A Rose for Emily

By: William Faulkner

DELOS SANTOS, ABEGAIL
STA.ROSA CATHERINE
OCAMPO, RENSO GERMAIN
 Published in the April 30, 1930
 Author: William Faulkner
 Genres: Southern Gothic
 Country: United States of America
 ROSE
  A rose stands for life, beauty, love, passion, and
even death. Miss Emily lived a life that involved
much death and denial, but she didn't have much
love or passion. The rose is a tribute to her life and
her death, also serving to symbolize Homer
Barron's death. In the end, Homer was found all
dried out and had been kept in Emily's room in the
attic for her to cherish. The irony is that Emily's
life wasn't beautiful at all, but a rose is one of
nature's most beautiful creations.
 CHARACTERS
  Emily Grierson - The object of fascination in the
story A eccentric recluse, Emily is a mysterious
figure who changes from a vibrant and hopeful young
girl to a cloistered and secretive old woman.
 Homer Barron- Homer, much like Emily, is an
outsider, a stranger in town who becomes the subject
of gossip. the narrator portrays him as either a
homosexual or simply an eternal bachelor, dedicated
to his single status and uninterested in marriage.
 Judge Stevens- A mayor of Jefferson. Eighty years old, Judge
Stevens attempts to delicately handle the complaints about the smell
emanating from the Grierson property. To be respectful of Emily’s
pride and former position in the community, he and the aldermen
decide to sprinkle lime on the property in the middle of the night.
 Mr. Grierson- Emily’s father. Mr. Grierson is a controlling, looming
presence even in death, and the community clearly sees his lasting
influence over Emily. He deliberately thwarts Emily’s attempts to
find a husband in order to keep her under his control. We get
glimpses of him in the story: in the crayon portrait kept on the gilt-
edged easel in the parlor, and silhouetted in the doorway, horsewhip
in hand, having chased off another of Emily’s suitors.
 Tobe- Emily’s servant. Tobe, his voice supposedly rusty
from lack of use, is the only lifeline that Emily has to the
outside world. For years, he dutifully cares for her and
tends to her needs. Eventually the townspeople stop
grilling him for information about Emily. After Emily’s
death, he walks out the back door and never returns.
 Colonel Sartoris - A former mayor of Jefferson. Colonel
Sartoris absolves Emily of any tax burden after the death
of her father. His elaborate and benevolent gesture is not
heeded by the succeeding generation of town leaders.
 THEMES
 Tradition versus Change The Power of Death
 Motifs: Watching Dust
 Symbols: Emily’s House, The Strand of Hair
 GENRES
 Southern Gothic Southern Gothic is a literary
tradition that came into its own in the early
twentieth century. Gothic writers concocted wild,
frightening scenarios in which mysterious
secrets, supernatural occurrences, and characters’
extreme duress conspired to create a breathless
reading experience.
 SUMMARY
 The story begins at the huge funeral for Miss Emily
Grierson. Nobody has been to her house in ten years,
except for her servant. Her house is old, but was once
the best house around. The town had a special
relationship with Miss Emily ever since it decided to
stop billing her for taxes in 1894. But, the "newer
generation" wasn't happy with this arrangement, and so
they paid a visit to Miss Emily and tried to get her to
pay the debt. She refused to acknowledge that the old
arrangement might not work any more, and flatly
refused to pay.
 Thirty years before, the tax collecting townspeople had a
strange encounter with Miss Emily about a bad smell at
her place. This was about two years after her father died,
and a short time after her lover disappeared from her
life. Anyhow, the stink got stronger and complaints were
made, but the authorities didn't want to confront Emily
about the problem. So, they sprinkled lime around the
house and the smell was eventually gone. Everybody felt
sorry for Emily when her father died. He left her with
the house, but no money. When he died, Emily refused
to admit it for three whole days.
 The town didn't think she was "crazy then," but assumed
that she just didn't want to let go of her dad, (even
though you could argue that he had stolen her youth
from her). Next, the story doubles back and tells us that
not too long after her father died Emily begins dating
Homer Barron, who is in town on a sidewalk-building
project. The town heavily disapproves of the affair and
brings Emily's cousins to town to stop the relationship.
One day, Emily is seen buying arsenic at the drugstore,
and the town thinks that Homer is giving her the shaft,
and that she plans to kill herself.
 When she buys a bunch of men's items, they think that
she and Homer are going to get married. Homer leaves
town, then the cousins leave town, and then Homer
comes back. He is last seen entering Miss Emily's
house. Emily herself rarely leaves the home after that,
except for a period of half a dozen years when she
gives painting lessons. Her hair turns gray, she gains
weight, and she eventually dies in a downstairs
bedroom that hasn't seen light in many years. The
story cycles back to where it began, at her funeral.
 Tobe, miss Emily's servant, lets in the town
women and then leaves by the backdoor forever.
After the funeral, and after Emily is buried, the
townspeople go upstairs to break into the room
that they know has been closed for forty years.
Inside, they find the corpse of Homer Barron,
rotting in the bed. On the dust of the pillow next
to Homer they find an indentation of a head, and
there, in the indentation, a long, gray hair.