Image courtesy ofBergadderonpixabay.com
Character Analysis: Emily Grierson
Headstrongand rigid, Emily Grierson is the main character in William Faulkner’s “A Rosefor Emily”. One of the best examples of a flat character, Emily is stuck inboth time and space never evolving in her views, or changing her interactionswith wider society. This we see through various events in the story, the mostprominent being her flat out refusal to pay her taxes. Other instances includeher rejection of having a mailbox put up, and her slow acceptance of father’spassing. She has lost grip of reality and of those around her to the point,that she fails to realize that her most staunch defender, Colonel Sartoris, diedclose to a decade ago. While we notice a shift in the narrative voicethroughout the story, Emily remains the same, stuck in the days of great whitehouses and the prestige of being a Grierson. Though her behavior may be viewedas merely eccentric, the narrator hints at the possibility that Emily isactually mentally unstable (something which is later revealed to be true whenwe discover she is a possible necrophiliac). When she purchases Arsenic at thelocal drugstore, the assumption was quickly made that Emily was planning tocommit suicide. Emily not only refuses to bury her father after his death, thereader also discovers that she killed Homer Barron.The narrator blames Emily’smental state on her Father who is portrayed as being extremely protective, neverallowing Emily to interact with her male counterparts. Evidence of this can befound in the imagery established by the narrator, Emily in the backgroundstanding behind her father who holds a whip in one hand. This imagery shows himas the type that was never the kind to show fatherly affection, a stern man,something which might explain Emily's failure at interacting with those aroundher.
Despiteher mental instability, Emily is also portrayed as a very strong woman. Thenarrator establishes this early on when he notes that Emily was buried amongsoldiers, and that the men of the neighborhood dressed in their Confederateuniforms to attend her funeral. Just as the story opens with this imagery itcloses with it as well, with the discovery of her "iron gray hair" onthe pillow.The narrator states that her hair turned an "iron gray" asshe aged, suggesting that Emily had a hardness to her, that somehow she hadbeen hardened by life. We again see her strength when we discover that Emilymurdered Homer Barron and kept his for the rest of her life. The narratordescribes that Emily “co*ckolded” him, dominating him in the end. Emily is oftencompared to Katherine Mansfield main character Miss Brill who like Emily, haslost her grip on reality.
CharacterAnalysis: Homer Barron
Describedas a smooth talking Yankee, Homer Barron is a construction worker who seems totake an interest in Emily as a possible suitor. We know little of Homer Barronbefore he moves to the town, we do know, however, that he is the exact oppositeof Emily. Homer Barron is outgoing, friendly and very effervescent, thenarrator notes that whenever there is any excitement in the town, Homer Barroncan often be found in the middle of it.
HomerBaron develops what can only be thought of as a romantic relationship withEmily, and the narrator noted that they could often be seen driving aroundtown. Things, however, do not develop any further causing the town to gossipabout the cause for its slow development. Homer Barron’s decision to not marryEmily has been heavily debated,and it is mainly due to the narrator statingthat he “not the marrying type and he prefers men.” The two commoninterpretations of that statement is that he is simply an alpha male whothoroughly enjoys the bachelor life, and the other being that he is ahom*osexual. While the latter interpretation may seem accurate in contemporarytimes, it does seem highly unlikely considering the fact that the people of thetown are very conservative. They were shocked at the idea that Emily wouldmarry a Yankee, and even forced the church’s involvement in his supposedpremarital relationship with Emily. The narrator noted that the women andelders viewed it as a negative influence on the youth. In such a close knittown, where all eyes seemed to be on their relationship, where gossiping evenamong men occurred, it seems highly unlikely that had he been gay, it wouldgarner only a small statement on the part of the narrator. It is possible,however, that considering the nature of the topic, and also the possibilitythat the narrator was only reiterating rumors, the narrator thought it betterto only hint at it, than to outright make such a claim. Also, though the mostblatant, it may not be the only instance which the narrator hints at hishom*osexual lifestyle. Upon entering Emily’s room and finding a dead HomerBaron, the narrator does describe him as being “co*ckolded” a word whichgenerally means emasculated. Taken in the context of when the story was writtenthat description could have a double meaning. hom*osexual or not we do know thatHomer Barron and Emily never marry, something which eventually leads to himbeing murdered.
