Rose For Emily Symbolism
Most readers of Faulkner’s story “A Rose for Emily” would agree that its meaning is somehow connected with the motive which prompts Emily Grierson to poison her lover and conceal his corpse from the public for some forty years ( 1). The short story covers approximately three-quarters of a century; starting with the birth of Emily Grierson taking place around the Civil War and ending with her death in the late 1920’s - 1930’s (2). In “A Rose for Emily” Faulkner uses many instances that relate to his own life experiences from his childhood on into his adult years. Many Scenes in the story relate heavily to Faulkner as he has scavenged his own past for ideas to use in “A Rose for Emily. Faulkner uses symbolism throughout the story in many different aspects that relate to what has happened to Miss Emily and why she is the way she is. I think we can gather from Miss Emily’s life experiences, and many symbols in the story that the theme could be to “Preserve the past” which Miss Emily never seems to do.
I think that the characteristics of Miss Emily are very much the characteristics of Faulkner, as it has been said: that as a teenager Faulkner was known for being observational to the point of oddness. Sometimes Faulkner would join the old men of Oxford on the town square… there he sat or …show more content…
stood motionless, quiet, as though held fast by some inner scene of some inner sense of himself (8).
Faulkner came from a family with a sense of confidence and elegance and associated with other similar families, he was familiar with the arrogance of characters like the Griersons. Some of these families continue to behave as if they were still wealthy even when their wealth had gone. However Faulkner was able to observe ordinary people as well, this is how he was able to capture the voice of the townspeople. Faulkner was very interested in the conflict between the nineteenth century and twentieth century southern society. The old southern families of his novels such as The sound and the Fury, ultimately collapse under the weight of their past events. In “A Rose for Emily” Miss Emily is most definitely a character trapped in her genteel past, although she literally has a skeleton in her bed(8). During the time that Faulkner was writing “A Rose for Emily” his personal situation relates to Miss Emily in the fact that he doesn't have much money due to the consequences of Wall street-crash, followed by the Great Depression. Emily’s lack of money was based upon the abolishment of slavery. She lived in a city that its economy was based solely on the products from the plantations, where her father was a wealthy slave. When slavery ended, he no longer had an income. When he passed away the remainder of his wealth was left to Miss Emily and seeing that she wasn't very wealthy lets me know that there wasn't much inheritance. Faulkner has always refused the role of a celebrity: he permitted no prying into his private life and rarely granted interviews. Miss Emily was also a very private lady, she didn't want any of the townspeople bothering her or meddling into her personal life. Faulkner and Miss Emily have very similar characteristics and personal demeanors. Symbolism in many is used throughout the story from the house to characteristics of Miss Emily.
Time is of the essence, a general sense of time that emerges from the ways in which the discourse reshapes the story. On the one hand, the story begins and ends at one moment in time, Emily’s funeral, creating a kind of frame that holds “time” in place while the middle portion of the narrative fill in what led up to the funeral(9).
The home that Emily shares with her father is a symbol of her inner state. As the home opens in her youthful year the home is bright, vibrant, and fresh. She was pure as the walls were white as her father protected her from any man he didn't believe measured up to her standards, which was all men leaving her alone for quite some time. As the story progresses the house becomes filthy, smelly, and foul. At the same time Miss Emily is growing older and her sprint more deranged. She eventually ends up killing her fiancé and sleeping with his corpse for about forty years(10)(12). In the story as Miss Emily is getting older it is talked about how the house becomes dusty and foul smelling. It’s even talked about how the dust represents things from the past or even how the past is uncovered. Stating that even the corpse was covered in dust(12). The dust also is a symbol of time in this case. The story never manifested an actual rose, however the title itself is symbolic. The rose is a symbol of love in a sense that young lovers receive roses. In Miss Emily’s case her rose in a sense is the corpse of her husband and her wedding dress, representing a preserved rose in between pages of an old memory book(11). Miss Emily’s hair is a symbol of her sexuality throughout the story. After her father dies, she cuts her hair short, appearing like a young girl, although she is in her 30’s(15). Her younger appearance is symbolic of her sexual immaturity, which now seems destined to be frozen in time since her father has robbed her of many chances to marry. After Homer “disappears” Miss Emily’s hair turns gray, which signifies the death of her sexuality. The townspeople find a strand of Miss Emily’s gray hair next to Homer’s corpse representing the death of her sexuality also(13). Miss Emily herself is a symbol of the past, she resists change, she continues to write letters on forty year old stationary. She refused to have metallic