“A Rose for Emily”
Notes on the story
General Information: Narrator
The voice of the town
(Jefferson, MS) tells
readers the story.
General Information: Emily’s
House
Emily = house (Note the many
similarities between Emily & her
house).
 As the crumbling Grierson house is being described,
think about how the town views Emily herself as a
fallen monument.
General Information: Plot
Plot is non-chronological
Non-linear plot encourages
growing pity for Emily
The non-linear plot also
serves to hide Emily’s crimes
(just as the town does) by
discouraging attention to
any single event
General Information: Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing = smell, lime,
poison, father’s body
Readers know all along that
something (someone) is rotten
(dead), yet the ending still has
an element of shock.
General Information: Ending
End of story has 2
surprises:
#1: Homer is there, and
#2: Emily slept with him
Making sense of the events
 Chronology of Events
1. Emily’s father dies
2. Col. Sartoris pays Emily’s taxes
3. Col. Sartoris dies
4. Homer arrives
5. Emily buys arsenic
6. Homer disappears
7. Smell appears
8. Aldermen try to collect taxes
9. Emily dies
Portraits of Emily:
Descriptions of Emily
framed in a portrait,
window, or doorway
Portraits of Emily: Section I
Crayon portrait with her
father – tarnished gilt
easel
Portraits of Emily: Section II:
Small fat woman in black
framed by doorway; she looks
dead (something inside her has
died)
Miss Emily sits in window
(watching sprinkling of lime)
Portraits of Emily: Section III
Angel in window (short
hair)
Portraits of Emily: Section IV
Emily is seen in
upstairs/downstairs
windows
Descriptions of Emily
How Emily is presented in the story:
Growing sympathy makes ending more
disturbing; romantic view prevents
town from seeing reality; they
cover her crimes.
Descriptions of Emily
Tradition, duty, care
Fallen monument
Hereditary obligation on the
town
Would not accept charity
Emily in denial about father’s
death
Descriptions of Emily
Small fat woman in black
Bloated, like a body long
submerged in motionless water;
pallid hue
Eyes like coal pressed in dough;
fatty ridges
An idol
Descriptions of Emily
Hair cut short, like a girl
Angelic comparison
Carried head high with
Homer
Thin, cold, haughty black
eyes; lighthouse keeper
Descriptions of Emily
Fat with iron gray hair; like
the hair of an active man
Dead on a heavy walnut bed
Conflicts in the story
Character conflicts that drive the plot
Conflicts
Emily vs. Homer
– Emily is southern aristocracy,
desperate for marriage
– Homer is Yankee, day laborer, not
marrying kind
– Resolution = she kills him and keeps
his body
Conflicts
Emily vs. her Father
– Keeps her single – chases her
suitors
– Possible Incest and possible
insanity
– Resolution = he dies, leaving her
alone
Conflicts
Emily vs. Town
– Taxes
– What is acceptable (smell,
Homer)
– Gossip
– Is there resolution?
Conflicts
Emily vs. Herself
–
–
–
–
Maintain status or marry
Takes a lover vs. religion and tradition
Murders what she loves
“Loving” Homer after death was her
atonement
Old Southern Setting
What makes this uniquely southern?
– Influence of traditions
– Negro servant
– Role of clergy/relatives/women
– Class considerations
– Gothic elements: Old house,
mysterious activities, smell, strange
servant, closed rooms, dust, darkness,
decay…
Symbolic elements
 Rose – love; gift of love; delicate; sweet
smelling
 Iron – strong, firm, cold, inflexible
 Dust – overlooked, neglected, dirty, return to
dust, antique
 Barron – barren
 Rat/snake – Homer is both
 Black – death/funeral (psychologically dead)
 Closed house/rooms – closed mind; isolation
Vocabulary
cupolas: dome on a house, often serving
as a belfry
august: majestic; inspiring admiration
coquettish: to act like a flirtatious woman
motes: particles or specks of dust or dirt
crayon: Pastels, (not crayola)
pallid: pale, drained of color
Vocabulary
vanquish: to conquer or subdue
temerity: reckless boldness
diffident: lacking self confidence; timid;
shy
deprecation: disapproval of
tableau: striking picture or scene
spraddled: to straddle or sprawl
Vocabulary
vindicated: cleared from accusation;
liberate; defend
imperviousness: impenetrable; incapable
of being impaired, injured, or influenced
cabal: a small group of plotters, or their
plot; subversives
bier: frame or stand for a coffin
jalousies: blind or window with
horizontal slats
Vocabulary
sibilant: hissing
macabre: gruesome; grim; ghastly
acrid: sharp or biting in taste or smell
cuckholded: cuckhold=husband of an
unfaithful wife
“…the man himself lay on the
bed.”
End of presentation