good title for a rose for emily essay

A Rose for Emily Theme Essay

This essay delves into the themes of William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.” It explores the central themes of isolation, the resistance to change, and the decay of the Old South. The piece examines how Emily Grierson’s character and her actions reflect the broader societal shifts occurring in the post-Civil War South. It also analyzes the narrative structure and Faulkner’s use of symbolism, particularly the decaying house, to reinforce the themes of stagnation and the inescapable nature of change. The essay offers insights into Faulkner’s critique of Southern traditions and the damaging effects of clinging to the past. You can also find more related free essay samples at PapersOwl about A Rose For Emily.

How it works

Deep in the labyrinth of literary artistry, William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” stands as a testament to the power of theme in molding character and story. The narrative unfolds in a Southern town, and through it, we step into the shoes of Emily Grierson, a woman confined within the iron bars of tradition, secluded from society’s vibrant hum, and entwined with death’s cold grip. This essay aims to unearth the profound layers of Faulkner’s tale, shedding light on how the themes of tradition versus change, social isolation, and death become the lifeblood of Emily’s character, casting long, introspective shadows on the canvas of the American South.

• 1 Tradition vs. Change
• 2 Social Isolation
• 3 Theme of Death
• 4 Love and Obsession
• 5 The Confluence of Themes and its Representation of the Southern Gothic Genre
• 6 Societal Commentary
• 7 Conclusion

Tradition vs. Change

Tradition versus change sets the background of “A Rose for Emily.” The story portrays the town of Jefferson, stuck between holding onto the old and embracing the new. Emily Grierson embodies this struggle, living in a decaying house reminiscent of a bygone era.

Evidence of this struggle is clear in the town’s interactions with Emily. When the new council tries to make Emily pay her taxes, they are met with defiance. She clings to Colonel Sartoris’s promise, made 30 years earlier, that she is exempt from taxes – a promise the new generation knows nothing about. This clash mirrors the town’s struggle, teetering on the edge of change but held back by deep-seated tradition.

Emily’s inability to accept change deepens the sense of mystery surrounding her. It shapes her life and contributes significantly to the story’s eerie atmosphere.

Social Isolation

Another potent theme in “A Rose for Emily” is social isolation. From the story’s onset, Emily is a figure of intrigue and pity. She lives alone, with only a servant for company, cut off from the rest of the world.

Her isolation is self-imposed and inflicted by her town. When Emily’s father dies, the town treats her with a curious mix of sympathy and satisfaction, glad that she’s been knocked down to “their level.” Yet, Emily’s aloofness only grows. She rarely ventures outside, and the inside of her house remains a mystery to the townsfolk.

The story portrays Emily’s isolation as tragic. It is her separation from society that ultimately leads to her demise, laying bare the harsh effects of solitude on the human psyche.

Theme of Death

Death is a constant in Emily’s life, another theme that Faulkner masterfully weaves into the narrative. Emily’s father’s death leaves her alone, and her suitor, Homer Baron’s disappearance—later revealed as a murder—makes her a figure of sympathy and suspicion.

Emily’s relationship with death is unusual and alarming. She refuses to acknowledge her father’s death initially, and later, it is revealed she has kept Homer’s body in her house. This unnatural acceptance of death adds a grim layer to Emily’s character.

The death theme also steers the story to its shocking conclusion. When Emily dies, the townsfolk discover Homer’s skeletal remains in her bedroom, cementing the gruesome truth of Emily’s twisted reality.

Love and Obsession

Love and Obsession emerge as a striking theme. Emily Grierson’s romantic endeavor with Homer Barron, a Northern laborer, paints a poignant picture of her desperate yearning for affection and companionship, a stark contrast to her secluded life. However, Emily’s love transcends into the domain of obsession, as Homer’s unwillingness to marry her triggers a drastic response in Emily. She purchases arsenic, and the town speculates a likely suicide, oblivious to the shocking outcome. When Emily’s life draws to a close, the gruesome revelation of Homer’s decayed body in a bridal suite shatters the town’s perception of Emily’s solitude. Her obsession had taken a dark turn as she chose to keep Homer’s corpse, signifying an attempt to cling to her love, even in death. The scenario unveils Emily’s profound loneliness and obsessive love that blur the lines between the living and the dead.

