William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

William Faulkner wrote about the rise of the poor white family and the simultaneous decline of the “aristocratic” families (Faulkner, 2013, p. 2180). In A Rose for Emily, Faulkner shows the life and attitude of the people residing in the American South after the conclusion of the civil war. Many changes both political and social were implemented as a result of the Union winning the war, however, many individuals in the South still considered themselves Confederates and wanted to maintain this status quo. The study of William Faulkner’s, A Rose for Emily illustrates the main character’s resistance towards the physical and emotional changes instituted within the post-civil war era.

The conclusion of the American Civil War, the victory of the

Homer is a laborer from the North, that has come to the south as part of a modernization project of the town. Emily fancies herself in love with him and intends to marry him, however, Homer professed that “he liked men,” meaning he liked hanging out and would not be tied to one woman for the rest of his life (Faulkner, 2013, p. 2185). Again, one can note that even though Emily had plans for herself, she was not the decision maker. But her passivity, as the reader had come to expect, erupted into rage and she had to have her what she wanted, one way or another. So, she snaps, kills him and entombs him within her bedroom, illustrating her growing necrophilia. Here again readers acknowledge the nod to Southern values in that they dare not inquire about the fool smell emanating from the Grierson home, it’s like Judge Stevens said “will you accuse a lady to her face of smelling bad?” (Faulkner, 2013, p.

2187) They have come to say goodbye to one of their own, whether it be because of her father or that she too played some role in the war. “Believing that they had danced with her and courted her perhaps, confusing time with its mathematical progression,” therefore time seem blended for these veterans, they could not see the change in the situation, even though it stared them in the face (Faulkner, 2013, p. 2187). Further illustrating the role, Emily played in the war is her place of interment. Emily is laid with “the ranked and anonymous graves of Union and Confederate soldiers,” a somewhat military or even a state burial of some sorts (Faulkner, 2013, p.