Willow D. Crystal states, “there must be concealed facts that…must become clear in the end, private actions which become public knowledge” (791). Isolation from the world and involvement with the world work against each other until one overtakes the other. According to Willow D. Crystal, William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" suggests the tension between what is private and what is public. I agree, but I would add that isolation is another major theme the short story explores. Emily Grierson's isolation results in resistance to change, high suspicions, and death. Crystal effectively elaborates on the private versus public concept used in, “A Rose for Emily.” Crystal begins, “Faulkner introduces a tension between what is private, or belongs to …show more content…
Even though the public and private had a distant relationship, the public tried to interfere with the private. Faulkner describes Miss Emily as “a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (803). For instance, when her house gave off a horrendous odor, the town took it upon themselves to get rid of it. Faulkner explains, “Four men crossed Miss Emily’s lawn…they broke open the cellar door and sprinkled lime there, and in all the outbuildings” (806). Even when Miss Emily purchased arsenic, Faulkner states, “The druggist looked down at her, ‘…the law requires you to tell what you are going to use it for’” (808). o Crystal describes the relationship between Miss Emily and the town of Jefferson: Arguably, the townspeople’s actions serve to protect Miss Emily’s privacy…as much as they effectively destroy it with their intrusive zeal. In this very act of protection they reaffirm the town’s proprietary relation to the public “monument” that is Miss Emily and, consequently, reinforce her inability to make decisions for herself. (792) Jefferson’s involvement in Miss Emily’s private life, pushed her to become more