The Confluence of Themes and its Representation of the Southern Gothic Genre

The themes of tradition versus change, social isolation, and death don’t exist in isolation. They feed off each other, creating the tense atmosphere that pervades the story. Together, they make “A Rose for Emily” a representation of the Southern Gothic genre, characterized by its exploration of deeply flawed characters, decaying settings, and grotesque situations.

Faulkner uses these themes not just to tell a story but also to reflect on the American South’s societal norms. The struggle between tradition and change, the tragic outcome of social isolation, and the macabre fixation with death all serve as a commentary on the region’s culture during the time.

Societal Commentary

William Faulkner, a master of societal analysis, cleverly employs the themes of “A Rose for Emily” to critique the societal norms of the American South. The stony battle between tradition and change is not merely a character trait of Emily Grierson but reflects the collective resistance of a region hesitant to embrace the new. The reluctance to shed old habits and customs is a critical comment on a society clinging to its past glory, afraid of the future’s uncertainties.

Furthermore, Emily’s tragic isolation is not a singular event but a mirror reflecting the collective mindset. The town’s judgmental attitude towards Emily and their failure to intervene during her descent into madness reflect a society where gossip thrives over empathy.

The macabre presence of death, the grotesque acceptance of it by Emily, and the community’s muted response are powerful commentary on society’s apathy. The shocking reveal of Homer’s corpse in Emily’s bedroom underscores a culture desensitized to death’s finality, seemingly more intrigued by the spectacle than horrified by the tragedy.

In essence, the societal commentary embedded in “A Rose for Emily” extends beyond the tale of Emily Grierson. Faulkner lays bare the cultural psyche of the American South, weaving a powerful critique of its values and norms within the tapestry of his narrative.

In conclusion, “A Rose for Emily” tells the tragic story of a woman stuck in time, isolated from society, and living with death. Through the themes of tradition versus change, social isolation, death, and love, Faulkner paints a haunting picture of Emily Grierson and, by extension, the society she lives in.

Working in unison, these themes create a chilling narrative filled with suspense and surprise. They contribute to the Southern Gothic genre and critique the American South’s society during the period. “A Rose for Emily” remains a testament to Faulkner’s ability to weave complex themes into an unforgettable tale.

Cite this page

A Rose for Emily Theme Essay. (2023, Aug 08). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/a-rose-for-emily-theme-essay/

"A Rose for Emily Theme Essay." PapersOwl.com , 8 Aug 2023, https://papersowl.com/examples/a-rose-for-emily-theme-essay/

PapersOwl.com. (2023). A Rose for Emily Theme Essay . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/a-rose-for-emily-theme-essay/ [Accessed: 31 Oct. 2024]

"A Rose for Emily Theme Essay." PapersOwl.com, Aug 08, 2023. Accessed October 31, 2024. https://papersowl.com/examples/a-rose-for-emily-theme-essay/

"A Rose for Emily Theme Essay," PapersOwl.com , 08-Aug-2023. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/a-rose-for-emily-theme-essay/. [Accessed: 31-Oct-2024]

PapersOwl.com. (2023). A Rose for Emily Theme Essay . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/a-rose-for-emily-theme-essay/ [Accessed: 31-Oct-2024]

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Hire a writer to get a unique paper crafted to your needs.

Our writers will help you fix any mistakes and get an A+!

Please check your inbox.

You can order an original essay written according to your instructions.

Trusted by over 1 million students worldwide

1. Tell Us Your Requirements

2. Pick your perfect writer

3. Get Your Paper and Pay

Hi! I'm Amy, your personal assistant!

