In Faulkner's short story, the main character, Emily, is oppressed and damaged by a concept of privileged white womanhood and the overall cult of true womanhood. Faulkner uses the setting and plot in "A Rose for Emily" to present the roles, demands, and pressures placed on women during the early 20th century and the ways in which it can wear people down. The South is portrayed as a powerfully traditional, family-centered region in which women have clearly defined social roles. In 1894 this story was written, which is significant because in the late 1800's women were considered to be beneath men in the strata of society and governed by the ideas of true womanhood. This time period was before women were given equal rights in regard to voting
