Emily, the town’s idol, was in fact very much in love with Homer Barron. Emily was however, put in a situation where, because of how rich and successful her father was she had certain behavioral patterns that she was forced to follow. Homer was from the North, and Miss Emily was from the South, so not only was this marriage never going to happen, but also Emily would never be able to marry at all. “Throughout the 1800’s many Southerners condemned and criticized slavery; which, in turn would end up in a civil war between the North and the South” (A Comprehensive […
] 1).
This alone would be ground enough for Emily to never marry or even date a Northerner; it just wasn’t heard of. Although the townspeople knew Emily would never marry Homer because of her status, I believe they also made up stories to reassure themselves that this marriage would never occur. “Homer himself had remarked-he liked men, and it was known that he drank with the younger men in the Elk’s club-that he was not a marrying man” (Faulkner 625).
Homer was not gay; he wasn’t dating Emily and taking her on trips every Sunday to cover up his homosexuality.
The only thing wrong with Homer was that he was from the North. Knowing that Homer might leave and that the townspeople would not stop talking, Miss Emily decided to kill Homer. This way Homer could be with her forever, and the townspeople would not ever think to assume anything except that Emily set her head straight and got rid of him. Homer Barron was a good man and Emily Grierson was a good woman. Although her overbearing and protective father left her confused about men, she knew what she wanted and she did want a relationship like everyone else before she became too old. The town would not let her have this though; they would rather her be single and suffer as long as she didn’t distort their view of the perfect town idol.
The Essay on Emily Homer Faulkner Time
... contrast between the north and south and the gap in time by using Emily and Homer as the epitome ... family comes to stay to persuade her and Homer to marry, but it was actually during that time that ... man servant was seen entering and leaving the house for a period of about six months and the townspeople ... to be with. Knowing that he would never marry her and there were from two separate worlds, ...
Emily was in fact put on a Pedi stool and for her to be happy meant the crumble of the rest of the town. Emily had to do it; she had to kill Homer… it was the last resort. Emily and Homer were destined to be together, but due to unfortunate circumstances it could never happen. Emily could never marry regardless and especially could never be married to a Northerner, so that was it; Miss Emily was destined to be alone and live with Homer’s remains forever. “The body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace, but now the long sleep that outlasts love, that conquers even the grimace of love, had cuckolded him” (Faulkner 627)..
