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ENC 1102
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Notes on “A Rose for Emily”
William Faulkner is now regarded by most critics as one of the greatest American
writers of the twentieth century. However, ‘‘A Rose for Emily,’’ written in 1929,
was actually rejected by Scribner’s and other magazines. It was originally
published in the April 30, 1930, issue of Forum. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for
Emily” was his first short story published in a major magazine. A slightly revised
version was published in two collections of his short fiction, These 13 (1931) and
Collected Stories (1950). It has been published in dozens of anthologies as well.
Many American critics did not immediately recognize Faulkner as a groundbreaking writer. As is often the case with many challenging American authors,
Faulkner was identified as a unique American voice in Europe before gaining
critical acclaim in his own country.
Faulkner often used short stories to “flesh out” the fictional kingdom of
Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, for his novels. In fact, he revised some of
his short fiction to be used as chapters in those novels. “A Rose for Emily” takes
place in Jefferson, the county seat of Yoknapatawpha. Jefferson is a critical
setting in much of Faulkner’s fiction. The character of Colonel Sartoris plays a
role in the story; he is also an important character in the history of
Yoknapatawpha. However, “A Rose for Emily” is a story that stands by itself.
Faulkner himself modestly referred to it as a “ghost story,” but many critics
recognize it as an extraordinarily versatile work. As Frank A. Littler writes in
Notes on Mississippi Writers, ‘‘A Rose for Emily’’ has been ‘‘read variously as a
Gothic horror tale, a study in abnormal psychology, an allegory of the relations
between North and South, a meditation on the nature of time, and a tragedy with
Emily as a sort of tragic heroine.’’
Faulkner: the only thing worth writing about is “the human heart in conflict with
itself” (Nobel Prize acceptance speech, 1950)
Plot Summary:
This is a story about Emily Grierson who lives in a small Southern town in the
late 1800’s. Apparently her father had been very controlling and didn’t permit her
to have suitors. When he died, Emily was in denial for 3 days before she would
let them take the body. With her Father gone, Emily was left alone and poor, so
Col. Sartoris, the mayor, remitted her taxes. Instead of telling her she was a
charity case, they let her keep her dignity by making up a story about having a
deal with her father. Emily clings to this and vanquishes the later aldermen who
try to start collecting taxes again about 30 years later. A year or so after her
Father’s death, Homer Barron comes to town and they start having Sunday
carriage rides. At first the townspeople are glad she has someone, but when it
looks to be a serious on-going relationship after a year or so, the gossip turns
nasty. Rather than let Miss Emily marry an unsuitable man, the Ladies force a
Baptist minister to go talk to her. When that doesn’t work, his wife writes to her
relations in Alabama to come and deal with the situation. The cousins show up
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Notes on “A Rose for Emily”
but Emily buys a full suit of clothes and a toilet set for Homer. The townspeople
suspect they have secretly married until Homer leaves town. Miss Emily is seen
buying arsenic so the townspeople assume she is contemplating suicide. The
cousins leave and Homer is spotted going in the backdoor of her house! Then
apparently Homer deserts her for he is never seen again. Emily shuts herself in
the house, but neighbors complain of a bad odor. Rather than investigating, the
officials prefer to believe that it is caused by a rat or snake or even poor
housekeeping by the male servant. They sneak in during the dark night and
sprinkle lime to cover-up the smell. Miss Emily stays shut-in for about 6 months
and when she re-emerges, she has grown fat and her hair has started going
grey. Sometime in her forties, Emily teaches china painting to the town’s children
but after 6-7 years that goes out of fashion and the front door closes for good.
Miss Emily and the house stay frozen in time and slowly decay. When she dies
in the downstairs bed, the servant lets in the townspeople and cousins and is
never seen again. After the funeral and burial, the men break into the locked
upstairs room to discover it is decorated like a bridal suite with thick undisturbed
dust. On the bed was the man himself, now just a skeleton and beside him was
a second pillow indented from use with one iron-grey hair upon it!
Plot Structure
Exposition phase: Miss Emily dies; funeral held; men come with respectful
affection for fallen monument; women curious to see the house—“eyesore
among eyesores”; “stubborn and coquettish decay”
Complication Phase: Starts with 3rd paragraph…Alive Miss Emily a tradition,
duty; obligation upon the town.
• Father dies
• In denial 3 days
• Tax issue; upon Father’s death Col. Sartois remits her taxes to preserve
dignity; not seen as charity case; Emily vanquishes aldermen 30 years
after Father’s death; 8-9 years after end of china painting lessons
• Emily sick long time, then re-emerges with hair cut short
• Homer Barron comes to town
• Homer & Emily seen about town
• Gossip starts; turns from glad she has a beau to nasty speculation;
unsuitable; bad example for young people; Town Crisis
• Ladies force minister to visit
• Emily vanquishes minister
• Minister’s wife writes to Emily’s relations in Alabama
• Cousins come
• Emily buys “marriage gifts” Nightshirt! Toilet set!
