A Rose For Emily Analysis

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.

attempted to make Miss Emily once again pay her taxes. They met no success in doing so and did nothing further. The same was so when Miss Emily bought arsenic. The pharmacist requested a reason for buying it, but without an answer, he let Miss Emily do as she pleased. When a disgusting odor came from Miss Emily's House, instead of telling her to fix the problem and hurt her pride, four men attempted to fix it themselves in secret. Overall Miss Emily answered to no one.

He then goes on to describe how “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 repayment.” Remitting Miss Emily’s taxes was a

Emily was kept confined from all that surrounded her. Her father had given the town folks a large amount of money which caused Emily and her father to feel superior to others. “Grierson’s held themselves a little too high for what they really were” (Faulkner). Emily’s attitude had developed as a stuck-up and stubborn girl and her father was to blame for this attitude. Emily was a normal

When Miss Emily’s father passed away she began to start acting out. Emily is stuburned like her father, who refuses to change. Although her father had lots of money, he only left Miss Emily the home. Soon the town started asking Miss Emily to pay her taxes. But, she refused to do so. Colonel Sartoris, the mayor of the town, planned to not make Miss Emily pay taxes on her house, “Not that Miss Emily would have accepted charity” (452), trying not to make it seem like Colonel Sartoris was offering her charity. He made up an imaginary loan from her father to the town

During the conversation Miss Emily tells the men “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson” (31). Colonel Sartoris has been dead for almost ten years. Emily’s behavior not only shows mental instability but also that she may be delusional and confused.

Miss Emily's house as the setting of the story is a perfect metaphor for the events occurring during

“But we have. We are the city authorities, Miss Emily. Didn’t you get a notice by

Emily's stubbornness that prevented the city authorities from searching the house foreshadows the that Emily is hiding something . After all if she had nothing to hide, she would have allowed the search around her house, yet, she refused to allow her house to be searched or herself to be interviewed to completion. Emily interjects and cuts off her search: “I have no taxes in Jefferson. Iobe!” the negro appeared, “Show these gentlemen out” Emily limits the info that she gives to the searchers of her house.

There are many instances where Emily resists change, unable to let go of the Southern, antebellum lifestyle she grew up with. This creates a contrast between Emily and the rest of the town, which is progressing and modernizing as time goes by. Emily’s traditional nature puts an emphasis on her representation of the past. She actively resists modernization, choosing to reply to the mayor’s offer to call with a letter “on paper of an archaic shape, [written with] thin, flowing calligraphy in faded ink” (Faulkner 1). Emily’s actions represent the past and an inability to let go of it. She is stuck in the past, unwilling to accept the change that the future brings. Emily and her house are the last glimpses of the past in her town; as the town progresses, her house stood unmoving, “lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons” (Faulkner 1). The house continues to display the style of the past, despite the decay and progression of style. Emily and her house represent the past, when her house was new and in style. Emily’s resistance to change and longing for the past is appropriate, considering her age and upbringing. She is an older woman, who grew up during the Civil War era in the South. The reason the South fought in the Civil War was to protect their lifestyle at all costs. The South was unwilling to change, stubbornly clinging to the antebellum way of life. This philosophy shaped the

Emily is a character surrounded by mystery, leaving a mark on the influence of others, causing them to create their own scenarios about her life. It happened when she met Homer, when everyone hoped she will marry him, or when she bought poison and everyone thought she would poison herself. Her high wealthy status and respect were emphasized when she kicked out the people who

When the Board of Aldermen visited Miss Emily about the taxes she refused to pay,

Faulkner uses a metaphor in which he states, “When Miss Emily died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument” (Faulkner). Faulkner describes her as a fallen monument due to the fact she was the last memory the town had prior to her death. Isolation is a major theme amongst this story because Faulkner presents this theme through Emily through her stubbornness. Because Emily is interpreted as a very stubborn individual, she doesn’t allow the townspeople to enter her home thus creating her isolated and excluded from the townspeople. Emily states, “‘I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me. Perhaps one of you gain access to the city records and satisfy yourselves.’ ‘But we have. We are the city authorities, Miss Emily. Didn’t you get a notice from the sheriff, signed by him?’ ‘I have received a paper, yes,’ Miss Emily said. ‘Perhaps he considers himself the sheriff…. I have no taxes in Jefferson’” (Faulkner). Emily repeatedly denied having any taxes in Jefferson, exhibiting persistence in the midst of this argument. Another major influence of society’s isolation in the story is in regards to Homer Barron. Homer was a man that Emily had previously known, but he was derived from a different class. Both Homer and Emily are outcasts due to the fact that their lifestyles aren’t accepted as a part of their society. For example, “At first, we were glad that Miss Emily would have an interest, because the ladies all said, ‘Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer’” (Faulkner). Formerly, the community felt empathy for Emily’s interest in Homer,

As the story continues, Faulkner beings to describe Miss Emily as a woman who has stayed true to her customs and strong ties to her family. Her family is much respected in her town, it is shown through an expected greeting. Miss Emily is also free from paying any taxes because Colonel Sartoris revoked her taxes after the death of her father. On page 1 Paragraph 8, she is asked by the city authorities to pay her taxes she owes and

Emily behaves the way she does for numerous reasons. She is born into an aristocratic family. Emily is brought up as a Southern belle by her father and is placed on a pedestal by the townspeople. The Grierson’s are known in town for being extremely wealthy and having the nicest house in Jefferson, Yoknapatawpha County. Due to the fact that her father, Mr. Grierson, keeps her isolated and socially restricted as a child, she behaves abnormally. Emily feels as if she is pressured to live up to her father’s expectations. Because Emily is kept away from everything, she is not yet exposed to the real world.