Symbolism: A Rose For Emily

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Symbolism: Iron Gray Hair

The description ofEmily’s hair by the narrator as “iron gray” symbolizes Emily’s perceived strength and hardships. There seems to exist a dichotomy within Emily, one of a weak lady who often loses her grip on reality, and one who often exercises control over those around her e.g. Homer Baron, the town’s officials. Emily has been hardened by life, by her experiences, something which has turned her into the emotionally hard, and distant woman the reader often sees. Sheltered for most of her life, she loses one of the main reasons for her pride, her father. Her having to cope with her father's passing as well as the changing cultural landscape around her, leaves the great Emily Grierson, a striving woman. Aside from her house help, Tobe, Emily is alone, lacking a spouse or close friend. 

 Emily’s through her "iron gray hair" leaves a lasting impression on the town, an impression which borders on immortality. The discovery of the iron gray hair on the pillow reveals to everyone the true Emily Grierson. She is more than just eccentric, she is a necrophiliac, and a murderer. The "iron gray hair" is the last thing the reader is left with, and it is an imagery which leaves a haunting impact on those she left behind. The reader gets a sense that Emily Grierson will somehow live on in the stories that will be told from then on.

Summary: "A Rose For Emily"

A Summary of "A Rose For Emily" by William Faulkner

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Summary: "A Rose For Emily" Section I

William Faulkner’s "A Rose for Emily" follows the tragic life of the stories main character Emily Grierson. The story is divided by sections with each section looking at a key event in Emily’s life. Section one opens on the day of Emily’s funeral. Everyone is present, the mood is nostalgic as the narrator reminisces about Emily’s house, how it once captivated the people of the town, but now lays in ruins. The scene quickly backtracks to where we first learn of Emily, and her interactions with the people of the neighborhood. Emily, we learn has been failing at her civic duty by not paying taxes, which Colonel Sartoris states is due to a loan that was given to the town by Emily’s father, something which the narrator immediately hints is a merely an excuse. This we learn becomes a problem with Colonel Sartoris' successors who after numerous failures at receiving Emily’s taxes eventually meets with Emily. The meeting takes place at Emily’s home which is old, with worn furniture, and seems to have not been under any basic upkeep (much like Emily).Throughout the meeting Emily is defiant, insisting on the arrangement between her and Colonel Sartoris, and refusing to pay taxes. Emily refers the town's officials to Colonel Sartoris, completely unaware that he died close to a decade ago.

A Rose for Emily Narrator

Narrative Technique: “A Rose For Emily”

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Who is the Narrator?

The unnamed narrator in William Faulkner’s “A Rose For Emily” is a resident of the town in which the main character Emily lives. Although the true identity of the narrator is never revealed, the reader is left with some clues. Helen Nebeker notes that narrator may have been a part of a group of men in town who had hoped to become the ideal mate for Emily, but who never lived up to her father’s standards (5). The narrator does show himself to be male based on his attempt to not attach himself to the ladies in his town. The narrator in Section II of the story refers to the women as “the ladies”, and is careful to ensure that at no time he establishes any attachment to the women beyond merely being neighbors. Also when discussing the lie that Colonel Sartoris had come up with to excuse Emily’s from paying taxes, the narrator states that it’s a lie and only a woman would accept that excuse. The narrator’s transition from a non-participant to a participant narrator may also provide a clue as to the narrator’s identity.  Helen Nebeker observes, “Within all five sections we note a continual shifting of person, from our to they to we… Miss Emily” (4). The constant switch between first person and third person narrative, is indicative of someone who may not have seen firsthand all the events of the plot. In Section I, the narrator consistently uses the word “they” in reference to the meeting between Emily and the town’s officials. The narrator, however, switches to a participant and begins using the first person narrative as Emily ages. This transition is evidence that the narrator may have been younger than Emily, and may have been given background information on the main character due to his association with the town’s officials. It is also possible that the narrator is actually a town official, the narrator hints at his association in Section IV, “Each December we sent her a tax notice.”

Character Analysis: "A Rose For Emily"

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Character Analysis: Emily Grierson

Headstrong and rigid, Emily Grierson is the main character in William Faulkner’s “A Rosefor Emily”. One of the best examples of a flat character, Emily is stuck in both time and space never evolving in her views, or changing her interactions with wider society. This we see through various events in the story, the most prominent being her flat out refusal to pay her taxes. Other instances include her rejection of having a mailbox put up, and her slow acceptance of father’s passing. She has lost grip of reality and of those around her to the point, that she fails to realize that her most staunch defender, Colonel Sartoris, died close to a decade ago. While we notice a shift in the narrative voice throughout the story, Emily remains the same, stuck in the days of great white houses and the prestige of being a Grierson. Though her behavior may be viewed as merely eccentric, the narrator hints at the possibility that Emily is actually mentally unstable (something which is later revealed to be true when we discover she is a possible necrophiliac). When she purchases Arsenic at the local drugstore, the assumption was quickly made that Emily was planning to commit suicide. Emily not only refuses to bury her father after his death, the reader also discovers that she killed Homer Barron.The narrator blames Emily’s mental state on her Father who is portrayed as being extremely protective, never allowing Emily to interact with her male counterparts. Evidence of this can be found in the imagery established by the narrator, Emily in the background standing behind her father who holds a whip in one hand. This imagery shows him as the type that was never the kind to show fatherly affection, a stern man, something which might explain Emily's failure at interacting with those around her.

Despite her mental instability, Emily is also portrayed as a very strong woman. The narrator establishes this early on when he notes that Emily was buried among soldiers, and that the men of the neighborhood dressed in their Confederate uniforms to attend her funeral. Just as the story opens with this imagery it closes with it as well, with the discovery of her "iron gray hair" on the pillow.The narrator states that her hair turned an "iron gray" as she aged, suggesting that Emily had a hardness to her, that somehow she had been hardened by life. We again see her strength when we discover that Emily murdered Homer Barron and kept his for the rest of her life. The narrator describes that Emily “cockolded” him, dominating him in the end. Emily is often compared to Katherine Mansfield main character Miss Brill who like Emily, has lost her grip on reality.