Miss Emily In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

During postbellum South, many former Confederate States’ citizens were left reeling from the destruction of the Civil War. Southerners, with their economy and land in ruins, yearned to return to a past more illustrious in memory than it ever was in reality. Indeed, Southerners did not give up their aristocratic social structure but rather clung to the final remnants of the South’s golden age. However, as time passes on, the newer generation becomes more progressive. They are less willing to hold on to the illusion of a lost past and look towards a future of productivity. As seen in William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily”, an unnamed, third-person narrator speaks for the small town of Jefferson and reflects on its desire to uphold …show more content…
The narration is comprised of three generations of the town: the generation of Miss Emily’s father, Miss Emily’s generation, and the newer generation that is made up of the children of Miss Emily’s contemporaries. Throughout the story, the town’s impression of Miss Emily changes with each generation. Initially, the townspeople watch Miss Emily very closely because of their own nostalgia to preserve pre-Civil War culture. For example, Colonel Sartoris assigns identities to people and classes. He “fathered the edict that no Negro woman should appear on the streets without an apron” (Faulkner) to keep blacks part of the lower class. Therefore, he remits her taxes because she is a lady of high class and respects her position. Moreover, because he considers Miss Emily a lady, Judge Stevens cannot state that she smells bad to her face, and aldermen are forced into the absurd task of sneaking onto her property. Similarly, Miss Emily’s generation envies her ability to carry herself highly, takes pleasure in discovering evidence that she falls back to normalcy, and uses her status against her when she courts a Yankee. They intervene to ensure that their social conventions are not violated. By calling on the cousins, the townspeople ensure Miss Emily’s “maiden virtue”, and, when Homer denies marriage, they encourage her to commit suicide to maintain her family honor. In contrast, the newer …show more content…
Obviously, in the case of Tobe and Homer, the former is a black man while the latter is a northerner. Since Jefferson still holds onto pre-Civil War social conventions, these men are considered outsiders and beneath them. For Colonel Sartoris and Judge Stevens, a newer generation of the town considers them as old men who still cling to the past. The narrator describes Sartoris’s actions as “only a man of Colonel Sartoris’ generation and thought could have invented it” (Faulkner). However, for Miss Emily, the town acts as both observer and participant in her plight as her position in Jefferson’s society fluctuates. Miss Emily is symbolized as “a fallen monument” (Faulkner) of the past as their views of her change from generation to generation. Initially, when her father was alive, the narrator states, “We had long thought of them as a tableau,” (Faulkner), indicating that she was thought of as the aristocratic class that was above them. When he dies, Jefferson is pleased about Miss Emily’s fall back to earth. The narrator explains, “At last they could pity Miss Emily. Being left alone, and a pauper, she had become humanized” (Faulkner). Moreover, when she attempts to court Homer Barron, the town still holds onto its Antebellum code of conduct and calls on her cousins to protect her virtue. But, for the newer