Emily Grierson’s Need For Control in Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily Essays

Faulkners A roseate for Emily, illustrates the evolution of a small, post-Civil War community, as the new generation of inhabitants replaces the pre-Civil War ideals with more modern ideas. At the warmheartedness of the town is Emily Grierson, the only remaining remnant of the upper class Grierson family, a Southern gentlewoman unable to understand how much the world has changed around her. (Kazin, 2). This stress will focus on Emily Grierson and her attempts to control change after her fathers death. Emilys need to control change is first evidenced through and through her relationship with her father. Their bond, based on a high-class aristocratic ideal system, lasted until the death of her father. A mental image of Mr. Griersons relationship with Emily is painted by the narrator, who speaks for his community (Rodman, 3), as Miss Emilyin the background, her fatherin the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung fr ont door. Mr. Griersons position amid Emily and the area outside the house prevents anyone from entering the house or leaving the house. Bullwhip in hand, Emilys father fends off any would-be husbands because, as Dennis W. Allen states, no suitor is good enough for Mrs. Emily (689). Allen goes on to say that Mr. Grierson stands between his daughter and the outside world. Emilys romantic involvements are limited to an incestuous mend on her father. (689). This incestuous relationship, though not implicitly stated, is highly probable since the only male that she loves is her father. This special bond reveals itself after the death of Emilys father. jibe to the speaker, When her father died, it got about that the house was all that ... ...s A Rose for Emily. Modern fable Studies 30 (Winter 1984) 685-96. Birk, John F. Tryst beyond Time Faulkners Emily and Keats. Studies in Short Fiction 28.2 (Spring 1991) 203-13. Blythe, Hal. Faulkners A Rose for Emily. Explicator 47.2 (Winte r 1989) 26-30. Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily. Literature for Composition. 4th ed. Ed. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York HarperCollins, 1996.Kazin, Alfred. Bright Book of Life. Boston Little Brown Company, 1973.Kobler, J. F. Faulkners A Rose for Emily. Explicator 32 (1974) 65. Muller, Gil. Faulkners A Rose for Emily. Explicator 33 (1975) 79. Rodman, Isaac. Irony and Isolation Narrative Distance in Faulkners A Rose for Emily. Faulkner Journal 8.2 (Spring 1993) 3-12. Schwab, Milinda. A Watch for Emily. Studies in Short Fiction 28.2 (Spring 1991) 215-17.