Essay About Character Of Miss Emily And William Faulkner

A Rose For Emily
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“A Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner, begins and ends with the death of Miss Emily
Grierson, the main character of the story. In the story William Faulkner uses
characterization to reveal the character of Miss Emily. Faulkner divided the story “into
five sections, the first and last section having to do with the present, and the now of
the narration, with the three middle sections detailing the past” (Davis 35). Faulkner
expresses the content of Miss Emilys character through physical description, through her
actions, words, and feelings, through the narrators direct comments about her, and
through the actions, words, and feelings of other characters. Faulkner best uses
characterization to examine the theme of the story, we are the products of our
environment.
Miss Emily lives for many years as a recluse, as a result of her surroundings. In the
story the narrator comments that “no one save an old man-servant-a combined gardener and
cook-had seen [the house] in at least ten years” (Faulkner 217). Miss Emilys father is
partly to blame for her life as a recluse. Faulkners narrator says that, “We remembered
all the young men her father had driven away” (221). Critic Donald Akers notes that:
In the story, Emilys overprotective, overbearing father denies her a normal relationship
with the opposite sex by chasing away any potential mates. Because her father is the only
man with whom she has had a close relationship, she denies his death and keeps his corpse
in her house until she breaks down three days later when the doctors insist she let them
take the body. (2)
Her father robs her from many of lifes necessities. She misses out on having friends,
being a normal woman, and her ability to be happy. Emily is so used to having her father
be there for her, she figures that by keeping his body he can still be part of her life.
Miss Emily may have lived in seclusion, but her heart longed for companionship.
The summer after her fathers death, the town brought in a construction company to begin
paving the sidewalks. The foreman of the company was Homer Barron. The town then begins
to see him and Miss Emily on Sunday afternoons together. Michael L. Burduck, of The
University of Mississippi Studies in English, notes in his article that “Faulkner himself
sheds interesting light on this matter when he describes Miss Emily as a woman that just
wanted to be loved and to love and to have a husband and a family” (210). It is later
gossiped that Miss Emily had bought arsenic, and the town all said, “She will kill
herself”(Faulkner 223). Later it was gossiped that she had bought a mans toilet set and
mens clothing and the town was glad because they thought that the two either were or
were getting married. Emily now feels that “without a husband, her life will have no
meaning” (“A Rose for Emily 1). It is noted by Daniel Akers that “Homer himself may not
exactly be enthusiastic about marrying Emily. However, it is left to the reader to
imagine the exact circumstances leading to Homers denouement. Finally, Emily takes the
offensive by poisoning Homer so he cant abandon her” (3). Miss Emilys desire for love
and companionship drives her to murder Homer Baron with arsenic poison that was bought to
be used for rats. Critic Michael L. Burduck says:
Our narrator knows that Emily purchased poison, ostensibly to kill “rats”. One slang use
of the term “rat” applies to a man who has cheated on his lover. Perhaps Faulkners
tale-teller suspects that Emily feared that