Don't know where to start? Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert.

short deadlines

100% Plagiarism-Free

Certified writers

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — A Rose For Emily — Theme of A Rose for Emily: Isolation and Tragedy

Theme of a Rose for Emily: Isolation and Tragedy

• Categories: A Rose For Emily

About this sample

Words: 947 |

Published: Aug 1, 2024

Words: 947 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Table of contents

Emily's isolation as a symbol of the decaying south, the psychological impact of isolation on emily, implications of emily's isolation on gender and social expectations.

Cite this Essay

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Prof Ernest (PhD)

Verified writer

• Expert in: Literature

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

2 pages / 1008 words

1 pages / 607 words

1 pages / 641 words

4 pages / 1803 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on A Rose For Emily

William Faulkner, a prominent figure in American literature, is known for his exploration of complex characters and societal themes. One of his most famous works, "A Rose for Emily," delves into the intricacies of patriarchal [...]

William Faulkner's short story, “A Rose for Emily,” is a haunting and thought-provoking tale that delves into the complexities of human nature, societal expectations, and the passage of time. Through the use of various literary [...]

Imagine living in a small town where everyone knows each other's business, where secrets are often whispered but rarely revealed. Such is the setting of William Faulkner's renowned short story, "A Rose for Emily." In this [...]

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner is a captivating short story that delves into the life of the mysterious Emily Grierson. Faulkner uses the character of Emily Grierson to explore themes of tradition, isolation, and the [...]

Roald Dahl and William Faulkner explore the curious connection between love and death through their tales of passion-induced murder. Dahl's "The Landlady" and Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" are remarkably similar, but diverge on [...]

What is it to be ostracised? “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “Fleur” by Louise Erdrich, are tales that encompass the idea of social exclusion. The characters in these stories sit upon a precipice of social isolation, [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

A Summary and Analysis of William Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘A Rose for Emily’ is a short story by William Faulkner, originally published in Forum in 1930 before being collected in Faulkner’s collection, These Thirteen , the following year. The story concerns an unmarried woman living in the American South who attracts the concern and suspicion of the townspeople after her father dies and she becomes romantically involved with a Yankee man from the North.

‘A Rose for Emily’ is a story that invites a number of different critical interpretations and has attracted a great deal of commentary and analysis. Before we analyse the meaning of Faulkner’s classic story, it might be worth recapping the plot.

‘A Rose for Emily’: plot summary

The story begins with the news that Miss Emily Grierson, a recluse living alone with a black servant in a large house in town, has died. The narrator, a kind of collective voice of the townspeople, tells us that everyone in the town attended the funeral, with many of the women being curious to see inside the woman’s house that nobody had been allowed inside for years.

We are told that ten years earlier, the aldermen of the town had gained access to her house in order to question her about failure to pay her taxes. She simply tells them that she does not owe any taxes to the town, and calls for her servant to show the men out. Thirty years before that, another group of men from the town had visited Emily Grierson’s home to sprinkle lime in the cellar and the outbuildings, in order to get rid of the smell coming from the house.

That was two years after the death of her father, a crayon portrait of whom stands on an easel in front of the fireplace. After her father’s death, Emily’s sweetheart had deserted her and Emily left the house only on very rare occasions. When the house had begun to smell a short while after, neighbours had complained to the mayor, but the mayor had been reluctant to confront Emily about such a delicate matter, hence the party of men sprinkling lime under and around the house.

The narrator tells us that the townspeople had always thought the Griersons held themselves in high regard, as if none of the men would be good enough for Emily. When her father died, the women turned up at her house to pay their condolences, but she denied that he had died. The doctors had to persuade Emily to bury the body.

Despite this odd behaviour, the townspeople didn’t consider Emily to be mad. They attributed her actions to her father’s controlling presence, and the way he had sent away all her potential suitors, forcing her to rely on him, even after his death.

After her father’s death, Emily was sick for a long while, and when she was seen again, she had cut her hair short to make her look like a girl. The following summer, a construction company arrived to pave the paths of the town, and the foreman, a Yankee from New York named Homer Barron, is seen out riding on Sundays with Emily. The townsfolk start to say, ‘Poor Emily’, believing that she cannot be seriously interested in a Northerner like Barron.

