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Patriarchy In A Rose For Emily

Decent Essays

In “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner’s use of characterization, setting, and point of view contributes significantly to its patriarchal theme. After her father’s death, Emily Grierson lives a secluded and secretive life. She is pitied by the townspeople because they knew of her controlling father who declined every potential suitor Emily brought home. As years go by, Miss Emily never marries until Homer Barron, a construction worker from the North, blooms an interest in her. The rumors of marriage between the two spread throughout the town. However, behind the walls of the Grierson house, Homer’s corpse is sealed in an upstairs bedroom.
“A Rose for Emily” portrays its patriarchal theme through the setting. The short story occurs during the …show more content…

Miss Emily’s early years were controlled by her domineering father. He rejects any man that she brings home. Mr. Grierson does not judge the men for the fact that they are not quality suitors for Miss Emily, but he simply disapproves of them because he does not want to lose his control of her if she were to marry. His control over Miss Emily results in her delusional state once he passes away. Three days after his death, she refuses to let his body be removed from the home. The narrator wrote, “. . . and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will” (Faulkner 81). Mr. Grierson controls Miss Emily’s life even after he is gone. She keeps to herself by rarely leaving her house and never marrying. This shows how the patriarch of Mr. Grierson affected Miss Emily for the rest of her years. She is accustomed to having him control all aspects of her life, that she is lost when she finally becomes free of him. With this in mind, Emily Grierson’s reclusiveness and avoidance to marriage leads the townspeople to see her as an outsider. In the patriarchal society, the woman’s job is to marry. In addition, it was common for white southern women in the ninetieth century to socialize and gossip with the other ladies in the town. So, when Miss Emily never went outside of her home and never married a man, she went against the social norm of a typical southern lady in a patriarchal

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