Analysis Of Miss Emily Grierson In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” Miss Emily Grierson is immediately introduced as an all-important character, pivotal to the history of the small town where she lived. The short story begins at Miss Emily’s funeral where she is described by the narrator as a “fallen monument.” A monument to what exactly? Well, perhaps to the fallen ideals of the pre-Antebellum era or even to the demise of the Old South. Faulkner continuously uses Miss Emily to represent the old southern values that dominated the South in order to bring to light the cultural shift that occurred after the Civil War. During Miss Emily’s adolescent years, she and her father lived an aristocratic lifestyle amongst the esteemed members of Jefferson. Their house was once “white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies” (82). It was located on one of the most select streets in the entire town. At one point in the story, the narrator even states, “We had

“The daughters and granddaughters of Colonel Sartoris’ contemporaries were sent to her with… regularity,” (86) states the narrator. This dainty practice was a true testament to Old South practices in which women and young girls were expected to conduct themselves in an elegant manner. The southern women from the Antebellum era knew nothing of housework or chores because they had slaves to do that for them. Miss Emily’s continuation of a tradition that encouraged such behavior among the young women who came to populate New South further proves the idea that Miss Emily represented old southern values. Eventually, young girls’ parents stopped sending them to Miss Emily’s home for china painting lessons because they found more practical uses of their time. This is another example of how Miss Emily embodies the Old South in a time period where many cultural shifts were