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

William Faulkner’s story, “A Rose for Emily”, revolves around the tragic life of Emily Grierson. Miss Emily Grierson is the daughter of Mr. Grierson, a well-respected man in the town of Jefferson. Early in the story, Miss Emily’s character is plagued by confinement as her father is so arrogant that he does not let Miss Emily marry. After her father’s death, it is implied that Miss Emily suffers from mental illnesses as she refuses to recognize the death of Mr. Grierson for three days until she is forced to bury him properly. The story advances when Homer Barron is introduced; he came to town with his workers to build sidewalks. Miss Emily finds interest in Homer and they begin to see each other often, though the townspeople disagree with their relationship. This relationship does not last; Homer Barron vanishes after he and his crew of workers finished building the sidewalks, or so it was believed.

For example, the narrator states that Miss Emily went to a drug store with the intent to buy arsenic, though she did not specify to the druggist why she wanted it (35). This is significant because it was later revealed how Emily had murdered Homer. It is implied she murdered him with this arsenic, which means this event foreshadowed the murder of Homer. In addition, the story also foreshadows how Miss Emily would eventually lose her mind. For example, the narrator states that, “People in our town, remembering how old lady Wyatt, her great-aunt, had gone completely crazy at last, believed that the Grierson’s held themselves a little too high for what they were” (34). This is significant to Miss Emily’s character because it indicates that insanity, or at least mental health issues, occurred within the Grierson family. Emily’s aunt, old lady Wyatt, foreshadowed the inevitable future Miss Emily had; she too would lose her sanity and her mind would become