tradition resolutely. In the story, Faulkner also says that when Miss Emily was alive, “[she] had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (130). Emily Grierson is also a very stubborn woman. Her obdurateness can be seen when she refuses to accept the fact that her father is dead and keeps his dead body in the house for three days. When her father died, “[she] met them at the door, dressed as usual with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days … Just as they were about to resort to law and force, she broke down and they buried her father quickly” (132). Miss Emily’s unyielding nature is further emphasized in the story with the use of symbolism – the Grierson’s house. The house symbolizes her obstinacy as it stands strong and unwaveringly in the little town as everything else around it changes. “[The] garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighbourhood; only Miss Emily’s house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps – an eyesore among eyesores” (130) As the town develops and modernizes with the progress of society, Miss Emily’s house is the only one that still stands. Emily Grierson’s intransigence is also brought on by her arrogance and imperiousness. She was brought up in a family that held very high standards, even though the rest of the townsfolk believed that they were conceited. “People in [the] town … believed that the Griersons’ held themselves a little too high for what they really were. None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such” (132). The Griersons were also once a very reputable family, but now, their family name no longer holds such resonance. From this, the reader can also deduce that the Grierson family has a significant amount of dignity. Miss Emily holds her head high even the status of her family drops over the years; due to her isolation, she has also become mentally warped.
“She carried her head high enough … 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” (133). Her life has been one that has been cloistered, and as time flows on, she becomes increasingly deranged, and also a loner. “We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will” (132). Throughout her life, she has been denied love from other men, which in turn leads to a life without the love of another man besides her
father. The type of person Miss Emily ultimately becomes is also affected by external factors, mainly her father. He is a controlling man who isolates her from the rest of the world and prevents her from living the kind of life others would lead, and in turn moulds her into a possessive and insecure lady. This is why she refuses to face up to reality and to the truth that her father is dead, and so she clings onto his dead body, because he is the only thing she has left. Even after he dies, the possessive side of Emily Grierson is still apparent. When Homer Barron appears in the later part of the story and brings Miss Emily out of her solitude, she kills him to temporarily cheat death and keep him by her side so she will have a man who will stay with her for eternity. In “A Rose For Emily”, Miss Emily Grierson’s character traits are all intertwined and interrelated. William Faulkner presents to us her character through the myriad of situations, and ties it in with the theme of the story – tradition vs. change; and also historical incidents that occurred around the time period when the story was written. By understanding the events that happened in Miss Emily’s life, readers will be able to empathize with her and pardon her for the person she eventually turns into.