Character Analysis of Emily Grierson In William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily", the main character Emily Grierson is a burden to the town she resides in. Emily is living in a town that is still being haunted by the Civil War due to her presence.The town views her the way it views its confederate, agrarian past – it has to take care of it, but at the same time, they are stuck with it although they don't want to be. The location of the story explains the town's faliure to move on to a new chapter. Due to her inability to let the past go, isolated home, wicked appearance and dreary attire the town feels as if Emily is a burden to their newfound generation. Emily Grierson has a major problem with clinging to things. During the death of her
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Just as Ms. Greierson did not reveal herself to the outside world, she treated her house in the same manner, for it had a smell of "dust and disuse – a close, dank smell" (Faulkner 34). Both Ms. Grierson and her home give a sense of old and decay. Moreover, the home also has an ominous spirit about it, due to its lack of light (Faulkner 34). This conveys that the home is dead – with no life. Which symbolizes the corpse of Homer Barron as well as the dead presence of Ms. Grierson. Furthermore, if the home is dark then the blinds of her home are closed, closing her in from the outside world. Lastly, the smell seeping from the home got so bad that four men had to sneak and sprinkle lime around the household (Faulkner 36). Needless to say, lime is used to eliminate odor of a decomposing body. Not only does the smell of Homer Barron's corpse cause the bad smell, but so does the presence of Ms. Grierson. Although Ms. Grierson doesn't literally stink up the town, her presence does leave a dissatisfying image with the townspeople.The horrific smell causes everyone to stay clear of Ms. Grierson's household. With the dark gloomy look of the house, Ms. Grierson's isolation from the community is further emphasized throughout the short …show more content…
When she is first introduced she is said to be "a small, fat woman in black..."(Faulkner 34). Ms. Grierson does not have the petite figure that the townspeople remember; she is now a fat woman that has allowed life's hardships to have a huge impact on her life. Ms. Grierson no longer wears white; instead she has transformed her wardrobe and is now wearing black. The color black insinuates that she has become evil and has "joined the dark side". Ms. Grierson is also said to have worn a gold chain around her neck that vanished into her belt. Although the chain was not visible, the deputation claimed that they could hear the watch ticking at the end of the gold chain (Faulkner 35). The ticking of the watch symbolizes the amount of time that Ms. Gierson has to become happy before her time is up. With every tick, her chances of being happy are decreased. Ms. Grierson's appearance also gives off an image of the living dead – "She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue"( Faulkner 35). Ms. Grierson has not only been living with death in the form of Homer Barron;s corpse, but she too becomes a corpse herself – a living corpse.The appearance of Ms. Grierson is uninviting, which detaches her from everyone in the town. Although many events took place in this story, one thing is clearly shown to the reader: Emily Grerison's character. Emily Grierson is shown to be
Just as Ms. Greierson did not reveal herself to the outside world, she treated her house in the same manner, for it had a smell of "dust and disuse – a close, dank smell" (Faulkner 34). Both Ms. Grierson and her home give a sense of old and decay. Moreover, the home also has an ominous spirit about it, due to its lack of light (Faulkner 34). This conveys that the home is dead – with no life. Which symbolizes the corpse of Homer Barron as well as the dead presence of Ms. Grierson. Furthermore, if the home is dark then the blinds of her home are closed, closing her in from the outside world. Lastly, the smell seeping from the home got so bad that four men had to sneak and sprinkle lime around the household (Faulkner 36). Needless to say, lime is used to eliminate odor of a decomposing body. Not only does the smell of Homer Barron's corpse cause the bad smell, but so does the presence of Ms. Grierson. Although Ms. Grierson doesn't literally stink up the town, her presence does leave a dissatisfying image with the townspeople.The horrific smell causes everyone to stay clear of Ms. Grierson's household. With the dark gloomy look of the house, Ms. Grierson's isolation from the community is further emphasized throughout the short …show more content…
When she is first introduced she is said to be "a small, fat woman in black..."(Faulkner 34). Ms. Grierson does not have the petite figure that the townspeople remember; she is now a fat woman that has allowed life's hardships to have a huge impact on her life. Ms. Grierson no longer wears white; instead she has transformed her wardrobe and is now wearing black. The color black insinuates that she has become evil and has "joined the dark side". Ms. Grierson is also said to have worn a gold chain around her neck that vanished into her belt. Although the chain was not visible, the deputation claimed that they could hear the watch ticking at the end of the gold chain (Faulkner 35). The ticking of the watch symbolizes the amount of time that Ms. Gierson has to become happy before her time is up. With every tick, her chances of being happy are decreased. Ms. Grierson's appearance also gives off an image of the living dead – "She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue"( Faulkner 35). Ms. Grierson has not only been living with death in the form of Homer Barron;s corpse, but she too becomes a corpse herself – a living corpse.The appearance of Ms. Grierson is uninviting, which detaches her from everyone in the town. Although many events took place in this story, one thing is clearly shown to the reader: Emily Grerison's character. Emily Grierson is shown to be