mailbox letters placed on her mailbox, and continued to insist on handshakes for agreements which would also excuse her from paying her taxes. she was a symbol of the Old South(14). Miss Emily and everything about her home represents the past. Preserving the Past, put a whole new meaning to killing Homer Barron. I think that meaning behind “A Rose for Emily is to preserve her past. I think Faulkner was in a sense incorporating bits of his life into the story. I think when Miss Emily grew older and her father died she had no money this is to represent Faulkner’s life. Miss Emily is a very bizarre and mysterious lady, as Faulkner was said to be as well(15). Is Faulkner trying to preserve Miss Emily’s sexuality that was robbed from her as a young lady or her youthfulness with Homer Barron? Is Homer Barron the rose in the story and that is what she is preserving like a memory in an old memory book? Faulkner is sure to preserve the essence of Miss Emily and what she stands for, even as generations change, he doesn't change the character of Miss Emily. The dust is a great representation of preserving the home and Miss Emily’s old southern ways, without the dust the house would still be vibrant, white, and very youthful like. However, there is one aspect of the story that is not preserving of the past and that is the new generation of the townspeople. The sidewalks change, the mailbox change, the townspeople change but the only thing that doesn't change is Miss Emily’s house, her yard, her clothing, the lifestyle that she lives, and how she deals business with the townspeople. Miss Emily was a firm believer that a good ole hand shake was good enough for the agreement she had made about the taxes that she owed. When Miss Emily dies all the townspeople “the men” and “the women” both attended her funeral just to observe the inside of her home. No one had seen the inside of her home for sometime of about 10 years(16). I think all of the townspeople were in some kind of awe of how Miss Emily’s home was preserved with the dust as well as that she had been sleeping with Homer Barron’s corpse and her wedding dress. Faulkner had a very interesting way of preserving the past in “A Rose for Emily” even in the beginning by starting the story with Miss Emily dying and going back to tell the order in which lead to her death. Faulkner did a great job in preserving Miss Emily’s past in detail leaving the readers to still believe that its meaning is somehow connected with the motive which prompts Emily Grierson to poison her lover and conceal his corpse from the public for some forty years(1). In conclusion, as I have stated before Faulkner has used many instances that relate to his own life experiences from his childhood on into his adult years.
There were many scenes in “A Rose for Emily” that closely relate to Faulkner’s life. I think Faulkner’s main idea for symbolism is Miss Emily, her actions, and her home. All three have played the main role in symbolizing what Faulkner was trying to point out. All the events in the story in my option point to the meaning to be to preserve Miss Emily’s past with Homer Barron. I think Miss Emily was afraid that she was going to lose him and rather that happen she would just live with his corpse for some forty years until her
death.
I think that the characteristics of Miss Emily are very much the characteristics of Faulkner, as it has been said: that as a teenager Faulkner was known for being observational to the point of oddness. Sometimes Faulkner would join the old men of Oxford on the town square… there he sat or …show more content…
stood motionless, quiet, as though held fast by some inner scene of some inner sense of himself (8).
Faulkner came from a family with a sense of confidence and elegance and associated with other similar families, he was familiar with the arrogance of characters like the Griersons. Some of these families continue to behave as if they were still wealthy even when their wealth had gone. However Faulkner was able to observe ordinary people as well, this is how he was able to capture the voice of the townspeople. Faulkner was very interested in the conflict between the nineteenth century and twentieth century southern society. The old southern families of his novels such as The sound and the Fury, ultimately collapse under the weight of their past events. In “A Rose for Emily” Miss Emily is most definitely a character trapped in her genteel past, although she literally has a skeleton in her bed(8). During the time that Faulkner was writing “A Rose for Emily” his personal situation relates to Miss Emily in the fact that he doesn't have much money due to the consequences of Wall street-crash, followed by the Great Depression. Emily’s lack of money was based upon the abolishment of slavery. She lived in a city that its economy was based solely on the products from the plantations, where her father was a wealthy slave. When slavery ended, he no longer had an income. When he passed away the remainder of his wealth was left to Miss Emily and seeing that she wasn't very wealthy lets me know that there wasn't much inheritance. Faulkner has always refused the role of a celebrity: he permitted no prying into his private life and rarely granted interviews. Miss Emily was also a very private lady, she didn't want any of the townspeople bothering her or meddling into her personal life. Faulkner and Miss Emily have very similar characteristics and personal demeanors. Symbolism in many is used throughout the story from the house to characteristics of Miss Emily.
