Character sketch of Emily Grierson Emily Grierson, referred to as Miss Emily throughout the story, is the main character of ”A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner. Emily is born to a proud, aristocratic family sometime during the Civil War; Miss Emily used to live with her father and servants, in a big decorated house. The Grierson Family considers themselves superior than other people of the town. According to Miss Emily’s father none of the young boys were suitable for Miss Emily. Due to this attitude of Miss Emily’s father, Miss Emily was not able to develop any real relationship with anyone else, but it was like her world revolved around her father. When her father passed away, it was a devastating loss for Miss Emily.
The lines from the story “She told them her father was not dead. She did that for three days,” (Charter 171) conveys the message that she tried to hold on to him, even after his death. Even though, this was a sad moment for Emily, but she was liberated from the control of her father. Instead of going on with her life, her life halted after death of her father. Miss Emily found love in a guy named Homer Barron, who came as a contractor for paving the sidewalks in town. Miss Emily was seen in buggy on Sunday afternoons with Homer Barron.
The whole town thought they would get married. One could know this by the sentences in the story “She will marry him,”She will persuade him yet,” (Charter 173).
The Essay on Miss Emily Faulkner Father Section
Through the use of third person point of view and elaborate, repetitive foreshadowing, William Faulkner describes how numerous elements contributed to Miss Emily's deranged behavior in the short story, "A Rose for Emily." Not only does Faulkner imply paternal oppression, but there is also a clear indication of insanity that is an inherent pattern in the Grierson family. The shocking conclusion of ...
On the contrary side, Homer Barron, although ironically Patel 2 Emily’s only love was the exact opposite of Emily. The sentence in the story “Whenever you heard a lot of laughing anywhere about the square, Homer Barron would be centre of the group,” suggests that Homer Barron is a fun loving person. While, Emily comes out of the house very few times, and is never seen having fun with people.
When Emily proposed Homer Barron for marriage, Homer refuses to marry Emily, as he did not wanted to overtaken by time and become dull as Emily would have wished. Thus, Emily poisons Homer Barron and killed him and kept him forever with her. Emily’s life has been overtaken by time. And she has halted the passage of time.
The passed passage of time creates a tension in her life. At first she cannot accept the death of her father. After that she creates tension in the community by refusing to pay the taxes. When the aldermen go to her house to collect the taxes, she refuses to pay and tells “I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartor is explained to me.” (Charters 170) The halted passage of time causes her not to even recognize Colonel’s death. Emily also ends up killing; her only love Homer Barron due to her stubbornness.
And ironically, preserves Homer Barron’s dead body for 30 years in her house. Emily’s father kept her sheltered longer than she was needed. When she was released, she was under the burdens of relationships and love. When she knew Homer would leave her, she killed him and kept him forever..
