Themes Analysis ofA Rose for Emily

韓玉倩

Abstract：A Rose for Emily is a short story published in 1930 by William Faulkner. The themes are quite rich and inexhaustible. This paper will deal with five themes： the search for love and security ，death， the decline of the old South， patriarchal ideology and isolation.

Key words：The search for love and security ；Death；The decline of the old South；Patriarchal ideology； Isolation.

一、Brief Introduction of the Story

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner is an unusual story about Emily Grierson. The background of it is the post Civil War society. The main character---Miss Emily is a woman who lives in the old southern town of Jefferson. She is a submissive daughter to her father who arrogantly "drove away all the young men because he thought "none of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such". In the summer after her fathers death， "a foreman named Homer Barron， a Yankee" came to the town. Presently the town people "began to see him and Miss Emily on Sunday afternoons driving in the yellow-wheeled buggy". Then they saw Emily buy arsenic. Later "A neighbor saw the Negro man admit" Homer Barron "at the kitchen door at dusk one evening" and "That was the last" they saw him. Whereafter they hardly saw Emily， only breathed the unpleasant smell from the house. Until the end of the story， after "Miss Emily was decently in the ground" the town people broke in the upstairs room ， they find a man with "profound and fleshless grin" lie in the bed "in the attitude of an embrace". Beside him"in the second pillow was the indentation of a head" and "a long strand of iron-gray hair" which was the same with Emilys.

The story was told not chronologically. Flashback is used to arrange the plot thus creates suspense. The narrator of the story is one from the town， thus the story is told from the firstperson point of view and the narrator is a minor character. There are some foreshadowings in the story to hint the tragic end， for example the arsenic and the smell.

二、Themes of This Story

The themes of this story are quite abundant. This paper will analyze from five aspects ： the search for love and security ，death， the decline of the old South， patriarchal ideology and isolation.

1、The search for love and security. Search for love and security is a basic human need which can be met unfavorably in equivocal environments. Miss Emily used to living under the shelter and control of his father who as an aristocrat "drove away all the young men because"none of the young men are quite good enough for Miss Emily and such". Unfortunately her father died， which was a great blow to her. She even preventing the town people disposing of the body by telling them that her father was not dead "for there days". The town people "knew that with nothing left ， she would have to cling to that which had robbed her， as people will." As a woman， it is quite reasonable and necessary to find a partner who can give her the sense of security. Thus after Homer Barron came to her lie ， she began to go out every Sunday afternoon. Homer Barron ---"a big， dark， ready man， with a big voice and eyes lighter than his face" looks masculine thus fits her very well. She is obsessed by him so much that she wants to marry him. But Homer Barron remarked that he liked men and he was not a marrying man. This disappointed Miss Emily a lot， finally led to her murder. The author also shows compassion to Emily. That is why he titled this story A Rose for Emily while there is completely no rose in this story at all. The rose---a symbol of love is given to the protagonist to show the authors attitude.

2、Death.Death is prevalent， both literally and figuratively， in “A Rose for Emily.” Five actual deaths are discussed or mentioned in passing， and there are obvious references to death throughout the story. The story begins in section one with the narrators recollections of Emilys funeral. He reminisces that it is Emilys fathers death that prompts Colonel Sartoris to remit her taxes “into perpetuity.” This leads to the story of the aldermen attempting to collect taxes from Emily. The narrators description of Emily is that of a drowned woman： “She looked bloated， like a body long submerged in motionless water， and of that pallid hue.” One of the reasons the aldermen are bold enough to try to collect Emilys taxes is that Colonel Sartoris has been dead for a decade. Of course， this doesnt discourage Emily — she expects the men to discuss the matter with him anyway. When the narrator returns to the subject of the death of Emilys father， he reveals that Emily at first denies that he is dead. She keeps his body for three days before she finally breaks down and allows her father to be buried. This scene foreshadows the grisly discovery at the end of the story. The narrator also mentions the madness and death of old lady Wyatt， Emilys greataunt. Finally， the discovery of a long strand of iron-gray hair lying on a pillow next to the moldy corpse entombed in Emilys boudoir suggests that Emily is a necrophiliac （literally， “one who loves the dead”）.

