Patriarchy In A Rose For Emily

The portrayal of the female characters in William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily” depicts women in a subordinate light. The title of the story itself suggests a relative connection between a female and the traditional act of giving a rose as a statement of respect or courtship. Indeed, the story revolves around Emily Grierson who appears to have aged badly over the course of her disappointing life. Right from the beginning of the story, Faulkner establishes an assertion of women in the way he describes Miss Emily. Through a feminist literary approach, it is evident that Faulkner intended his piece to illustrate and embody ideals from the older generations when women were inferior to men. In the story, women are measured and perceived by men and society not by their intelligence, but by their beauty and competence to keep and marry a man at a young age. This means that Faulkner displays the outdated patriarchy system in …show more content…
Male dominance is undoubtedly evident and the significance of the rose alludes to the argument that women are subordinate in this short story. Although a rose is never presented in the story, the title implies that the flower is being given to a female. Timothy O'Brien’s journal, Who Arose for Emily?, supports this assertion by connecting it to Miss Emily and Homer Barron’s relationship, “As for the story’s critics, they focus on the cultural symbolism of the rose itself. It can represent Emily as a treasured memory. It can refer to Homer Barron as Emily’s romantic rose, a keepsake rose..” (101). Why must Emily be referred to as the keepsake and an object towards Mr. Barron? The simplicity of a rose is in turn represented as statement to assert the patriarchy system in society. O’Brien is supporting the argument that Miss Emily is an object or property of Mr. Barron’s, as he does not view her as an equal to