Emily Grierson’s Need For Control in Faulkner’s A Rose...

Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily,† illustrates the evolution of a small, post-Civil War community, as the new generation of inhabitants replaces the pre-Civil War ideals with more modern ideas. At the center of the town is Emily Grierson, the only remaining remnant of the upper class Grierson family, a â€Å"Southern gentlewoman unable to understand how much the world has changed around her.† (Kazin, 2). This essay will focus on Emily Grierson and her attempts to control change after her father’s death. Emily’s need to control change is first evidenced through her relationship with her father. Their bond, based on a high-class aristocratic ideal system, lasted until the death of her father. A mental image of Mr. Grierson’s†¦show more content†¦After the death of Mr. Grierson, Emily initially refused to have her father’s body buried, and â€Å"she went out very little.† The initial refusal to bury her father demonstrates Emily’s inability to accept the death of her father. She wanted to keep him inside the house to â€Å"live† with her. â€Å"†¦the house was all that was left to her†¦.† and so, when Mr. Grierson died, â€Å"Miss† Grierson died too. After his death, Emily was left unable to love, since her only love was now dead. The unusual and immoral love shared by â€Å"Miss Emily† and her father led to more tribulations later in Emily’s life, including her first and final att empt at attaining a husband. The second change evident in the story is seen through Emily’s relationship with Homer Barron. The narrator often refers to her as â€Å"Miss Emily† throughout the story. Even the narrator’s last reference to Emily in the tale, right before the discovery of Homer’s corpse, refers to her as â€Å"Miss Emily.† The use of the title â€Å"Miss† instead of â€Å"Ms.† or â€Å"Mrs.† indicates that the community members respect her as a Grierson, but not as a person, thus she gets the respect the townspeople deem she deserves. J. F. Kobler presents the argument that â€Å"†¦by calling her ‘Miss Emily’ [the townspeople] give her theShow MoreRelated The Role of the Watch in William Faulkners A Rose for Emily1199 Words   |  5 PagesThe Role of the Watch in William Faulkners A Rose for Emily Even the casual reader of William Faulkner will recognize the element of time as a crucial one in much of the writers work, and the critical attention given to the subject of time in Faulkner most certainly fills many pages of criticism. A goodly number of those pages of criticism deal with the well-known short story, A Rose for Emily. Several scholars, most notably Paul McGlynn, have worked to untangle the confusing chronologyRead MoreSetting, Change, and Resistance in Faulkners A Rose for Emily1610 Words   |  6 PagesSetting, Change and Resistance in Faulkners A Rose for Emily The years following the Civil War brought about a change in Southern life. 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