The Hidden Motive: “A Rose for Emily”
Faulkner’s story of a daughter who was born into wealth in the deep South, “A Rose for Emily” leaves the reader with the impression that no one will ever know if the meaning of the story directly relates to the motive for the murder of Homer Barron. Faulkner’s use of first person plural narration, left the reader in suspense with a need to be the detective in the case of the noble women who murdered her lover. Since Tobe, the servant, ran off as soon as Miss Emily passed, he was the only witness to what took place over many decades (Faulkner 5). Thus, the case may be hard to crack with the complexity created by the narration of only the events the townspeople remember and the jumbled chronological order …show more content…
The father-daughter relationship seemed to reflect an emotional distance as the father was always seen standing in front of Emily with his horsewhip, while she stood in the foreground all dressed in white (Faulkner 2). In contrary, Emily’s intimacy towards her father presented itself upon his death, when she could not admit he was dead and refused to have the body removed from the home (Faulkner 2). Although, the townspeople did not describe her at that point as being crazy, they said she “broke down” (had a psychotic occurrence in which she retreated from reality), and that she had “to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will” (Faulkner 2). Immediately following her father’s death, Emily recoiled into her childhood by cutting her hair short and isolating herself in the house like an abandoned orphan (Faulkner 3). At this point the reader can directly connect these events with Electra Complex. For those who are unfamiliar Carl Jung derived a theory that during a girl’s development they may have an increasing love for their father accompanied with increased animosity for their mother. The complex was named after a Greek goddess whose mother murdered her father and the goddess (Electra), retaliated and murdered her mother. Which raises the questions; Did Emily have Electra Complex? Did she not want to share her father’s attention with anyone? Could that be the reason her mother was never mentioned in the story and her Great Aunt went completely
Faulkner’s story of a daughter who was born into wealth in the deep South, “A Rose for Emily” leaves the reader with the impression that no one will ever know if the meaning of the story directly relates to the motive for the murder of Homer Barron. Faulkner’s use of first person plural narration, left the reader in suspense with a need to be the detective in the case of the noble women who murdered her lover. Since Tobe, the servant, ran off as soon as Miss Emily passed, he was the only witness to what took place over many decades (Faulkner 5). Thus, the case may be hard to crack with the complexity created by the narration of only the events the townspeople remember and the jumbled chronological order …show more content…
The father-daughter relationship seemed to reflect an emotional distance as the father was always seen standing in front of Emily with his horsewhip, while she stood in the foreground all dressed in white (Faulkner 2). In contrary, Emily’s intimacy towards her father presented itself upon his death, when she could not admit he was dead and refused to have the body removed from the home (Faulkner 2). Although, the townspeople did not describe her at that point as being crazy, they said she “broke down” (had a psychotic occurrence in which she retreated from reality), and that she had “to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will” (Faulkner 2). Immediately following her father’s death, Emily recoiled into her childhood by cutting her hair short and isolating herself in the house like an abandoned orphan (Faulkner 3). At this point the reader can directly connect these events with Electra Complex. For those who are unfamiliar Carl Jung derived a theory that during a girl’s development they may have an increasing love for their father accompanied with increased animosity for their mother. The complex was named after a Greek goddess whose mother murdered her father and the goddess (Electra), retaliated and murdered her mother. Which raises the questions; Did Emily have Electra Complex? Did she not want to share her father’s attention with anyone? Could that be the reason her mother was never mentioned in the story and her Great Aunt went completely