A Rose For Emily Character Analysis

Pity for Emily???

In the short story A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner there is a very interesting character. Her Name is Emily Grierson and she is a rich southern gentile. All her life it seems that she was raised at a standard that was above the rest. By living such a secluded and controlled life it set her up for the happenings in her future.

When her father passed away she had nobody to tell her what to do and how to act. This was very devastating and she had a hard time dealing with change. So much so that she wouldn't let the police take the body of her father out of the house for three days after his death. The only thing that was constant in her house was the slave that was bound to serve her.

In this writing I feel that the author takes an outside look at Emily to let you make your own decisions about her. This is a very good way of doing it because it leaves you with an open-ended judgment. You may feel a variety of ways about her, the first being that she is completely psychotic. This is the first and easiest conclusion to come up with. If you weren't reading with much thought and analyzing the character it would be easy to feel this way. The second emotion is the strongest I feel about her, this would be pity for her. Leading a life that is mapped out for you by someone would not be a hard task.  In the "old south" when this story takes place the women are not meant to make decisions or choice on their own. Women were meant to be mindless and powerless to the superior men that knew what was best for them.

By losing this father figure she was left to fend for herself and was virtually helpless.

When she finally found a male that showed some interest and emotion, she was attached to them. That's where Homer Barron comes into the story. He would visit Emily and go for Sunday drives with her. When Homer told Emily that he must move on she found