Emily Grierson In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

We have all known an ‘Emily Grierson’ at one point or another in our lives. We have all known someone who seems to think they are too important or too good to even be seen with someone that they think is a lesser to them. Someone who would rather sit alone, than make conversation with anyone they think will hurt their image. The ‘Emily Grierson’s’ in our world think that their human worth is defined by their status. We have words to describe people who think and act this way; arrogant, snob, conceited, but we rarely take the time to think about the reason for their behavior. Emily Grierson acts this way because many people had a negative effect on her personality. Mr. Grierson, Emily’s father, is a formidable man. We never meet Mr. Grierson, but his presence looms throughout the story and through Emily herself. Mr. Grierson was always controlling of Emily. I believe he was afraid of losing her. It is odd that in “A Rose for Emily” the narrator never mentions Emily’s mother. Possibly to emphasize the relationship between Emily and her father. I suspect that something tragic had happened to cause Mr. Grierson to be so protective of Emily and …show more content…
She is living in a different era than the town itself. “The newer generation became the backbone and the spirit of the town”, but Emily did not take the oppertunity to realize these changes might benefit her. She is lost in her own world, the only connection being Toby, who hardly has a voice to tell her. Her hair beings fading, turning gray, in contrast with society and culture of the town, which was flourishing. Miss Emily’s personality changed drastically after losing the one person that protected her, and again after losing the one man she loved. Emily never showed it though. She never let the town see her when she was weak. Emily grew up in the shadow of her overbearing father and her reluctance to change is the reason for her tragic