Image courtesy ofBergadderonpixabay.com
Character Analysis: Emily Grierson
Headstrongand rigid, Emily Grierson is the main character in William Faulkner’s “A Rosefor Emily”. One of the best examples of a flat character, Emily is stuck inboth time and space never evolving in her views, or changing her interactionswith wider society. This we see through various events in the story, the mostprominent being her flat out refusal to pay her taxes. Other instances includeher rejection of having a mailbox put up, and her slow acceptance of father’spassing. She has lost grip of reality and of those around her to the point,that she fails to realize that her most staunch defender, Colonel Sartoris, diedclose to a decade ago. While we notice a shift in the narrative voicethroughout the story, Emily remains the same, stuck in the days of great whitehouses and the prestige of being a Grierson. Though her behavior may be viewedas merely eccentric, the narrator hints at the possibility that Emily isactually mentally unstable (something which is later revealed to be true whenwe discover she is a possible necrophiliac). When she purchases Arsenic at thelocal drugstore, the assumption was quickly made that Emily was planning tocommit suicide. Emily not only refuses to bury her father after his death, thereader also discovers that she killed Homer Barron.The narrator blames Emily’smental state on her Father who is portrayed as being extremely protective, neverallowing Emily to interact with her male counterparts. Evidence of this can befound in the imagery established by the narrator, Emily in the backgroundstanding behind her father who holds a whip in one hand. This imagery shows himas the type that was never the kind to show fatherly affection, a stern man,something which might explain Emily's failure at interacting with those aroundher.
Despiteher mental instability, Emily is also portrayed as a very strong woman. Thenarrator establishes this early on when he notes that Emily was buried amongsoldiers, and that the men of the neighborhood dressed in their Confederateuniforms to attend her funeral. Just as the story opens with this imagery itcloses with it as well, with the discovery of her "iron gray hair" onthe pillow.The narrator states that her hair turned an "iron gray" asshe aged, suggesting that Emily had a hardness to her, that somehow she hadbeen hardened by life. We again see her strength when we discover that Emilymurdered Homer Barron and kept his for the rest of her life. The narratordescribes that Emily “co*ckolded” him, dominating him in the end. Emily is oftencompared to Katherine Mansfield main character Miss Brill who like Emily, haslost her grip on reality.
CharacterAnalysis: Homer Barron
Describedas a smooth talking Yankee, Homer Barron is a construction worker who seems totake an interest in Emily as a possible suitor. We know little of Homer Barronbefore he moves to the town, we do know, however, that he is the exact oppositeof Emily. Homer Barron is outgoing, friendly and very effervescent, thenarrator notes that whenever there is any excitement in the town, Homer Barroncan often be found in the middle of it.
HomerBaron develops what can only be thought of as a romantic relationship withEmily, and the narrator noted that they could often be seen driving aroundtown. Things, however, do not develop any further causing the town to gossipabout the cause for its slow development. Homer Barron’s decision to not marryEmily has been heavily debated,and it is mainly due to the narrator statingthat he “not the marrying type and he prefers men.” The two commoninterpretations of that statement is that he is simply an alpha male whothoroughly enjoys the bachelor life, and the other being that he is ahom*osexual. While the latter interpretation may seem accurate in contemporarytimes, it does seem highly unlikely considering the fact that the people of thetown are very conservative. They were shocked at the idea that Emily wouldmarry a Yankee, and even forced the church’s involvement in his supposedpremarital relationship with Emily. The narrator noted that the women andelders viewed it as a negative influence on the youth. In such a close knittown, where all eyes seemed to be on their relationship, where gossiping evenamong men occurred, it seems highly unlikely that had he been gay, it wouldgarner only a small statement on the part of the narrator. It is possible,however, that considering the nature of the topic, and also the possibilitythat the narrator was only reiterating rumors, the narrator thought it betterto only hint at it, than to outright make such a claim. Also, though the mostblatant, it may not be the only instance which the narrator hints at hishom*osexual lifestyle. Upon entering Emily’s room and finding a dead HomerBaron, the narrator does describe him as being “co*ckolded” a word whichgenerally means emasculated. Taken in the context of when the story was writtenthat description could have a double meaning. hom*osexual or not we do know thatHomer Barron and Emily never marry, something which eventually leads to himbeing murdered.
