William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

The story A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner follows the life of Miss Emily Grierson as told by the members of her community. The narrative is set in the south during the post civil war era. From a very young age Miss Emily was isolated from society. When she reaches her thirties she meets a man named Homer Barron and they quickly form a connection. William Faulkner foreshadows Emily’s deteriorating mental state and the murder of Homer Barron through her relationship with her community, her relationship with her father and her inability to distinguish past from present.

As the story progresses, it becomes blatantly clear that Emily is sheltered and stuck in her ways through the development of her relationship with the community. Towards the

In the beginning of the story “a crayon portrait of Miss Emily’s father” is said to be on her fireplace. One could infer that Emily drew it as a child. Although her father is overly protective, especially when it comes to suitors, they have a loving relationship. In her father’s eyes “none of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily.” His high standards causes Emily to spend most of her adult life without a significant other. When she finally finds someone it is frowned upon by older people because they feel she is losing touch with her roots. Her family is considered southern royalty so, her being with someone other than a southerner is seen as a betrayal. Emily’s relationship with her father leads her to live a very sad and lonely life. The townspeople “remembered all the young men her father had driven away.” With her father being gone she has no one to take care of her. Emily is unable to move on from his death and develop healthy relationships until she meets Homer. Her inability to move on from her Father’s death foreshadow the problems that come when they become romantically

After her father dies she is unable to cope so, she tells everyone that “her father [is] not dead” and continues to do so for several days. Emily’s love for her father is so great that she does not want to admit to herself that he is gone. She begins to isolate herself from the community, causing her to rarely be seen for years. Emily becomes so out of touch with the world that she is unaware that “Colonel Sartoris had been dead almost ten years.” She is been so blinded by grief that she is unaware when a man who has a great impact on her life dies. Colonel Sartoris did his best to take care of Emily and, to him, that was ensuring she did not have to pay taxes. Miss Emily developers a sensual relationship with a man named Homer Barron, he came down from the north to reconstruct the south after the civil war. Younger people in town are happy that she finally found someone. On the other hand, older people think them being together is wrong due to the fact that he is a northerner and the Grierson family is seen as southern royalty. One day Emily is seen buying a men’s outfit and a toilet engraved “with the letters H.B. on each piece.” The town thinks that Emily and Homer are getting married. It later comes to light that Emily poisoned Homer and he is dead. There was a room in Emily’s house that no one had been in for about forty years. So, well after Emily’s funeral some people in the town