A rose for emily

Importance of Setting in William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily

A setting is place and time in a story, the context or environment in which the story is set, this is also referred to as the background. It indicates the time in which the event occurred in a context we are going to discuss. William Faulkner uses this device in his complex short story "A Rose for Emily" to give insight into the lonely world of Miss Emily Grierson. The setting in “A Rose for Emily” is Faulkner’s post-civil war town called Jefferson, a small town in the deep south of the United States during the late 1800's to early 1900’s. The town is more than just the setting in the story, it takes on its own characterization alongside Emily the main character. It is the main reason behind Emily's attitude and actions. It gives the reader an easier understanding into why Emily makes the decisions she does as the story is told.The town of Jefferson was deeply involved in the life of Emily Grierson throughout out the story. The town had their own idea of who she was and what they wanted her to be. The reason being was that the Grierson family was very highly recognized in the past era of the Confederacy. Her father had power and was close to a very popular mayor named Colonel Sartoris.

The power Emily's father has over Emily can be seen in a representation of the two that the narrator describes: "Emily a slender woman in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip (303).” He does in fact control her like a horse, never allowing her to date anyone. The images that the narrator gives us curves a readers thoughts of Emily. We at one point pity her because of her loneliness and at another despise her because of her indecency. In the beginning of the story, Faulkner takes us back to the time when Miss Emily refused to pay her taxes. She believes that just because Colonel Sartoris remitted her taxes in 1894, that she is exempt from paying them even years later. The town changes, its people change, yet Emily has not changed. A big part of the setting is Emily Grierson homd, the description of the house is very haunting. There is no life or motion in this house. Everything appears to be decaying, just as Emily herself. The picture of her father is just another symbol of immobility and no sense of time. When he died, Miss Emily refused to acknowledge his death. She stopped time, at least in her mind. From this point, Faulkner makes a smooth transition to a period of thirty years ago, when Miss Emily "vanquished their fathers about the smell.(305)”. The plot continues in the backward direction, demonstrating Miss Emily's lack of understanding of time. A smell develops in Miss Emily's house, which is another sign of decay and death. Miss Emily is oblivious to the smell, while it continues to bother the neighbors. This town's people are intimidated by Miss Emily, and have to squeeze lime juice on her lawn in secrecy. They are afraid to confront her, just as the next generation is afraid to confront her about the taxes. Her strong presence is enough for her to surpass the law. Perhaps if the story of Miss Emily had been set in a different place, her life would have turned out differently. With all the pressures from her father and the town's people, she became a very closed up and rather frightening person. There were too many expectations of women in those days and Faulkner demonstrates the consequences of such a life through Miss Emily. By understanding "A Rose for Emily" one can see how much of an impact setting can have on the life of a person. The way it can mold one's thought is superb and sometimes hard to believe. William Faulkner uses setting in his complex short story "A Rose for Emily" to give insight into the lonely world of Miss Emily Grierson.