Emily purchases some arsenic from the local druggist, who assumes she will use it to kill rats. However, the rumour in the town is that Emily is planning to take her own life. People start to grow suspicious of the length of Emily’s courtship with Barron, with the minister intervening and the minister’s wife writing a concerned letter to Emily’s relatives in Alabama, and her cousins come to stay with her. Soon after this, the townsfolk became certain that Emily and Barron had married.

But then Homer Barron vanished, and nobody saw him again. Emily is barely seen either, and when she does reappear from the house, her hair has turned grey and she has put on weight. For a short while, Emily would give lessons in china-painting from her doorstep, but even this she eventually gave up. The townspeople grow up and move on and she becomes even more of a recluse. Her African-American servant loyally remains in her service, but nobody else goes into the house.

When Emily dies and her body is buried, the townsfolk finally venture into the upstairs bedroom in the house, where they discover the dead body of a man lying on the bed, surrounded by dust – presumably, the man is Homer Barron (though this is not stated). Next to the dead body is the indentation of a head and a long strand of Emily’s hair, suggesting that she was in the habit of lying next to the man’s body in the bed.

‘A Rose for Emily’: analysis

‘A Rose for Emily’ is a subtle story which blends first- and third-person narration, Gothic literature and realism, past memories and present events, to unsettle us as readers. The whole town appears to be the story’s narrator, a kind of collective ‘we’ which speaks together about – and against – Emily’s strange behaviour until we reach the chilling finale and Homer Barron’s body is discovered.

This means that Emily remains distant from us as readers, and we never learn about her inner life: we only ever see her from the outside, through the eyes of the townspeople. This is obviously fitting because Emily is an outsider in the town, but it also lends an air of mystery to the events recounted, because so little is understood of Emily’s motivations and emotions.

Because of this unnerving denouement, ‘A Rose for Emily’ is often regarded as an example of Southern Gothic : a literary mode, practised by writers of the American South (like Faulkner) whose stories and novels are characterised by macabre, horrific, or grotesque elements. Such fiction often also contains an accumulation of realist detail, and Faulkner allows the mood of uncanniness which pervades Emily’s house and her life to emerge gradually.

Her reluctance to give up her father’s body for burial, for example, foreshadows her (presumed) murder of her lover and concealment of his body in the upper bedroom, whom she killed when she realised that was the only way of holding onto him and ensuring he remained hers for good. The crumbling Gothic castle has become a house in the Southern United States, in which everything is ‘tarnished’ (note how often that word recurs), spoiled, fading (like Emily’s iron-grey hair), and falling to ruin.

This offers a new, more domestic take on a traditional trope in Gothic fiction: the dark secret threatening to destroy a ‘house’ or family (see Poe’s ‘ The Fall of the House of Usher ’ for one notable example from the nineteenth century), and (in many Gothic stories) the dead body that is only discovered at the end of the narrative.

But at least Poe’s protagonists managed to bury their bodies (although sometimes, as in the story just mentioned, before they were actually dead), or concealed them beneath the floorboards . Faulkner’s story instead hints at an altogether more morbid and unwholesome notion: that Emily has continued to ‘sleep’ with Homer even after he was dead (indeed, perhaps that was the only way she could sleep with him at all).

Another reason that the Southern Gothic tag is important for ‘A Rose for Emily’ is that Emily, a Southern lady, falls for a ‘Yankee’: a man from the North of the United States. Although the American Civil War ended in 1865, decades before Faulkner was writing, the sense of North-South divide, in terms of culture, class, and identity, proved long-lasting (and arguably persists to this day).

The townsfolk are appalled by the idea that Miss Emily, an aristocratic Southern lady, might seriously be considering marriage to a Northerner, whom they consider to be beneath her on the social scale (hence the reference to noblesse oblige : Emily should entertain Homer and be courteous to him, but the idea that she could marry such a man horrifies the Southern townspeople’s sensibilities).

