A Rose for Emily

“A Rose for Emily” is considered by many to be one of William Faulkner’s great short stories which is known for its dark and gothic theme. The story happened in an Old South town called Jefferson sometime in 1930s and spanned after the Civil War during the reconstruction era. In this story, Emily Grierson is the protagonist whom the reader cares most about. As defined, a protagonist is the central character who engages the reader’s interest and empathy while the antagonist is the character or force or collection of forces that stands directly opposed to the protagonist and give rise to the conflict of the story (Meyer 918). While most of the story takes place during the transition of the town to a new and industrialized place, Emily seemed to be battered by time and was unable to move on through her life. The death of her loved ones and the town itself are the antagonists of the story which show the destructive effects of change and time on Emily.

In the story, Emily attempts to exert power over change by denying the fact of death. Her bizarre relationship to the dead bodies of the men she has loved—her necrophilia—is revealed first when her father dies. Emily’s father considered their family valuable and superior than the others in their town. Mr. Grierson kept on chasing and turning away Emily’s suitors as he believed no boys were suitable for Emily. Emily missed out on having a boyfriend and the ability to be normally happy in her youthful days because of her controlling father. Unable to admit that her father has died, Emily clings to the controlling paternal figure whose control became the only—yet extreme—form of love she knew. Emily gives up his body reluctantly after three days of keeping it in their house. Not only does Emily wants to hold on to her father’s legacy and exemptions, but she wants to hold on to his body out of fear and denial. The town people said, “With nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her” (Meyer 57) which tells that even on the death of her father, Emily was still held controlled by him. Holding on to the corpse of his father shows a dissension that he cannot be a part of her life and her future anymore.

As the setting of the story was held years following the Civil War, major reconstruction was being held. Everyone has moved off the streets because the town had been developed and industrialized where businesses do their business and operate. Emily hesitantly adapted to the changes of their town and did not recognize its improvements. As what the town described it, “Only Miss Emily’s house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps - an eyesore among eyesore” (Meyer 54). Her house becomes a monstrosity to the town. Another thing is that when the town received a free postal delivery system, where the town has to fasten metal numbers in houses and has to attach a mailbox in the porch, Emily did not allow them. She completely was stuck on a different page with her townspeople who are willingly and openly embracing changes in their lives while she remained as the “monument” of the town to which symbolizes the old town it was once.

The Grierson family was one of high status, most likely with lots of money and has a slave. After Miss Emily's father dies, everything that they had believed in is turned upside down and only the house was left of her. To avoid embarrassing Miss Emily, Colonel Sartoris, devise a convoluted explanation of Jefferson’s pre-Civil War debt to the Griersons to avoid her paying taxes since she became poor since her father died. Years have passed and as the new generation of government was established, they find the unofficial agreement of the Grierson family not paying taxes rather odd so they mailed Miss Emily tax notices. Miss Emily argued to the town’s tax collectors and told them, “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson. (Meyer 56)” Miss Emily’s refusal to pay taxes and directing the argument to Colonel Sartoris, which died ten years from that time, is another refusal on the new changes in the town. Also, her denial of death is again shown when she tried to resolve the issue by bringing up Colonel who was already dead. Her actions towards the tax issue clearly is a proof that Miss Emily have made her own world by continuously living in the past.

Furthermore, her attitude towards the death of her father and later the death of Colonel Sartoris foreshadow her attitude toward the death of Homer Barron. Homer Baron was a construction foreman and a Yankee from the North. The north