• Town suspects secret marriage
• Homer leaves town
• Emily buys arsenic; Emily’s crisis
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Notes on “A Rose for Emily”
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Town suspects impending suicide
Cousins leave
Homer seen being let into backdoor at night; 3 days after cousins leave
Homer disappears; town assumes he deserted Emily; Emily’s climax
Odor develops; 2 years after Father’s death; shortly after Homer’s
desertion; covered up by town with lime; Emily retreats into house Emily’s
resolution begins
Emily re-emerges; fat & grey haired; teaches china painting for several
year in her 40’s
Door closes for good after
Emily becomes “idol in a niche”; “dear, inescapable, impervious, tranquil
and perverse”
Emily dies in a house of dust & shadows
Negro opens door; never seen again
Funeral & burial
Room upstairs locked & unseen 40 years
Violence done to breakdown barrier; Town climax
Room looks like a honeymoon suite trapped under dust; Town resolution
Skeleton on bed
2nd pillow indented & one grey hair
There seems to be two plot structures: One for Miss Emily’s life and one for the
Town’s (as well as narrator & reader) perception.
The major conflicts are social (Father, Homer, Townspeople) and psychological
(personal desire for love vs. desire to please her Father and sense of Propriety)
A little life math: 1894 Father died and Emily age 30 so she was born 1864. She
lived to age 74 so the year was 1938. Upstairs room locked and not seen for 40
years which puts it at 1898 but Homer disappeared and Tax collectors
“vanquished” 2 years after Father’s death and shortly after her sweetheart
deserted her so Homer died in 1896. So, was Miss Emily sleeping upstairs with
Homer for 2 years? The hair found on the pillow was “iron-gray.” It had started
turning gray by the time townspeople saw her again 6 months after Homer’s
disappearance, but it was during the next few years that it turned “iron-gray!”
Why did she continue to physically embrace her lover after his death? How was
she able to refuse to acknowledge he was dead and she was responsible?
Setting
• Small Southern town in Jefferson county Mississippi; narrow minds/narrow
roles; strict expectations; traditional/conservative
• Emily’s life spans shortly after Civil War to late 1930’s (possibly 18641938); gender roles extremely limited; paternal/male authority; idealize
images of Ladies and Gentlemen; chivalry/honor; codes become chains
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Notes on “A Rose for Emily”
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Most of her life and the action happens in the house; once magnificent
now eyesore with decay; locked in time/locked to outside world
Upstairs bedroom; feminine room: rose colored for romance and optimism
taken to extreme becomes denial! Becomes tomb/world of death and dust;
forgotten; lost in past but time still progressing
Symbols
Time period= idealized version of honor/image vs. reality/effects on individual
House= Time/Age/shelter becomes prison or tomb/social standing
Father w/ horsewhip = protectiveness in extreme; violence, domination
Yellow carriage = mobility; happiness
Nightshirt = personal intimacy; wifely duty
Silver Toilet set = official relationship
China painting = frivolous talent
Crayon portrait = father still present and controlling
Black male servant = inappropriate; lack of female presence
Emily’s hair = rebellion
Emily’s size = reflection of inner condition
Homer’s social level & profession = inappropriate mate
Locked door = tightly held secrets
Silhouette in window = shadowy presence
Theme Keywords
Identity
Social Expectations vs. Personal Desires
Autonomy
Domination
Imprisonment
Controlling relationships and roles
Limited options
Interference vs. Collaboration
Isolation vs. Involvement
Withdrawal vs. Emergence
Image vs. Reality
Being at Odds vs. Being at Peace
Normal vs. Abnormal Love
Insanity vs. Sanity
Loyalty vs. Betrayal
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Notes on “A Rose for Emily”
Sample statement of theme:
While one’s spirit and mind may stay locked in the past, the body moves on
towards an inevitable death.
Narrow traditions, roles, and expectations constrict the spirit leading to aberrant
behavior.
When faced with strict social expectations, controlling parental authority, and
dwindling options, a woman may resort to extreme measures to gain personal
desires.
Warm affectionate relationships are so necessary to normal development, that if
denied, a human may justify any method of satisfaction.
Social oppression and personal isolation can poison a life as easily as arsenic
can poison a body.
Oppressive social expectations and the prospect of a loveless future can drive a
woman to commit murder.
A town’s denial and a woman’s desperation can become a deadly combination.
What lies at the heart of the “Glorious Old South” is merely a dusty tomb filled
with wasted lives.
Without love a house can go from being a refuge to being a prison.
When sacrifice is met with betrayal the seed of insanity can blossom into murder.
Harsh social expectations and dwindling opportunities can force a woman to
make desperate choices or take seemingly insane action.
Sample thesis statement:
Faulkner’s use of dual plot structures for crisis, climax and resolution in “A Rose
for Emily” heavily suggest the theme.
Regardless of the reader’s experience, the crisis, climax and resolution of Miss
Emily’s life reveal the theme of “A Rose for Emily.”