Emily Grierson, the main character in William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily,” is certainly strange by any average reader’s standards and even more so by the standards of her native Jefferson, Mississippi. Emily is a static character; despite the changes that take place around her, she remains unaltered throughout the story. Faulkner describes her as a “little misshapen” woman with heavy weight and multiple chins. She had thick white hair that curled naturally. Her skin was pale and dry. Even at the age of thirty, she still looked like a child.
Emily lived with her father until he died. And after his death, she never left her house again–not even after she was supposedly engaged to Homer Barron. Everyone in town thought that Emily was going to marry Homer, but no one ever saw him again after he and Emily took a few drives together in her father’s car. The next time anyone saw Emily, she was back in her house–and she never left it again until the day she died.
Emily is a very mysterious character throughout the story. She is a loner who doesn’t seem to have any close friends. And even though she is from a wealthy family, she doesn’t socialize with the other members of the upper class. It’s as if Emily is living in her own little world–a world that no one else can enter.
When we first meet Emily, she is already a very strange and mysterious figure. She is a loner who doesn’t seem to have any close friends. And even though she is from a wealthy family, she doesn’t socialize with the other members of the upper class. It’s as if Emily is living in her own little world–a world that no one else can enter.
Emily becomes even more mysterious after her father’s death. She refuses to leave her house and she never lets anyone inside of it. The only people who are allowed into Emily’s world are the servants that she employs. No one knows what goes on inside of Emily’s house–not even the narrator.
The mystery surrounding Emily Grierson is finally solved when the townspeople break into her house after she dies. They find that Emily has been sleeping in a room upstairs that is filled with the smell of death. In this room, they also find Homer Barron’s body. Emily had killed Homer and then slept next to his corpse for years.
Many individuals are trapped in the past and refuse to accept reality, present circumstances, and modernity. One example of such a person is Emily Grierson in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.” Emily Grierson was an unusual personality with distinct features.
A few of Emily’s characteristics are that she is a loner, she is not good at dealing with change, and also that she is a very prideful person.
Emily Grierson was a loner because she never married, had any kids, or even had too many close friends. A big reason for this could be that her father drove all her would-be suitors away while she was younger. Emily was not used to having anyone around and when her father died, she became even more of a loner. The only person she was really close to was her servant, Tobe. Even then, their relationship was not typical as Tobe did everything for Emily and never really talked back to her. He just did as he was told.
Emily was not good at dealing with change because she could not let go of the past, specifically her father. When her father died, she refused to let anyone take his body away or even clean up his room. She just wanted everything to stay the same as it was when he was alive. Emily also could not deal with the change of losing Tobe as her servant. When Tobe ran away, she went into a deep depression and stopped leaving her house altogether. The only change she was able to deal with was getting a new servant, Homer Barron, but even then she did not handle it well.
Emily was very prideful and always wanted to seem like she had everything together. A big part of this was because she came from a wealthy family and she did not want to lose that status. Even when she was poor and living in a rundown house, she still wanted people to believe that she was wealthy. She did not want anyone to know her father had lost all their money and that she could not even afford a servant. Emily was so prideful that she refused to admit that Homer Barron was not interested in marrying her. She killed him instead and kept his body in her house for years just so no one would know the truth.
Emily Grierson was a strange character with many distinguished characteristics. She was a loner, she did not deal well with change, and she was very prideful. While these characteristics might seem negative, they also show that Emily was a strong and determined person. Even though she was stuck in the past, she still managed to hold on and survive.
Her appearance, face, and expression all suggest a sense of dullness and stillness in her life. “She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue,” the description goes on to say. Her eyes, lost in the fatty ridges of her face, appeared like two tiny pieces of coal pressed into a mass of dough as they passed from one face to another…” (29). The author’s portrayal of Emily and the characteristics of her face enhance this notion.
Emily’s figure is described as “bloated”, which can be interpreted to mean that she is not the healthiest person, both physically and mentally. Furthermore, her eyes are said to be “lost” among the ridges of her face, which suggests that she is not entirely present in reality. Instead, she seems to be living in her own world, one that does not involve other people.
The way Faulkner describes Emily’s house furthers the image of her being disconnected from the rest of the world. The house is “set on what had once been our most select street,” (29) but it has fallen into disrepair and looks very different from the other houses on the street. This could symbolize Emily’s own decline into madness and her isolation from the people around her.
Emily is a very secretive person and does not let anyone into her life. She does not allow the townspeople to enter her house and she does not tell anyone about her relationship with Homer Barron. She is content to live in her own little world and does not want anyone to intrude on it.
While Emily is certainly a tragic figure, she is also a fascinating one. Her mysteriousness and secrecy make her an intriguing character that allows for plenty of speculation.
