A Rose For Emily Grierson Character Analysis

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner is a short story with third party narration, centered on the main character, Emily Grierson. She is suppressed by her father, life expectations and community interest in her life. The reader gets a sense that Emily cracks under all the pressure and they soon realize after her death, when she is in her seventies, that she did in fact have a mental disorder.

An important idiosyncrasy of Emily's that will help the reader to understand the bizarre finale of the story, is her apparent inability to cope with the death of someone she cared for. When deputies were sent to recover back taxes from Emily, she directed them to Colonel Sartoris, an ex-mayor that had told her she would never have to pay taxes, and a man that had been dead for ten years. Years before this incident, however, after her father had died, she continued to act has if he had not, and only allowed his body to be removed when threatened with legal action. Considering the fate of her lover's corpse, one suspects she would have kept her father's corpse also, had the town not known of his death.

The reason it is unfortunate is that her death symbolizes the end of the old ways and even the tradition that her death brought forth. “Alive miss Emily had been a tradition” (451) shows just how powerful of an influence she was on the town even without leaving her home and even being the complete end of the old era. When she died some very old men wore “brushed Confederate uniforms” (456) to honor her death and even give remembrance to her because she truly did mean the end of an era. Depending on who was looking upon her if it was the old or even young they all had a certain understood respect for her. They knew she kept inside away from everyone else, but never truly understood why and the reason came out when they first entered her home. They walked all the way through it eventually finding Homer upstairs in a locked bedroom that was covered in dust and saw that everything was left there as though time had completely ceased in that room alone. The house represented decay for her and even the condition she was in throughout the story reinforced that same idea that she represented the decay of the past. Her house was surrounded by some garages and cotton gins which, made it an “eyesore among eyesores” (451) also, the fact that her home was “once white” (451) all come together to represent everything around her falling

Madness and desperation can motivate some of the most extreme actions of individuals. For instance, when faced with a loneliness she was forced into by her overprotective father, Miss Emily Grierson in “A Rose for Emily” struggles to cope with a changing environment after his death. Her mental deterioration even culminates into the murder of her significant other Homer Barron to keep him from leaving her as well. In his story, William Faulkner foreshadows Miss Emily’s mental instability from the very beginning with specific hints. Some of those tactics are portrayed in the description of Miss Emily’s family history, the words and actions of the community, and her inability to distinguish between the past and the present.

In “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner uses imagery and symbolism to both illustrate and strengthen the most prevalent theme; Emily’s resistance to change. William Faulkner seems to reveal this theme through multiple descriptions of Miss Grierson’s actions, appearance, and her home. Throughout the short story it is obvious that Emily has a hard time letting go of her past, she seems to be holding onto every bit of her past. Readers see this shown in several ways, some more obvious than others.

In the short story “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner, Emily, the protagonist, is shown as someone who’s life is falling apart and brought down by society. Emily in this story could be described as a victim to society and her father. Emily Grierson’s confinement, loss of her father and Homer, and constant criticism caused her, her insanity.

In William Faulkner’s story “A Rose for Emily” his main character Miss Emily Grierson’s deranged behavior leaves the reader questioning her mental status.

Miss Emily is also decaying, but it is subtle and internal--the awful smell that begins to permeate from her dwelling is a reflection of the withering woman within rotting. Perhaps most tragically, Miss Emily’s isolation is far from self-inflicted. Her blind devotion to the ones she loves; her father, her husband, her home; only serves to further condemn her actions. Her neighbors disregard toward her inabilty to let go of her father after his death, despite the delicacy of her being, caused for her madness to fester. “She told them her father was not dead.

Miss Emily could also have schizophrenia as a response to the demanding conditions in which she was living as a Southern woman from an aristocratic family. Miss Emily decompensated because she was unable to develop healthy and adaptive coping and defense mechanisms. When her father dies, Miss Emily avoids all contact with others and other psychotic symptoms become evident. Immediately after her father’s death, ladies from the town came to Miss Emily’s home to offer condolences and aid, and observe that she had “no trace of grief on her face” (pg. 775). Perhaps, Miss Emily insisted to the visitors that “her father was not dead” (pg. 775).

