A Rose For Emily- Perspectives On Theme
"A Rose for Emily", published by William Faulkner in 1931 is a story that contains many themes. It is set in Jefferson in the post-Civil War era. It is in all actuality, a critique of the South and its people in the years following the conclusion of the Civil War. Miss Emily Grierson represents the Old South and its attempts to hold on to a culture and identity that it could no longer retain. This idea that holding on to the past is futile is the theme of "A Rose for Emily." Throughout the short story there are several pieces of evidence that point to this as the theme. From Miss Emily's refusal to pay her taxes, through her heartbreaking refusal to let go of the men that she loves, Miss Emily embodies a fallen monument, the Old South.
The theme of "A Rose for Emily" cannot be comprehended without first dissecting the character that is Miss Emily Grierson. Miss Emily and her house are synonymous with each other. The house smells of dust and disuse and has a closed, dank smell. (Faulkner, 667) A description of Emily in the following paragraph reveals her similarity to the house. Miss Emily is described as "a small fat woman in black, leaning on an ebony cane with a tarnished gold head. Her skeleton was small and spareĀ
" (Faulkner, 667), "She looked bloated like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that palled hue." (Faulkner, 667) But she had not always had that appearance. In the picture of a young Emily with her father, she was frail and apparently hungering to
participate in the life of the era. After her father's death, she looked like a girl "with a vague resemblance to those angels in colored church windows--sort of tragic and serene" (Faulkner, 669). This suggests that she had already died inside. Miss Emily's physical characteristics are not nearly as important to the story as her personality traits. Her stubbornness stands out more than any of her other traits as shown by her refusal to pay taxes regardless of the...
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