3、The Decline of the Old South.One of the major themes in Faulkners fiction is the decline of the Old South after the Civil War. There are many examples of this theme in “A Rose for Emily.” Before the Civil War， Southern society was composed of landed gentry， merchants， tenant farmers， and slaves. The aristocratic men of this period had an unspoken code of chivalry， and women were the innocent， pure guardians of morality. For example， Colonel Sartoris concocts an elaborate story to spare Emilys feelings when he remits her taxes；the narrator states， “Only a man of Colonel Sartoriss generation and thought could have invented [the story]， and only a woman could have believed it.” When the smell develops around the Grierson house， a younger man suggests that Emily should be confronted with it. Judge Stevens， who is from the same generation as the Colonel， asks him， “Dammit， sir. . . will you accuse a lady to her face of smelling bad？” It is also noted that Emilys father is from this same generation， an arrogant Southern aristocrat who believes that no man is good enough for his daughter.

However， post-Civil War society in the South was radically different. At one time， the Grierson home was in one of the finest neighborhoods in Jefferson； by the time of Emilys death， “. . . garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood.” The generation that follows Colonel Sartoris is not swayed by his old Southern code of honor. This is why the twentieth-century Jefferson Board of Aldermen attempts to collect Emilys taxes a decade after the Colonels death. The reaction to the Yankee， Homer Barron， also serves to delineate the difference between the generations. The younger generation finds it easier to accept Homer， while the older folks find his relationship with a woman born to old Southern gentility unacceptable. Emilys china-painting lessons also show the change in Southern society. Her pupils are the daughters and granddaughters of Colonel Sartoriss contemporaries. However， the narrator notes that “. . . the painting pupils grew up and fell away and did not send their children to her with boxes of color and tedious brushes and pictures cut from the ladies magazines.” Finally， Emilys dark secret might serve as a metaphor for the general decadence of the Old South.

4、Isolation.The odd relationship between the town of Jefferson and Emily is a recurrent theme in “A Rose for Emily.” At her funeral， the narrator notes that Emily has been “. . .a tradition， a duty， and a care； a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town.” However， Emily has very little to do with the townspeople during her life. Her father prevents her from dating anyone because he doesnt believe any of the men in Jefferson are good enough for her and， after his death， Emily continues to isolate herself from the rest of the community for the better part of her life. The only notable exceptions to her isolation are her Sunday rides with Homer Barron， her shopping trips for arsenic and mens clothing， and the china-painting lessons she gives to the young women of the town for a few years. These exceptions only serve to show how alienated Emily is from the rest of Jefferson.

Although Emily is indifferent to the town， the town seems to be almost obsessed with her. The reaction Jefferson has to her relationship with Homer Barron exemplifies this obsession. The ladies of Jefferson are mortified because they think the relationship is “. . . a disgrace to the town and a bad example to the young people.” The older people dislike the relationship because they think it is bad form for a Southern woman to associate with a Yankee. The narrator pities Emily and secretly hopes that she will outsmart her cousins and marry Homer. These various reactions demonstrate an interesting conflict. Even though Emily views herself as separate from the community， the community still embraces her. They view her as “. . . an idol in a niche . . . passed from generation to generation — dear， inescapable， impervious， tranquil， and perverse.” The tragic end of the story constitutes a warning against the sin of the pride： heroic isolation pushed to far ends in homicidal madness.

5、Patriarchal ideology.This is another theme. Partly due to her father， Miss Emily was called "miss" all her life. He haughtily "drove away all the young men" without considering Emilys opinion and gave no chance for her to pursuit her own love when she was at the proper age. He thoroughly arranged and controlled her life before his death. As a father， he did not develop Emilys independence. Consequently after he passed away， her life was changed reluctantly. She refused to go out to connect and communicate with others and even "was sick for a long time". She recovers only when another man， Homer Barron， enters her life to take care of her. To physically get better， Emily has to be under another mans dominance， and， when he would leave Emily like her father did， Emily keeps him by poisoning him. Even after Homers death， she sleeps next to his dead body and leaves an “indentation of [her] head” next to his. Emily can not let go of the old beliefs that are ingrained in her mind， the belief that she needs a man to be complete. All throughout the story， Emily also has "a doddering Negro man to wait on her”. Another man is taking care of Emily until her death， and this servant， even possibly a slave， emphasizes Emilys conservatism even in a changing society. While Emilys two female cousins can travel alone and， later on， hold her funeral service without the guidance of men， Emily is dependent on countless men in her life， and dies alone and sad because of this； the last hint of old- fashioned， patriarchal beliefs have no place in the maturing world of Emilys society.

三、Conclusion

This short story gives a vivid and detailed description about South America which was on the wane at that time， and showed solicitude for the miserable fates of the female. A story as short as it is can reflect so many themes. That is why this story can attract so many readers from generation to generation and the author---William Faulkner is highly respected and glorified.

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