Time is of the essence, a general sense of time that emerges from the ways in which the discourse reshapes the story. On the one hand, the story begins and ends at one moment in time, Emily’s funeral, creating a kind of frame that holds “time” in place while the middle portion of the narrative fill in what led up to the funeral(9).
The home that Emily shares with her father is a symbol of her inner state. As the home opens in her youthful year the home is bright, vibrant, and fresh. She was pure as the walls were white as her father protected her from any man he didn't believe measured up to her standards, which was all men leaving her alone for quite some time. As the story progresses the house becomes filthy, smelly, and foul. At the same time Miss Emily is growing older and her sprint more deranged. She eventually ends up killing her fiancé and sleeping with his corpse for about forty years(10)(12). In the story as Miss Emily is getting older it is talked about how the house becomes dusty and foul smelling. It’s even talked about how the dust represents things from the past or even how the past is uncovered. Stating that even the corpse was covered in dust(12). The dust also is a symbol of time in this case. The story never manifested an actual rose, however the title itself is symbolic. The rose is a symbol of love in a sense that young lovers receive roses. In Miss Emily’s case her rose in a sense is the corpse of her husband and her wedding dress, representing a preserved rose in between pages of an old memory book(11). Miss Emily’s hair is a symbol of her sexuality throughout the story. After her father dies, she cuts her hair short, appearing like a young girl, although she is in her 30’s(15). Her younger appearance is symbolic of her sexual immaturity, which now seems destined to be frozen in time since her father has robbed her of many chances to marry. After Homer “disappears” Miss Emily’s hair turns gray, which signifies the death of her sexuality. The townspeople find a strand of Miss Emily’s gray hair next to Homer’s corpse representing the death of her sexuality also(13). Miss Emily herself is a symbol of the past, she resists change, she continues to write letters on forty year old stationary. She refused to have metallic mailbox letters placed on her mailbox, and continued to insist on handshakes for agreements which would also excuse her from paying her taxes. she was a symbol of the Old South(14). Miss Emily and everything about her home represents the past. Preserving the Past, put a whole new meaning to killing Homer Barron. I think that meaning behind “A Rose for Emily is to preserve her past. I think Faulkner was in a sense incorporating bits of his life into the story. I think when Miss Emily grew older and her father died she had no money this is to represent Faulkner’s life. Miss Emily is a very bizarre and mysterious lady, as Faulkner was said to be as well(15). Is Faulkner trying to preserve Miss Emily’s sexuality that was robbed from her as a young lady or her youthfulness with Homer Barron? Is Homer Barron the rose in the story and that is what she is preserving like a memory in an old memory book? Faulkner is sure to preserve the essence of Miss Emily and what she stands for, even as generations change, he doesn't change the character of Miss Emily. The dust is a great representation of preserving the home and Miss Emily’s old southern ways, without the dust the house would still be vibrant, white, and very youthful like. However, there is one aspect of the story that is not preserving of the past and that is the new generation of the townspeople. The sidewalks change, the mailbox change, the townspeople change but the only thing that doesn't change is Miss Emily’s house, her yard, her clothing, the lifestyle that she lives, and how she deals business with the townspeople. Miss Emily was a firm believer that a good ole hand shake was good enough for the agreement she had made about the taxes that she owed. When Miss Emily dies all the townspeople “the men” and “the women” both attended her funeral just to observe the inside of her home. No one had seen the inside of her home for sometime of about 10 years(16). I think all of the townspeople were in some kind of awe of how Miss Emily’s home was preserved with the dust as well as that she had been sleeping with Homer Barron’s corpse and her wedding dress. Faulkner had a very interesting way of preserving the past in “A Rose for Emily” even in the beginning by starting the story with Miss Emily dying and going back to tell the order in which lead to her death. Faulkner did a great job in preserving Miss Emily’s past in detail leaving the readers to still believe that its meaning is somehow connected with the motive which prompts Emily Grierson to poison her lover and conceal his corpse from the public for some forty years(1). In conclusion, as I have stated before Faulkner has used many instances that relate to his own life experiences from his childhood on into his adult years.
There were many scenes in “A Rose for Emily” that closely relate to Faulkner’s life. I think Faulkner’s main idea for symbolism is Miss Emily, her actions, and her home. All three have played the main role in symbolizing what Faulkner was trying to point out. All the events in the story in my option point to the meaning to be to preserve Miss Emily’s past with Homer Barron. I think Miss Emily was afraid that she was going to lose him and rather that happen she would just live with his corpse for some forty years until her
death.