Faulkner leaves many specific details of Emily’s relationship with Homer as mere hints and speculations, in keeping with the narrative mode of the story: the townspeople, shut out from her house and, in many ways, from her life, can only conjecture as to what happened. We are in a similar position, though it seems sensible enough to surmise that Emily fell in love with Homer – who, it is strongly suggested, had no intention of settling down with her.

Like Emily, he is a perpetual singleton, but whereas Emily is single because of the controlling influence of her father (an influence which persists, in its psychological hold on her, even after her father’s death), Homer is single by choice: a stark reminder of the gender differences between men and women in Southern society at this time.

Women like Emily attract concern and rumour if they remain unmarried, while the bachelor Homer Barron – whose name summons Greek heroism and nobility, while also hinting at the ‘barren’ nature of Emily’s would-be relationship with him – charms the townsfolk and becomes popular, despite being, like Emily, an outsider set apart from them.

Why does Faulkner title his story ‘A Rose for Emily’? In an interview he gave at the University of Virginia, he suggested that Emily deserved to be given a rose because of all of the torment she had endured: at the hands of her father, perhaps at the hands of Homer as well, and as a result of the townsfolk treating her like an outsider.

Discover more from Interesting Literature

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Type your email…

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

• Ask LitCharts AI
• Discussion Question Generator
• Essay Prompt Generator
• Quiz Question Generator

• Literature Guides
• Poetry Guides
• Shakespeare Translations
• Literary Terms

A Rose for Emily

William faulkner.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

A Rose for Emily: Introduction

A rose for emily: plot summary, a rose for emily: detailed summary & analysis, a rose for emily: themes, a rose for emily: quotes, a rose for emily: characters, a rose for emily: symbols, a rose for emily: literary devices, a rose for emily: theme wheel, brief biography of william faulkner.

Historical Context of A Rose for Emily

Other books related to a rose for emily.

• Full Title: “A Rose for Emily”
• Where Written: Oxford, Mississippi
• When Published: April 30, 1930
• Literary Period: American Modernism
• Genre: Southern Gothic
• Setting: The fictional town of Jefferson, Mississippi, located in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, where many of Faulkner’s works are set
• Climax: The townspeople’s discovery that Miss Emily murdered Homer Barron and lived with his corpse
• Antagonist: Southern society’s paralyzing nostalgia for a glorified past, as well as its rigid customs and conventions
• Point of View: First-person plural (“we”) limited

Extra Credit for A Rose for Emily

A Rose for the Title. Readers will notice that, though the story is entitled “A Rose for Emily,” Emily never receives a rose. Faulkner explained in an interview: “Oh, that was an allegorical title: the meaning was, here was a woman who had had a tragedy, an irrevocable tragedy and nothing could be done about it. And I pitied her and this was a salute. Just as if you were to make a gesture, a salute to anyone: to a woman you would hand a rose.”

A Family Legacy. Colonel Sartoris, a minor character in “A Rose for Emily,” appears in other works by Faulkner, including the novels Flags in the Dust and The Unvanquished ; he is modeled on Faulkner’s own great-grandfather, William Clark Falkner, a Confederate colonel in the Civil War, a businessman, and an author.

• Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.

Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Literature › Analysis of William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily

Analysis of William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on June 12, 2021

Initially published in Forum on April 30, 1930, and collected in These Thirteen in 1931, “A Rose for Emily” remains one of William Faulkner’s most read, most anthologized, and most significant stories. From every imaginable perspective, critics have scrutinized the components of Faulkner’s literary technique: The story has been viewed as an allegory of southern history, a metaphorical depiction of NorthSouth relationships, feminist nightmare or feminist victory, a gothic horror story, a sociological portrayal of individualism squelched or individualism triumphant, a bleak fictional tale of determinism. Faulkner’s uses of structure, tone, point of view, and imagery play key roles in his depiction of Miss Emily Grierson. The fact that readers and critics still engage in interpretive debates over its meaning merely ensures that it will continue to be read.

