Emily Grierson’s Life in The "A Rose for Emily"

Reading this story it had left me without thinking in wondering what could be so true. The author used many different styles of foreshowing to show us as the readers Within “A Rose for Emily” the character experiences conflicts regarding death, within her marriage, and issues internally.

There is no doubt that Emily committed a pathological murder the reason why she killed him was that she was so afraid that she would be alone and she didn’t like the thought of that. I consider that the most impressive moment of the story is the picture of the lover’s poisoning and later, the harboring of his dissolving body for a long period (forty years). Emily was treating the corpse of her dead lover as still living for several years. William Faulkner constructed the image of the woman whose contact with reality was insufficient. Emily’s borderline between reality and fantasy was blurred. Before her husband death, Emily had a probably accepting change in her life that was going with her since her dad died. Emily looked at life different and didn’t not want to expect no more change into her life. Even after her father’s death she refused to acknowledge all the changes that were happening outside her house as the years went by.

The confusion that Faulkner has given produces confusion in Emily’s life. Emily went to and for in the lonely circle and did not have any chance to break that circle’s wall. Outside time was going by quickly as the natural direction. But Emily was encircled inside and was still where she had been. Yes, Emily is a person of the past. Readers have this feeling in the very first sentences through the description of Emily’s house: ‘lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps.’ This message of essential ugliness of contrast is a presentation of Emily in the present time ‘an eyesore among eyesores.’ During the story, the conflicts between the old and young generations push Emily all the way back to the past.”’ for example, she refused to pay taxes for the property when the officials contacted her she did not want to let go of her past traditions and laws.

3RD The conflict within her marriage

Emily can be described as a conscious woman who possesses freedom of decision and independence of spirit. Emily perceives the world on her own rules. Her conduct shows impressive and remarkable aspects in her personality. Her actions are based on decisions of value. She not only took away her lover’s life, but also kept the dead body in her house. As a result, I understand that she punished him by eternal life with her. While reading this story, I witnessed that Emily was not afraid of dying. The death made an agreement with Emily which was based on the life for life principle. Emily had to give up her own freedom and personality. The author shows how death can reveal human secrets, and mysteries, and change indifference into sympathy. She becomes isolated from society and loses great social role.

In conclusion, I would like to say that Emily was not afraid of dying. She was not understood by her contemporaries. Her father was a stubborn man who thought that no one was good enough for his daughter. He drove away all the young men who were interested in his daughter away. However, when Emily fell in love with Homer Barron, when she was young. Later, she found out he liked men and was not a “marrying man”. All these factors resulted in Emily’s decision to choose death as the only possible way.

Cite this page