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In the short story, A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner, the main character, Emily Grierson, had a death and funeral that drew the attention of the entire town. The story is set during the changing times after the civil war, and there are many symbols in the story that bring out the theme of change. The story opens with Miss Emily Grierson's death and funeral, which foreshadows the ending. The outcome is further emphasized by the symbolism of the decaying house, which parallels Emily's physical deterioration and shows her mental decline. Her life, like the decaying house, suffers from the lack of love and care. The characteristics of her house, like her physical appearance, are brought about by years of neglect.
For example, the house is located in what was once a prominent neighborhood that has deteriorated, just like Emily has. This is evident when she was first described as a fallen monument. This symbolized her former beauty and her later ugliness that was described as obese and bloated. The inside of the house also symbolizes Emily.
For instance, at first, all that could be seen in the house was a dim hall where a staircase was mounted with more shadow, and the house smelt of dust and disgust. The darkness and smell of the house symbolically connects with Emily, just like her voice is dry and cold as if it were dark and dusty from disgust like the house. The similarity between Emily and the house extends to the mantle that has a portrait of her and her father. Finally, the townspeople's description of both Emily and the house reveal an unattractive style. At one point, the house was described as stubborn, as if it were ignoring its surrounding decay. Miss Emily also proudly ignored the deterioration of her once grand residence.
Inside and out, both the building and Emily's body are in a state of deterioration, just like tarnished metal. All of these symbols represent the theme of change in the story. The structure and order of the story also is divided in a way that represents the changing of the times. According to critic William Davis, A Rose for Emily is divided into five sections that have to do with the past and present. The first and last sections, which deal with the death of Emily, contain information on the present, and the three middle sections go through her life to the time of her death. A Rose for Emily is just one of Faulkner's stories that are divided in a certain order.
Davis says that almost all of Faulkner's stories and novels can be better appreciated and more accurately understood and interpreted through a detailing of the interrelationships of time and structure. He goes on to say that Faulkner's world of theme exists as the hyphen in the compound temporal-structure (Davis). This is definitely true in this short story. In addition to the order of the story, Faulkner also uses certain words that further categorize the sections of the story. When he says, Thus she passed from generation to generation-dear, inescapable, impervious, tranquil, and perverse. I agree with critic Davis that it seems Faulkner uses this list of adjectives to refer to the successive sections of the story (Davis).
As mentioned, the use of foreshadowing plays a big part in this story. There are several words Faulkner uses to give the readers hints of what will happen later in the story. The first section of the story foreshadows the final look at Emily in section five. For instance, in the story when the men go to her funeral, they go through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument. Also, inside the house there is a tarnished filthy easel that hints to the final portrait of Emily. She is also characterized as an ebony cane with a tarnished gold head, and bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water.
Furthermore, there are many contradictions in the story the encompass the theme of change. The major paradox is the main character, Emily. In the story, when the townspeople describe her death, they use the word perverse, but when her life is described, she was inescapable, impervious, and tranquil. Also, Faulkner contrasted the past and present era of the south. The past, being before the Civil War, and the present, being after. The elements that represent the past are Emily, Colonel Sartorius, the old Negro, and the Board of Alderman.
The present is symbolized by the new Board of Alderman and Emily's love, Homer Barron. The changes after the war were not readily apparent, though, events like the death of Emily gave the townspeople an awakening the life was changing. Emily definitely represents the past in this story, but also represents the fact that changing is hard to do. Emily did not believe in death and refuses to believe that her father is dead until the townspeople were about to resort to law and force. Emily, herself, was described almost as a living idol. She was characterized as an aristocrat and this is evident when the townspeople describe the Grierson's as being high and mighty.
According to Davis, she is described as if she is some sort of sacred vault, when the narrator talks about Emily being submerged in motionless water (Davis). The critic goes on to say that the room and corpse are described as if they are the accouterments of an ancient tomb. The violence of breaking down the door seemed to fill this room with pervading dust. A thin, acrid pall as of the tomb seemed to lie everywhere upon this room decked and furnished as for a bridal: upon the valence curtains of faded rose color, upon the rose-shaded lights, upon the dressing table, upon the delicate array of crystal and the mans toilet things backed with tarnished silver, silver so tarnished that the monogram was obscure...
The man himself lay in the bed. For a long while we just stood there, looking down at the profound and fleshless grin. The body had apparently once laid in the attitude of an embrace, but now the long sleep that outlasts love, that conquers even the grimace of love, had cuckolded him. What was left of him, rotted beneath what was left of the nightshirt, had become inextricable from the bed in which he lay; and upon him and upon the pillow beside him lay that even coating of the patient and biding dust. The body that this quote talks about is the body of Emily's love, Homer Barron. Emily was deeply in love with Homer, but he felt differently.
It was rumored that even Homer had remarked -- he liked men, and it was known that he drunk with younger men in the Elks club that he was not a marrying man. Emily grew fearful of Homers departure, fearing of being left alone again. Once again, a fear of change, the fear of losing Homer, she decided to poison him. Feeling that Emily could not have him alive, she decided to keep him with her even if he were dead. The rose for Emily that Faulkner uses in his title can be found in the tomb-like bedroom she created, which was not found until her death. The rose shaded light, the curtains of faded rose color, and Homer were all locked up in this room.
They were locked away for safe keeping so she would not be left alone. Again, this represents the fact that Emily did not want time to change.
Free research essays on topics related to: emily grierson, homer barron, past and present, fallen monument, rose for emily
Research essay sample on Rose For Emily Past And Present