Told from the perspective of Jefferson, in Yoknapatawpha County, in a narrative voice that consistently relates the details that “we”—the smug and gossipy townspeople of Jefferson—have observed, the story is intriguing on the level of plot and character alone: Miss Emily has just died, and we learn that she lived alone after her father died and Homer Baron, her Yankee lover, apparently abandoned her. Suspense continues to build when we learn that a mysterious odor emanated from her house at the time that Homer disappeared. Faulkner employs a number of clues to foreshadow both denouement and motivation, including the “tableau” of the imperious father with a horsewhip overshadowing his white-clad young daughter Emily; the portrait of her father that Emily displays at his death, despite his thwarting of her natural youthful desires; her defiant public appearances with the unsuitable Homer Baron; her sense of entitlement; and the arsenic she buys to rid her house of “rats.” Despite these and other devices, however, new generations of readers still react in horror when Emily’s secret is revealed: She not only murdered her lover but slept with his corpse in the attic bridal chamber she carefully prepared.

If Miss Emily is crazy (and most critics agree that she is), Faulkner implies that she has been made so by the constrictions of a father who refused to let her marry and by the conventions of a society that eagerly filled the void at his death. Numerous critics have suggested that behind the gothic horror of necrophilia and insanity in this classic story, Miss Emily Grierson is the oddly modern hero. Indeed, one critic asserts that we cannot understand any of Faulkner’s heroes if we do not understand Miss Emily, for she is the “prototype” of them all (Strindberg 877). As with other troubled Faulknerian protagonists, death literally frees Miss Emily—from patriarchy, from society’s conventions, from sexual repression, from the class structure she was taught to revere, from the useless existence of privileged women of her era, even from the burdens of southern history and slavery: With her death, her black servant, mysteriously complicit in his relation to Miss Emily, walks out of her house at the end of the story. In an interview at the University of Virginia, Faulkner suggested that Miss Emily deserved a rose for all the torment she had endured, and, whatever else they feel, most readers appear to agree with this sentiment.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Blotner, Joseph. Faulkner: A Biography. 2 Vols. New York: Random House, 1974. Rev. ed., New York: Random House, 1984. Carothers, James. Faulkner’s Short Stories. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985. Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” In Collected Short Stories. New York: Random House, 1940. Ferguson, James. Faulkner’s Short Fiction. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1991. Strindberg, Victor. “A Rose for Emily.” In Reader’s Guide to Short Fiction, edited by Noelle Watson, 577. Detroit: St. James Press, 1993.

Share this:

Categories: Literature , Short Story

Tags: American Literature , Analysis of William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily , criticism of William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily , essays of William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily , guide of William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily , Literary Criticism , notes of William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily , plot of William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily , summary of William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily , themes of William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily , William Faulkner , William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily , William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily appreciation , William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily criticism , William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily essays , William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily guide , William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily notes , William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily plot , William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily themes

Related Articles

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”: Discussion and Analysis Essay

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner clearly portrays the consequences of maintaining a timeless lifestyle that goes without attempting to move forward or make any sacrifices. Ultimately, people choosing such lifestyles for themselves are often unhappy in the end, as they lose opportunities in the process (Diani, 2019). At the same time, this process is often judged by social standards and may differ for individual cases.

Bailey Basinger’s analysis offers an alternative perspective to the narrative. The author emphasizes the theme of gender roles and their perception in the story of Emily and the rest of the town. Basinger explains that the descriptions of both Emily Grierson and Homer Barron “create tension” from the ways their gender and sexuality are illustrated (Basinger, 2019, p.837). In that way, common contradictions and ambiguous references to the perceived social images of the characters suggest additional questioning of their sexuality and gender representation. The relationship between Emily and Homer being highly secretive also adds to the vagueness of the mentioned themes in this context (Basinger, 2019). Little information is given to draw solid conclusions about their true intentions with the affair, although Basinger refers to even minor details to make such statements.

