A Rose for Emily
A Rose for Emily is a short story describing the life of a lady known as Emily born in an aristocratic family. Emily led a lonely life, and very little was known about her. She tries to seek happiness but judges her to the point of meddling in her affairs. She then shut people off her life completely until her demise.
Mr Grierson caused a lot of emotional torture to her daughter Emily. Mr Grierson made Emily live a lonely life. He even went to the extent of turning away Emily’s suitors claiming that they do not belong to her class. As a father, Mr Grierson did look into the happiness of his daughter but instead set up standards for her, which made her a spinster even in her thirties. Her father is her only companion, and when he dies, Emily is in denial. Emily is disturbed mentally to the point of claiming that her father is still alive when people came to condole her. Emily also has some sense of entitlement. A mayor exempted her from paying taxes, and when a new administration came to office and requested her to be paying taxes, she blatantly refused and asked them to ask the mayor who had exempted her from paying taxes who was already dead.
Town people are also harsh to Emily. They continuously judge for having an affair with Homer Barron, a person they considered he was below Emily’s class. Emily tries to find happiness, but society doesn’t see beyond her social class. Town people went a step further to ask a minister to talk to her about her relationship with Homer yet matters to do with Homer were part of Emily’s personal life. Emily does not seem pleased about that, and she keeps her life a mystery, and people no longer know about her relationship with Homer. Emily is attached to Homer, and even when he dies, she still kept his body in her room.
Although Emily led a solitude life, she was mindful about her happiness and locked out the naysayers. Emily seems to have a strong attachment to the people she cherishes. She keeps memories of her loved ones. Emily indeed tried her best to pursue happiness.
References
Faulkner, William, John Carradine, and Anjelica Huston. A rose for Emily. Paderborn, De: Verlag F. Schöningh, 1958.