A Haunting Past in Faulkner's A Rose of Emily Essay

   In "A Rose for Emily," by William Faulkner, Emily Grierson seems to be living with her father in what people referred to as the old South.  However, most of the story takes place after the Civil War, but Miss Emily is clearly living in the past.  As critic Frederick Thum pointed out, "Many people are able to survive in the present, but give little or no thought to the future, and these people usually live in the past.  Such a mind is the mind of Miss Emily Grierson..."(1).  Miss Emily's comprehension of death, her relationship with the townspeople, and her reaction toward her taxes are clear examples that she is living in the past.

Miss Emily is "a small, fat woman in black, with a gold chain descending to her waist and vanishing into her belt." "Then they could hear the invisible watch ticking at the end of the gold chain." In this case, the watch is a symbol of time; yet in this house, time is invisible. Miss Emily has lost her understanding of time. When these men try to convince her that

Emily’s house represents Mental illness. According to, SparkNotes “Shrine to the living past, and the sealed upstairs bedroom is her macabre trophy room where she preserves the man she

In “A Rose for Emily” William Faulkner reveals the sentimental attitude toward the Old South and the traditions that had died with it. The Old South was described as the southern states of the US original colonies before the Civil War which lasted from 1861-1865. When Faulkner wrote the short story in 1930, the Southern society was still in shambles due to the abolition of slavery and the unwillingness to accept defeat. The era of Reconstruction was slow and cruel to the society that was once prosperous and plentiful, which resulted in bursts of revolt through ideas such as the Black Codes and the Ku Klux Klan. These ideas were attempts to secure the way things had been and showed the desperation of those still clinging to the past. Through the portrayal of Miss Emily, Faulkner conveys societies nostalgia for the Old South and their longing for the way things used to be.

Although change is inevitable, people tend to keep the past within them; even when their surroundings are progressing. Through his unchronological way of writing, William Faulkner exhibits a woman, in “A Rose for Emily” who lives in a timeless world of her own. Up until her death, suffering from a broken heart, Miss Emily Grierson resists change in an imperious manner. When her father dies she is not able to comprehend what is happening; despite her fellow townspeople’s pleas Miss Emily holds onto her father’s body for three days, “[telling the townspeople] that her father [is] not dead” (II.14). This event triggers her heart break; her father had domineered over her, therefore his death leaves her grasping on to whatever she can of the past.

Miss Emily Grierson, the main character in the short story “A Rose For Emily” was a very peculiar woman. Often prideful and aloof towards others, Emily stands her ground as a static character in Faulkner’s work. She is withdrawn from the ever-changing world around her, living in a world of delusions and neglect. Although many pitied this fallen monument, she learned to live in isolation in her decaying home. Surrounded by lavish furnishing and the only people desperate enough for her love; a silent Negro servant, and a dead lover.

In William Faulkner’s, “A Rose for Emily,” Faulkner criticizes the south for not moving on and living in its past. Faulkner uses Emily as the embodiment of the antebellum south. In which he illustrates the struggle of Emily accepting change and progression through imagery, and symbolism.

William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” concentrates on Emily Grierson, an old southern woman who is set in her ways as the town Jefferson progresses around her. The story continues by comparing Emily when she was a young lady to the woman she became. Faulkner explores the secret life of Emily, who is the center of the town’s gossip and unearths Emily’s past, and her hidden secrets. Faulkner presents Emily’s story through plural first person narration, which allows him to tell the story through different generations of the townspeople of Jefferson. Through Faulkner’s Southern Gothic style of writing he illustrates a time which would be otherwise unimaginable for the reader, the author uses these Gothic elements to create an

Much of the town is unable to comprehend Emily’s actions very well because they are so eccentric. She does not believe she owes taxes and refuses to pay them because of this belief. The story states, “I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me. Perhaps one of you can gain access to the city records and satisfy yourselves” (Faulkner 415). This is another sign that she is

When Miss Emily passed away during that fateful night, people couldn’t believe she was gone. Like a rock that has stood the test of time, they thought she was too stubborn to die. All throughout her life, she was too stubborn to give in to anyone and she would hold her ground. Her house was a reflection of her will, standing there as it began to slowly be encircle with garages and cotton. Even her stubborn will couldn’t, stop the rot that had set in the house, but it was not always this way.

William Faulkner, a well-known writer of short stories, wrote the story “A Rose for Emily”. Emily, whom the story is named after, comes off as a rather odd character. The townspeople see her as a crazy individual, leading the reader to see her in such a way too. Her craziness is based off of her delusional actions. For example, her family became poor and their social status dropped. Rather than accept this drop in social status, she lived beyond her means. Her crazy behavior is continuously seen in the story. This behavior is linked to Emily’s idea of living in the past, which is a theme that is present throughout the story.

In William Faulkner’s “Rose for Emily” Emily has a problem with Jefferson community because the Aldermen were claiming that she did not pay her Taxes but the problem was that Emily was claiming that she doesn’t owe the city any taxes, and they should check again because it seems to her that they are mistaken. “Her voice was dry and cold. “ I have no Taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me perhaps one of you can get axis to the city records and satisfy yourselves.” I was very clear that Emily didn’t had any intentions of arguing with the deputation that came visit with her so they could collect the tax from her because as soon as they start talking about the how she received many mails from the top

In the story of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, Emily Grierson is the protagonist who also represents the Jefferson communities’ past and present by following her life backward and her house and the people in a community to represent the changes throughout time. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” shows the progress of the small southern town Jefferson through the life of one woman, and the symbols of her father and the house she lives in illustrate that progress and her reluctance to change with the times.

The people of the town Jefferson thought that the mayor remitted her taxes as a show of respect for the occasion of her father dying and it was said that she would not have accepted it because, she viewed it as charity (Faulkner, 1931, p.803-804) Because of this fact, the mayor came up with an “elaborate” lie to tell the town. He told them that her father had loaned the town so this was an adequate way of repaying him for his services. However, in the next sentence, it is remarked that only the mayor would have thought of a plan like that and only a woman would’ve believed it (Faulkner,1931,p.804).  Miss Emily wasn’t

William Faulkner’s use of time can be recognized as an important element in the majority of his stories, and the amount of attention given to the element of time has been studied for an enormous amount of years. One of his most famous short stories, “A Rose for Emily,” is one his works that time is a crucial element. Several scholars have worked to understand the confusing chronology of this work, while others have given many reasons for Emily Grierson’s refusal to acknowledge the passage of time. Through all the years of careful literary analysis, no one has addressed one highly significant detail. When readers are first introduced to Miss Emily, she carries in her pocket an "invisible watch ticking at the end of [a] gold chain" (Faulkner 121). Why would a woman like Miss Emily, who seems to be stuck in the past and blind to any passage of time, need a watch? An awareness of the importance of the watch is vital for an understanding of Emily. The placement of the watch in her pocket, its abnormally loud ticking, and the chain attached to it explains her efforts to control the passage of time and the outcome of a failed effort.