a rose for emily

A Review of A Rose for Emily

A Rose for Emily is a macabre short story that gives us a glimpse of Southern American life in the late 1800 's and early 1900 's . It is a tale of repression , and can be considered a study in abnormal psychology . It also demonstrates that privilege ' can actually be a curse , rather than a blessing Emily was insane , and the main influence on Emily that drove her to insanity was her father 's repressiveness and possessiveness . Her father who drove away all the young

men who came to court her , denied her of companionship and rendered her desperate for love , and the extreme repression experienced by Emily under her father resulted in her distorted mind . Emily 's father believed in all the old values of southern aristocracy , with a misdirected regard for Emily 's well being Emily was trapped in a web of aristocratic mores , but was denied the love that she needed . Because her father drove away all prospective companions , when he dies Emily goes into a state of unreasonable denial because then she was truly alone

The story itself is presented in non-chronological , where we discover only little by little the influences that caused Emily 's degenerate state . This is one of the reasons for the story 's power it is important primarily in maintaining interest in the story . If the story had been told in chronological , events would have been predictable and the overall effect would be severely degraded . The only surprise would have been that Emily was indeed insane because she used to sleep with Homer 's corpse The traditional role of women , especially those of aristocracy , had much to do with Emily 's insanity , and because of Emily 's past repression , this expectation of society was not something that Emily 's desperate and deprived personality could abide with , and in her madness she arrived at the drastic decision of killing Homer Barron

The townspeople were glad that they could pity her ' when her father died , which , in a way , reflects their resentment of the Grierson 's maintained superiority ( The Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were . Emily was too entrenched in her obsolete aristocratic mores to realize that an acceptance of the changing world around her could help achieve fulfillment . Emily was never fulfilled by the end of Emily 's life , she still lacked the love that she despaired for all her life

Furthermore , for the townspeople , Emily , as a Grierson , represented the aristocracy of the South , and was considered a fallen monument ' upon her death . Emily was severely affected by the mores of the society she lived in she was a lady , and life thus became a prison for her particularly because of her insistence on her noblesse oblige ' She lived alone because of this , and the townspeople 's attitude enforced her solitude

I guess its true that the best art is that which involves a shock of recognition ' In the story Faulkner again gives the reader a perspective on "the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself " which we all have some experience in . A Rose for Emily demonstrates a tragedy that comes from unwillingness to be thyself adhering instead to roles appointed us by society ...