A Rose For Emily

A detailed Summary of A Rose For Emily

A Rose For Emily was written by William Faulkner in 1931. Not only is this story sad, and in the end a bit horrific, but it appears to be some-what autobiographical. It is written with a certain first-hand knowledge. There appears to be a direct link between Emily and the author, not the narrator, but the author, William Faulkner. Some indications of this relationship can be found in the characters and the setting. Mr. Faulkner seemed to be at a low point in his life when he wrote this short story, and perhaps found a release by describing his struggle in a work of fiction.

In "A Rose For Emily", Emily Grierson is described in her younger days as having a slender figure, and in one instance being compaired to an angel. She may have been described this way, because Faulkner thought highly of himself in his younger years. But in her later years, Emily is described as, "...a small, fat woman in black, with a thin gold chain descending to her waist and vanishing into her belt, leaning on an ebony cane with a tarnished gold head. Her skeleton was small and spare; perhaps that is why what would have been merely plumpness in another was obesity in her. She looked bloated, like a body long subme

anted to be loved...in which he was in conflict with himself..." It seems, by his own admission, that he wanted exactly what he told of Emily wanting.

Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 72.

The two also endured similar love lives that ultimately ended in pain. Faulkner himself lost his first love to another man. Her family kept her from William because they thought the other man would make a better husband. In Emily's case her father turned away many young suiters of whom she could have had her pick and then her first love abandoned her shortly after her fathers death. Her next love turned out to be a homosexual, who enjoyed spending much of his time drinking with younger men in the neighborhood. Rather than be abandoned again, and robbed of her one last chance at happiness, she secretly married him, poisoned him with arsenic, and kept his body locked in her upstairs bedroom for decades. There he remained until after her death when neighbors found his decaying body. "The body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace...What was left of him, rotted beneath what was left of the nightshirt, had become inextricable from the bed in which he lay; an!

In conclusion, it can be assumed that this story is a reflection on William Faulkners own life. There is certainly enough evidence to support this theory. Emily lived the dreary and sufferable life Faulkner felt he had up to the point of writing this story. They both were attractive in their youth, then their beauty decreased as they grew older. Both had failed attempts at love and eventually gave up trying to find true love. Although neither would have had a difficult time of it. Emily and Faulk

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Approximate Word count = 1167
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English