A Rose For Emily Chapter Analysis

A Dusty, Rose-Tinted View of the Former and Imminent Miss Emily William Faulkner’s time traveling, southern gothic tale A Rose for Emily, follows the ill-fated, sympathy pulling, plot driven story of Miss Emily Grierson. All the isolated years spent trapped in her obstinate home, as if she was a disregarded bird left to a drafty, locked and forgotten cage, Miss Emily collects dust and decays with her surroundings. Through the scattered unveiling of what made Miss Emily the reclusive, loveless woman that died from a fate she knitted herself, Faulkner manages to lace reason through her murderous tendencies. Her Father’s high expectations for Emily’s future to be filled with incomparable, fulfilling love, left her free falling through miss opportunities

Miss Emily Grierson is not only eroded in time from love, her relationship and place in society eats away at her as well. Each chapter occurs without following to a timeline to reveal the significance and absoluteness of death. The first chapter begins with Emily’s funeral, as she laid beneath dozens of flowers representing love and peace in her death. The second chapter is haunted by her Father’s love and his death caused his values to become more a sentiment to Miss Emily. The third chapter leads to her lover’s death after he has failed to give her the rose she desires. The fourth chapter revolves around the only way Emily can show her love to Homer after his betrayal, poisoning him. “Emliy idolized and idealized her father and Homer Barron, even to the point of endowing them with fictitious life beyond death.” (Dilworth). In the final chapter, Emily’s funeral is back in full circle as the townspeople finally get to explore her house to have a better understanding of who she really is. They find Homer’s corpse along with other symbols of her love and items that support Faulkner’s theme of

His descriptive writing supports this theme more than the story’s lack of chronological order. Emily is depicted to appear bloated and an as eyesore, but she is a historical monument in the community. Much like her own house, people appreciate the historical memorial, however this doesn’t halt time. Together, Miss Emily and her home face the scrutiny of the townspeople and the wear of time. Though time frames appear lofty, the time can be measured in the evolution of Miss Emily’s graying hair, as well as the graying hair of her servant. As the story progresses in time, everything decays, but an understanding is developed for Emily. The town’s continuous evolution leaves her to cope with the weight of time alone, in her dying house, a rotting lover. All aspects considered, Faulkner can humanize Emily and allow the reader to sympathize with a murderer. Since the story occurs over a lifetime, dust seems to collect in the empty, aging spaces. Faulkner’s use of dust in the story indicates the weight of time and Emily’s closeness to death. Throughout the story, details of her life appear to have all run their course. From her servant’s dusty voice at her funeral after years of silence to the crypt she lied in every night, but it was covered in dust and reaped with deterioration. Left to collect in dust, without a rose to water, and with the haunting of her Father and Homer, Miss Emily