In that way, Basinger uses quotations abundantly to explicitly demonstrate the contradictions and minimal details included in the text regarding the main characters’ gender identity and sexuality. For instance, quotations are used to illustrate the narrator’s ambiguous physical descriptions of Emily (Basinger, 2019). Besides referring to Faulkner’s short story, Basinger additionally considers the reviews of other literary critics and authors to prove her point. Her use of quotations remains effective throughout the text due to their strategic placement after each argument or point being made. Basinger extracts quotations from different parts of the text to be used in one explanation, as in the example of the symbolism behind Emily’s hair (Basinger, 2019). Hence, the author’s use of quotations proves extremely effective for the general points she made. At the same time, additional quotations could have been used to support her claim.

“She died in one of the downstairs rooms, in a heavy walnut bed with a curtain, her gray head propped on a pillow yellow and moldy with age and lack of sunlight” (Faulkner, 2019, p.856). The quote illustrates the despairing scene of Emily passing away in the presence of only the things she surrounded herself with and no family or friends. The hair symbolism that is related to tensions around Emily’s gender identity prevails once again (Basinger, 2019). Therefore, it would be useful in reemphasizing the effect of hairstyle manipulations on the perception of a character.

“We had long thought of them as a tableau; Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a straddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung front door” (Faulkner, 2019, p.854). This fragment refers to the social view of the Grierson family; more specifically, the townspeople’s attempts to understand Emily’s marital status are clear indications of her unset sexuality. This quote would be used to highlight the social expectations for Emily’s relationship status.

“Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner, 2019, p. 851). The general perception of the character is repeatedly forced into social standards set by the town. This quote explains the limited abilities of the characters to express or rethink their sexuality or gender identity as traditions control them. Hence, incorporating this quote into Basinger’s analysis would aid in accentuating her point of “…prejudices in the town…” (Basinger, 2019, p.838). In that way, the story of Emily and Homer, including their gender identity expression, is introduced in Faulkner’s short story and is further explored in Basinger’s work. The idea of ambiguous gender identities and sexuality was demonstrated through the use of quotations and examples from the text.

Basinger, B. (2019). Tension, contradiction, and ambiguity: Gender roles in ‘A Rose for Emily’. In R. Bullock & M.D. Goggin (Eds.), The Norton field guide to writings with readings (5th ed.), pp. 851-860. W.W. Norton.

Diani, I. (2019). Structural analysis of ‘Rose for Emily’: A short story by William Faulkner. In International Seminar and Annual Meeting BKS-PTN Wilayah Barat, 1 (1).

Faulkner, W. (2019). A Rose for Emily. In R. Bullock & M.D. Goggin (Eds.), The Norton field guide to writings with readings (5th ed.), pp. 851-860. W.W. Norton.

• Sex Trafficking: “Girls Like Us” by Rachel Lloyd
• Implications of Literary Themes in Everyday Life
• Plot Means in "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner
• The Virtue of Moving Forward in "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner
• William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily” Reaction Paper
• “The Big Questions” Book by Solomon
• We Take Vacations Story by Melissa Day Reid
• Analysis of “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
• The Novel "The Last House on Needless Street" by Catriona Ward
• Theme of Empathy in “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, May 12). Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily”: Discussion and Analysis. https://ivypanda.com/essays/faulkners-a-rose-for-emily-discussion-and-analysis/

"Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily”: Discussion and Analysis." IvyPanda , 12 May 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/faulkners-a-rose-for-emily-discussion-and-analysis/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily”: Discussion and Analysis'. 12 May.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily”: Discussion and Analysis." May 12, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/faulkners-a-rose-for-emily-discussion-and-analysis/.

1. IvyPanda . "Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily”: Discussion and Analysis." May 12, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/faulkners-a-rose-for-emily-discussion-and-analysis/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily”: Discussion and Analysis." May 12, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/faulkners-a-rose-for-emily-discussion-and-analysis/.

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

• Basic site functions
• Ensuring secure, safe transactions
• Secure account login
• Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
• Remembering privacy and security settings
• Analyzing site traffic and usage
• Personalized search, content, and recommendations
• Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

• Remembering general and regional preferences
• Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy .

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy .