The Theme of A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner (1930)

1.      Isolation Theme

In "A Rose for Emily", the theme of isolation plays an important role. The concept of isolation is most clearly reflected in the life of the protagonist, Miss Emily herself. Miss Emily is the most isolated character in the story.

Faulkner opens "A Rose for Emily" that shows the community's reaction to her death and describes the scene through gender differences. Although both men and women attend the funeral, they do so for very distinct reasons.

·         “When Miss Emily died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old manservant- a combined gardener and cook- had seen in at least ten years"(paragraph 1)

This funeral moment at the beginning of the story sets up the divisions that exist between Emily and the town. This sets the framework for Emily's isolation in life by talking about her funeral.  Miss Emily is a woman who had the whole town wondering what she was doing, but did not allow anyone the pleasure of finding out. From this we see what motivates the townspeople to attend Emily's funeral. Although the men attend the funeral to show a sort of respectful affection, the men have attended because they feel obligated to. The women on the other hand show up just so that they can see the inside of her house and learn more about her life.

More proof of Emily is isolated. Emily:

·         “None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such. We had long thought of them as a tableau, Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung front door. So when she got to be thirty and was still single, we were not pleased exactly,”(paragraph 25)

Grierson lives her life under her father. Her father thinks that no man is good enough for his daughter because Emily grew up in a rich family with a powerful name in a small town. They believed that they were better than everyone else and everyone else agreed, so they stayed pretty separated. But when people did try to interact with her, Miss Emily's father scared them away, he pushes anyone who comes near his daughter. her father has driven all the men who wanted to enter her life.  As a result of that, when she got to be thirty, she was still alone. She is left alone after her father’s death. Her attitude towards men is affected by her father. Therefore she isolates herself from others because she is used to living under her father which causes her to become lonely.

·         “When we next saw Miss Emily, she had grown fat and her hair was turning gray. (Paragraph 48)

·         “From that time on her front door remained closed, save for a period of six or seven years, when she was about forty, during which she gave lessons in china-painting”(Paragraph 49)

Once Barron disappeared for the last time, the town saw less and less of Miss Emily, and when she did show herself again, she had grown fat and gray. Except for a period of six or seven years in her forties when she gave china-painting lessons to the children of the town, Miss Emily effectively removed herself from all public appearances and interactions.

2.      Memory and the Past Theme

One of theme of A Rose for Emely is memory and the past, it is caused Miss.Emely cannot let go of the past.

First evidence, we can see from the house of Miss. Emily, while all the old houses have been pulled down or transformed for other houses, hers stands as it is, it means that she still considers that she lives in the past

·         "… only Miss Emily's house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps-an eyesore among eyesores."
(Paragraph 2)

We also can see that Miss.Emily which is so stubborn to refuse paying the taxes, because she was used to not paying taxes and when confronted that she must pay her taxes, she turned the sheriff away.

·         "I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me. Perhaps one of you can gain access to the city records and satisfy yourselves. "
(Paragraph 8).

Another example of Emily's refusal to change is when she sends the letter to the sheriff.

·         “…a note on paper of an archaic shape, in a thin, flowing calligraphy in faded ink, to the effect that she no longer went out at all. The tax notice was also enclosed, without comment.” (paragraph 4)

 The paper and ink used for the letter are made to sound ancient which shows Emily has not changed to upgraded paper and ink of the time period. It is evident she cannot let go of the past even simple aspects of her life.

The other evidence that Miss.Emily cannot let go of the past is when Miss.Emily’s father has dead. She tells everybody that her father is not dead, she keeps her father’s corpse for three days and then people tries to persuade Emily to let them buried her father.

·         “She told them that her father was not dead”
(paragraph 27)

3.      Tradition versus Change Theme

l  “Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town”

(paragraph 3)

Emily herself is a tradition- she remains unchanging despite the small steps towards progress that the community around her make.       

As a living monument to the past, she represents the traditions that people wish to respect and honour; however, she is also a burden and isolated, nursing eccentricities that others cannot understand.

l  “Colonel Sartoris invented an involved tale to the effect that Miss Emily's father had loaned money to the town, which the town, as a matter of business, preferred this way of repaying.Only a man of Colonel Sartoris' generation and thought could have invented it, and only a woman could have believed it.”

(paragraph 3)

It is traditional role that Emily had no tax because her father had loaned money to the town.

l  “When the next generation, with its more modern ideas, became mayors and aldermen, this arrangement created some little dissatisfaction. 

(paragraph 4)

The time elapsed. The next generation make modern ideas and role to the town.

l  “On the first of the year they mailed her a tax notice”

(paragraph 4)

The new role required Emily to pay her tax.

l  “received in reply a note on paper of an archaic shape, in a thin, flowing calligraphy in faded ink, to the effect that she no longer went out at all.”

(paragraph 4)

Miss Emily isolated her self so she did’t know the change that occur in the town. She did’t know that archaic shape is not used anymore.

l  “Her voice was dry and cold. "I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me. Perhaps one of you can gain access to the city records and satisfy yourselves."

(paragraph 8)

Miss Emily did no about new role that she must pay a tax. So Emily accused the city authorities cheat her and use the money for themselves.

l  "See Colonel Sartoris." (Colonel Sartoris had been dead almost ten years.) "I have no taxes in Jefferson. Tobe!" The Negro appeared. "Show these gentlemen out."

(paragraph 14)

Emily did no go out so she did no what happen in the society. She did no know that Colonel Sartoris has died.

4.      Compassion Theme

Compassion is another major theme that we can find in Rose for Emily. Compassion is the feeling of empathy for others. Compassion is the emotion that we feel in response to the suffering of others. We can see Compassion from Towns people for Emily in this story.

·         At last they could pity Miss Emily. Being left alone, and a pauper, she had become humanized. (paragraph 26)

This is one of Compassion for Emily. Emily was still an object to the townspeople. After her father died Townspeople feel compassion because Emily will feel alone. As we know that as long as her father life, Emily always be with her father and when her father die, she doesn’t have anyone else.

·         We did not say she was crazy then. We believed she had to do that. We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will. (Paragrah 28)

This is another of compassion for Emily. The Townspeople feel pity for Emily because she is not married. They remember when her father still alive.  Her father always refused all young man who wants to close with Emily. Because her father thinks there are no men have same social status with her.

·         “So THE NEXT day we all said, "She will kill herself"; and we said it would be the best thing. (paragraph 43)

This is compassion for Emily. Townspeople always talk about her. When Emily buys arsenic, townspeople think she wills suicide. They think it was the best way for Emily because they feel pity for Emily’s live.

·         “When she had first begun to be seen with Homer Barron, we had said, "She will marry him." Then we said, "She will persuade him yet," because Homer himself had remarked--he liked men, and it was known that he drank with the younger men in the Elks' Club--that he was not a marrying man. Later we said, "Poor Emily" behind the jalousies as they passed on Sunday afternoon in the glittering buggy, Miss Emily with her head high and Homer Barron with his hat cocked and a cigar in his teeth, reins and whip in a yellow glove”(paragraph 43)

When Emily first met homer Barron, townspeople think they will be married. But, Homer Barron is a gay, he don’t like women. So, Townspeople feel compassion for Emily because her love unrequited and Emily has different status with Homer Barron and the townspeople think they can’t marry because their different social status.

5.      Death Theme

William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” is a tragic story filled with death.   Death is a huge theme in this story. Death is the most important theme in “A Rose for Emily”

There are some characters deaths in “A Rose for Emily”. The first death is Miss Emily Grierson.   The writer is not actually told how she died, the only explanation given is she fell ill in her house and died as a result. Faulkner then introduces the death of Emily’s father; an event very important to the story.   The next death revealed is the death of Colonel Sartoris, who was dead for a decade but Emily refused to believe it. The final death introduced in “A Rose for Emily” is the death of Homer Barron, a foreman and what was thought by everyone in the town to be Emily’s future husband

1.      Emily’s Death

“WHEN Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old man-servant--a combined gardener and cook--had seen in at least ten years. (Paragraph 1)

We know what motivates the townspeople to attend Emily's funeral. Although the men attend the funeral to show a sort of respectful affection, men have attended because they feel obligated to. The women on the other hand show up just so that they can see the inside of her house and learn more about her life. And after the townspeople enter Emily’s house they found corpse of Homer Barron. Finally they found the fact and know if Homer Barron didn’t go leave Emily but he died in Emily’s house.

2.      Emily’s Father Death

“When her father died, it got about that the house was all that was left to her; and in a way, people were glad. At last they could pity Miss Emily. Being left alone, and a pauper, she had become humanized. Now she too would know the old thrill and the old despair of a penny more or less”(Paragraph 26)

We know that as long her father lived, her father always control her life. She can’t make her own decision and never feel a love with another man except her father. After her father died, townspeople feel happy because they think she will be free and there is no one can’t control her life anymore. But at the same they feel pity for Emily because she became alone and poor.

“The day after his death all the ladies prepared to call at the house and offer condolence and aid, as is our custom Miss Emily met them at the door, dressed as usual and with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body. Just as they were about to resort to law and force, she broke down, and they buried her father quickly.”(Paragraph 27)

Emily believes that her father still alive. So, Emily act like nothing happened. She didn’t bury her father’s body until the ministers and the doctors forced her to let him go.

3.      Colonel Satoris Death

“Colonel Sartoris invented an involved tale to the effect that Miss Emily's father had loaned money to the town, which the town, as a matter of business, preferred this way of repaying. Only a man of Colonel Sartoris' generation and thought could have invented it, and only a woman could have believed it.”(Paragraph 3)

Colonel Sartoris, remitted Emily’s taxes. He created a story saying that her father had loaned money to the town, but in actuality, the Colonel felt obligated to somehow take care of the monumental young lady since her father passed away. However, the generations of mayors following Colonel Sartoris were not quite so generous, and constantly requested that Miss Emily pay her taxes. But she continued to refuse, and would not let go of her past experiences with Colonel Sartoris. She argued that “the authorities must see Colonel Sartoris

4.      Homer Barron Death

“For a long while we just stood there, looking down at the profound and fleshless grin. The body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace, but now the long sleep that outlasts love, that conquers even the grimace of love, had cuckolded him. What was left of him, rotted beneath what was left of the nightshirt, had become inextricable from the bed in which he lay; and upon him and upon the pillow beside him lay that even coating of the patient and biding dust.”(Paragraph 59)

Emily’s murder of her lover, Homer Barron because she thinks Homer Barron plans on leaving her, so she murders him, lying him down next to where she lays in bed. At this point in the story, Emily is trying to stop time, and embrace the joyous moment she has with her lover still there with her.

6.      Version of Reality Theme

This theme means that the thought of people in town is not like the reality of Emily’s thought.

We can see from the evidence below:

·         "See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson." (paragraph 12)

Although Miss Emily couldn't bring back the dead Colonel, she could sure make her version of the reality that the Colonel Sartoris is not dead. She never paid taxes in Jefferson.

·         “She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body.” (paragraph 27)

The story makes it pretty clear that Emily's version of reality (that her father wasn't dead) was pretty near the truth. The town stepped in to enforce his role in his absence.

·         When she opened the package at home there was written on the box, under the skull and bones: "For rats." (paragraph 42)

Again we see attempts to tweak and hide reality, this time by the town pharmacist, who evidently, spent his afternoon and evening spreading the word that Miss Emily had bought arsenic.