A Rose For Emily Grierson

Writing Assignment 3: An Analysis of “A Rose for Emily” The protagonist of this story is Miss Emily Grierson, an old maid spinster without family who becomes a “tradition” and a “sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner 299). The story begins with the death of Miss Emily, so I will rearrange my analysis of the character to begin with what we first know about Miss Emily. Miss Emily’s mother is not discussed in the story, so it is difficult to make any relative assumptions. Her father had turned away any potential suitors, so when her father dies Miss Emily is left alone except for a Negro manservant that hardly speaks. The narrator describes Miss Emily as physically “slender” while her father is living (302). She does not deal

Is she going to kill herself? Are they going to be married? Is he gay? Homer Barron disappears while she has relatives visiting and people think he is gone for good (304). However, he is seen going into her house at dusk one last time (304). Afterward, no one sees Miss Emily for six months (304). When she is seen again, she has “grown fat” and her hair is “turning gray” (305). The narrator states, “From that time on her front door remained closed, save for a period of six or seven years, when she was about forty, during which she gave lessons in china-painting” (305). The permanent closing of that door indicates that Miss Emily has closed herself off from the world. The townspeople would occasionally see her pass by a downstairs window (305). They assumed she had closed off the upstairs (305). Readers are aware that the death of Homer Barron triggers another change in Miss Emily; although, the townspeople believe she hides away because Homer finally leaves town for good. In my opinion, Miss Emily knows the road work is complete and that Homer is going to leave her. This is why she purchases the arsenic (303). After being reclusive for decades, Miss Emily dies in her dusty house at age 74 (305). After her burial, they force entry into the “room in that region above the stairs which no one had seen in forty years” (306). They find the “bridal suite” and remains of Homer laying “in the attitude of embrace” along with evidence that Miss Emily had also been in that bed with him (306). Readers believe that Emily kills Homer with the arsenic. In her mind, she is not going to allow him to leave her. She prefers to have him dead in her house, rather than gone