Analytical Essay On A Rose For Emily

MLA Essay
Critical Lens theories can be found in all kinds of writing, sometimes not obvious to the untrained reader. Take for example, the “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, where a woman named Emily lives a solitary life, and after her father dies, she is left with no money and nothing but a house and gradually becomes insane. This horrific tale displays three critical lens theories: Psychoanalytic criticism because of her father’s attitude affected her relationships and way of being, Feminism because of Emily’s independent position, and Marxism because of the social roles imposed on Emily by the townspeople throughout her life. Insanity ran in Emily’s family, just as with her great aunt Old Lady Wyatt, but more than just family history
She was described by the town as “a tradition, a duty and a care, a sort of hereditary obligation in town.” Although regarded as an obligation because of her avoidance of taxes, she is seen as a very high status woman and that is what feminism strives for, the equality of women and men. It is also mentioned that Emily would not accept charity, which adds to her portrayal and independent. However, underlying messages against women being regarded so highly are elucidated when the author writes that the lie which kept her from paying taxes is one that “only one that a woman would believe.” Nevertheless, It is clear that Emily was a figure that everyone looked up to and envied up until her fathers death because it was stated that “At last they could pity Emily” when her father left her with only the estate. It could even be said that Emily was overstepping social boundaries because she was the one on her own with a house of her own, unlike the other women in town. The author made her seem abnormal for being so autonomous because other women ridiculed the smell coming from her house by saying things such as “Just as if a man- any man- could keep a kitchen clean,” implying that only women belong cleaning and in a kitchen. Emily was on the same social level as men because of all her assets and
When Emily began to be seen with a northern laborer, people were worried about her sanity, especially the older people, because the way they saw it, only someone that was crazy would associate themselves with a class below theirs. They were worried that Emily was forgetting about her “noblesse oblige,” and would say “poor Emily” anytime they would see her. After all, she did had been just handed a lovely estate with rich portraits and was a woman held highly in the minds of the townspeople. Once she began to associate herself with Homer Barron and ride around in his car, they believed it was the beginning of her downhill roll. The author might be hinting that it was this loss of her nobility that was the first sign of her insanity, because a noble woman and a laborer getting married is an absurd thought for the author to