English Literature

The character of Emily in the short story A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner is introduced to the reader through the words of the narrator, a person living in the town where Emily had spent her entire life. The opening words of the narrator of the story point towards the recluse life led by Emily. When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral..which no one save an old manservant---a combined gardener and cook-had seen in at least ten years. (Faulkner). As the people gathered for the funeral talk about the kind of life led by Emily, the reader becomes aware of the negative effect that seclusion has on Emilys life. It is through the conversations of the townspeople that the character of Emily is developed in the story.

From the talk of the townspeople, it becomes clear that Emily displayed an abnormal behavior. The first instance when the people of the town witness the abnormal behavior of Emily is during the death of her father. Emily refuses to accept that her father is dead and therefore forbids the people from carrying her fathers body for burial. She told them that her father was not dead. (Faulkner). Emilys deviant behavior is noticeable once again when the city authorities pay a visit to her house to collect taxes from her. She refuses to pay the taxes and tells them to meet Colonel Sartoris, See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson. (Faulkner). But she fails to realize that ten years have passed by since Colonel Sartoris has died. Emily never tries to understand what the city authorities are trying to telling her.

As the narrator presents the details of the past life of Emily, the reader becomes aware of the isolated life led by Emily after the death of her father. Her father, being a proud Southerner, has prevented Emily from meeting any suitors, for he thought that no man is suitable to marry his daughter. Emily continues to maintain her distance from the society even after her fathers death, for she desires to cling to her past. It is after the arrival of Homer Baron that Emily comes out of her isolation and roams with Homer in a buggy in the town. The people in the town thought that Emily was going to marry Homer but they were proven wrong, as Homer disappeared after some time and Emily returned to her life of isolation. Till now, Emily is presented as a recluse by the narrator. It is only at the end of the story that the narrator reveals about the detrimental effect that isolation had on Emilys behavior and attitude. The narrator states that when people entered Emilys house after her death, they found the corpse of her lover on her bed. What was left of him, rotted beneath what was left of the nightshirt, had become inextricable from the bed in which he lay and upon him and upon the pillow beside him lay that even coating of the patient and biding dust. (Faulkner). Emily had not only killed Homer but also slept beside his corpse till the end of her life.

In the beginning of the story, Emily is depicted as a recluse but as the story comes to an end she is presented as an eccentric woman. The development of Emilys character in the story aids in bringing forth the theme of the story, which refers to the negative influence of social isolation. As the character of Emily develops through the words of the narrator, it becomes evident that years of isolation has turned Emily into a depressed and eccentric woman who kills the man she loves so that she can have him forever. Emily was not ready to accept the fact that Homer Barron never intended to marry her. Emily had expected that Homer would propose her but when he failed to do so, she kills him and keeps his body near her. The development of Emilys character from a recluse woman to a depressed woman points towards the fact that social isolation leads Emily towards depression and results into a state where she loses her mental balance. Emily clings so firmly to her past and desire to isolate herself from the society that she loses her grip on her present life.