The author, William Faulkner, has a collection of books, short stories, and poems under his name. Through his vast collection of works, Faulkner attempts to discuss and bring awareness to numerous aspects of life. More often than not, his works were created to reflect aspects of life found within the south. Family dynamics, race, gender, social class, war, incest, racism, suicide, necrophilia, and mental illness are just some of the aspects that Faulkner explored. In “A Rose for Emily” the aspects of necrophilia and mental illness along with the societal biases that were observed in a small-town setting are seen to be a part of this captivating story. These aspects ultimately intertwine with the idea of insanity that characterizes “A Rose

The first instance occurs with the death of her father. Mr. Grierson died, leaving Miss Emily alone with the house and his body to dispose of (325). Miss Emily did not take care of either the house or the deceased body of her father (325). When the authorities came, she greeted them as if nothing was wrong, and with “no trace of grief in her face” (325). The town even reportedly said that they “hardly ever see her at all” after Mr. Grierson died and Miss Emily’s companion had left her (324). Emily’s tendencies to never leave her house and to keep her father’s dead body show signs of instability. Miss Emily publicly displayed an unstable psyche when she told the men who came to collect her taxes to refer to a man who had been dead for nearly ten years (324). A woman who expresses these psychological abnormalities must be examined closely when she is as closely related to the crime as Emily. Not only did her behavior concern others, it made them suspicious. Miss Emily also tried to cover up her crime in the end.

In William Faulkner’s short story entitled “A Rose For Emily” the main character Emily’s insanity was not always present throughout the story as much as she rather snapped when all of the stresses and pressures in her life grew to be too much. She dealt with the tragedy of her father passing with great grief, even going to the extent that she refused to believe he was dead for three whole days. Emily was raised by her father and they had a close relationship so it was understandable that she was distraught at his passing, but their relationship was not necessarily healthy.

In William’s Faulkner story, “A Rose for Emily”, vivid imagery is used to describe the mysterious life of Emily Grierson. Emily Grierson, the main character, is portrayed as a mentally disturbed individual who is pitied among her community. In the story Emily Grierson exhibited behavior that would lead one to think she was insane. The main reason to Emily’s behavior comes from how her father treated her when he was alive. Emily’s father felt none of the “young men were quite good enough” for his daughter, therefore he kept her in the house and under his wing at all times. With this self-centeredness her dad annulled all desires of bliss for Emily leaving her stuck into her dad’s reality with no way out. This sort of family environment for women was normal in southern society. Emily’s constant isolation and deprivation of love contributed to the murder of her lover Homer Barron. Often described as a “fallen monument”, Emily is a convention, unfalteringly remaining the same throughout the years withstanding many changes in her town. Although, Emily is distant from the world she is someone people wish to regard and respect. Even though the people in her in community respect her she is mostly seen as a burden with a peculiar lifestyle.

William Faulkner's short story, "A Rose for Emily" is often held as a literary classic due to Faulkner?s ability to play with our mind and emotions almost to the point of frustration. However, there is much more than mind games that Faulkner plays that makes this story great. Emily Grierson, the main character, is a strong-willed stubborn old bitty, who was quite odd, this alone is a reason for greatness. To fully understand why Emily is the way that she is one must look past the obvious and truly look at Emily. Emily Grierson has a mental condition that is just itching to be discovered.

In “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner depicts the rather odd life of Miss Emily Grierson. From the point of view of Emily’s hometown, she is depicted as extremely stubborn. Emily was cut off from the world by her father, and as such has misunderstandings about how to develop any meaningful relationships. Because he sent her pursuers away, she becomes overly dependent on her father and is distraught at his passing. She lives in the past, unable to process loss. Emily refuses to accept change as seen through the condition of her house and her unwillingness to pay taxes. Due to Miss Emily’s lack of love in her life, she becomes stuck in her ways and in some ways is a physical representation of the American South.