The Life Of Emily Grierson In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily
The Interesting Life of Emily Grierson
The short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is about the life and times of an older woman named Emily Grierson who lived in the town of Jefferson. The story is set in the south during the early nineteen hundreds and narrated by an unknown person who lives in the town. The reader will about Emily’s mysterious life and the harsh times she has dealing with her family and social interactions as her life goes on. Faulkner uses different elements such as moral issues, setting, and conflict, to show that the only constant in society is change, and that people who refuse the change are subject to an unbalanced life. The setting of this story is important because it plays a major factor in the
way the reader will view Emily. In the south during the early nineteen hundred Faulkner described Emily’s house as, “A big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies, set on what had been our most select street.” Then immediately states, “Only Miss Emily’s house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps- an eye-sore among eyesores.” This shows how at one time the Griersons were among the wealthy and highly respected families in the Jefferson area. They had a nice big beautiful house in desired area. Now, the decaying house sticks out like a sore thumb in a crappy neighborhood- and Emily is still there. This is a symbol in how Emily sticks to her roots and won’t adapt to the new times. The conflict between Emily and the Board of Alderman over paying taxes is another example of how she can deal with the new rules and regulation of the new modern society. Emily says, “I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me. Perhaps one of you can access to the city records and satisfy yourselves.” This clearly shows how distorted her view on society is. At this point, Colonel Sartoris has been dead for about 10 years already. She has trouble adapting to the new age and it is very obvious that the townspeople have all made the transition and see Emily has abnormal. The fact that the narrator says, “Colonel Sartoris invented an involved tale to the effect that Miss Emily’s father had loaned money to the town, which the town as a matter of business, preferred this way of repaying.” This is proof that even years ago townspeople knew she was a “little off her rocker”, and still living in the past. By the end of the story, the reader’s perception of Emily’s moral issues become very clear. When her father finally dies, Emily addresses the ladies, “She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body.” Her issues are preventing her from moving on. When they finally open the mysterious room that hasn’t been open for 40 years, Homer Benson is revealed, “Himself lay in the bed.” Emily has shown that she allowed her dead boyfriend to rot in her house for years. She cannot let go of anything in her past forcing her to have an unbalanced lifestyle. Overall, the story “A Rose for Emily” goes through several phases of Emily Grierson’s interesting life in the south during the 1900’s. Throughout the several phases of her life, she fails to come to grasp with the changes in her society. This story clearly shows that people who have trouble adapting with the changing times have a much more difficult life. Faulkner leaves a message showing that Emily did not want to change her lifestyle and she would ultimately die holding on to her past.
The short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is about the life and times of an older woman named Emily Grierson who lived in the town of Jefferson. The story is set in the south during the early nineteen hundreds and narrated by an unknown person who lives in the town. The reader will about Emily’s mysterious life and the harsh times she has dealing with her family and social interactions as her life goes on. Faulkner uses different elements such as moral issues, setting, and conflict, to show that the only constant in society is change, and that people who refuse the change are subject to an unbalanced life. The setting of this story is important because it plays a major factor in the
way the reader will view Emily. In the south during the early nineteen hundred Faulkner described Emily’s house as, “A big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies, set on what had been our most select street.” Then immediately states, “Only Miss Emily’s house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps- an eye-sore among eyesores.” This shows how at one time the Griersons were among the wealthy and highly respected families in the Jefferson area. They had a nice big beautiful house in desired area. Now, the decaying house sticks out like a sore thumb in a crappy neighborhood- and Emily is still there. This is a symbol in how Emily sticks to her roots and won’t adapt to the new times. The conflict between Emily and the Board of Alderman over paying taxes is another example of how she can deal with the new rules and regulation of the new modern society. Emily says, “I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me. Perhaps one of you can access to the city records and satisfy yourselves.” This clearly shows how distorted her view on society is. At this point, Colonel Sartoris has been dead for about 10 years already. She has trouble adapting to the new age and it is very obvious that the townspeople have all made the transition and see Emily has abnormal. The fact that the narrator says, “Colonel Sartoris invented an involved tale to the effect that Miss Emily’s father had loaned money to the town, which the town as a matter of business, preferred this way of repaying.” This is proof that even years ago townspeople knew she was a “little off her rocker”, and still living in the past. By the end of the story, the reader’s perception of Emily’s moral issues become very clear. When her father finally dies, Emily addresses the ladies, “She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body.” Her issues are preventing her from moving on. When they finally open the mysterious room that hasn’t been open for 40 years, Homer Benson is revealed, “Himself lay in the bed.” Emily has shown that she allowed her dead boyfriend to rot in her house for years. She cannot let go of anything in her past forcing her to have an unbalanced lifestyle. Overall, the story “A Rose for Emily” goes through several phases of Emily Grierson’s interesting life in the south during the 1900’s. Throughout the several phases of her life, she fails to come to grasp with the changes in her society. This story clearly shows that people who have trouble adapting with the changing times have a much more difficult life. Faulkner leaves a message showing that Emily did not want to change her lifestyle and she would ultimately die holding on to her past.