William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

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William Faulkner, in “A Rose for Emily,” incorporates a lack of chronological order that emphasizes an absence of time, vivid imagery, and subtle symbolism to reveal that humanity’s obsession with the past fosters isolation and separation from the rest of the world. When telling the tale of Miss Emily, Faulkner employs unorthodox tactics to manipulate the sense of time in his story. Typical narrations follow linear and chronological guidelines; however, Faulkner omits any chronological sequencing in his short story. His absence of order skews the perception of time, generating the feeling that time does not exist; the past, present, and future no longer have control over the story. Faulkner’s attempt to stop time parallels Miss Emily’s attempt…show more content…
Miss Emily’s life spans 74 years, during which the South commences to transition from the old, antebellum ways to the new, modern ways. This transition establishes a South no longer set on aristocratic power and tradition. This new South ends the reign of the aristocratic superiority of the Grierson family. Suggesting a prideful tone to exemplify Miss Emily’s love for her aristocratic status and power, Faulkner says that “She carried her head high [. . .] It was as if she demanded more than ever the recognition of her dignity as the last Grierson; as if it had wanted that touch of earthliness to reaffirm her imperviousness” (Faulkner 286). Miss Emily does not want to surrender her power or pride for the good of the cause, or in this case, for the good of the South. As the last Grierson, she has a duty to protect her family status at whatever the cost. The cost of her pride occurs as complete isolation and separation from the world. Miss Emily shuts out…show more content…
Faulkner represents these consequences by creating two contrasting images of Miss Emily as a young girl and Miss Emily as an old woman. Miss Emily begins her life as a youthful and slender girl in a white dress, but Faulkner later goes on to contrast this image when he describes her as “a small, fat woman in black [. . .] she looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue. Her eyes, lost in the fatty ridges of her face [. . .]” (Faulkner 283). Faulkner’s description and imagery reveal his character’s loss of innocence; her transition from white to black. No longer the girl in the white dress, Miss Emily forfeits her innocence through her attempts to stop time and maintain her power. Miss Emily only saw one solution to stop her slow descent from superiority: shutting the doors of her home to preserve the past. Playing with time, Miss Emily loses grasp of reality and enters a state of delusion. Her extensive period of isolation and separation from the world causes Miss Emily to lose sight of the line between reality and imagination, as seen when Faulkner describes her eyes as “lost.” In this delusional state, Miss Emily commits the acts that lead to the loss of her innocence. Miss Emily’s attempt to isolate herself in her home in order to stop the passing of time backfires. The external
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