A Rose for Emily
By William Faulkner
This is the story of Miss Emily Grierson,
born a lady in the South just around the
time of the Civil War.
The fact that she is considered a “lady”
will have a significant affect on how she
treats others and how others treat her.
In your opinion, what does it mean to
“be a lady”?
What does it mean to be a “Lady”?
•“Lady” – from it’s roots in British nobility,
as the equivalent of “Lord”
•Today’s equivalent of “Gentleman”
•The term carries a connotation of elegance
and class
•Refined, polite woman
•Woman of a high social position
In the aftermath of slavery, the
American South was in bad shape.
The South was clinging to the
ideals and values of the past.
This story deals with the stubborn
refusal of some southerners to
see that the America they
believed in – an America based on
slavery – was no more.
The story covers about 74 years,
beginning sometime just before the
Civil War. The focus, however, is on
the periods from about 1894 to 1935.
Because the dates are all jumbled
together, we have to work to untangle
the story’s present vision of America
from the vision of the past.
Setting
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Time: SCRAMBLED (1894-1935)
Place: Southern town
Social Circumstances: Post-Civil War
Grierson estate:
– “It was a big squarish frame house that had once been
white, decorated with cupolas and spires, and scrolled
balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies,
set on what had once been our most select street. But
garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated
even the august names of that neighborhood; only Miss
Emily’s house was left, lifting its stubborn coquettish
decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps –
an eyesore among eyesores.”
Through the course of the story, Miss
Emily withdraws more and more into her
home.
She isolates herself from the outside world
and alienates herself from everyone
• Why do people push others away?
• Have you ever pushed others away for some reason?
Has anyone ever pushed you away? Explain.
• What is the danger of alienating others?
This is further complicated when
Miss Emily finds herself in a
desperate situation over the man
she loves – her fiancé.
What would you be willing to
do to keep the person you love?