A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner

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“A Rose for Emily” opens with a line that immediately tells the audience that the main character, Emily Grierson, lived a life that was on display; “When Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral” (Faulkner 119). The voyeurism that is evident throughout the story, following the life of the main character through the perspective of her watchful community, is introduced by the very first line. In Donaldson’s essay, she explains that many classic southern gothic tales “bring attention to the spectacle of a woman” (Donaldson 2), which is precisely what any reader of “A Rose for Emily” will find. Emily Grierson is a spectacle as well as a burden to her community. She is judged based upon her appearance, her actions, oddities and transgressions. Emily is “trapped in the collective gaze like a fly in amber” (Donaldson 3). The story is a tale of a strange woman living under the observant eye of her community. The public makes an activity out of watching the mysterious, confined woman.
In Donaldson’s essay, she speaks about traditional southern gothic women as disruptive and breaking down traditions. Although it is agreeable to say that Emily Grierson is disruptive, it is only because she resists change, not because she perpetuates it. Although this is a slight deviation from the characteristics of typical southern gothic women, she still holds true to being a symbol of burden or disturbance, “a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner 119). In southern gothic literature we see women that are harassed, “we watch them being punished…for not being the southern women they are supposed to be” (Donaldson 3). Emily Grierson challenges her community because she is insubordinate. Specifically, the essay states that t...

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...me kind of compensation for dealing with her antics. Nearly every aspect of her life was considered by her peers, usually not in a good manner. Her actions and appearance were a symbol of a woman that would not conform to her society and her resistance to change. She is quite a contradiction; she resists change yet is not considered a traditional southern woman. The story of Emily Grierson is a typical southern gothic tale that incorporates the demented and queer as well as a woman put on display, detailing her life through the judgmental and ever present eye of her community.

Works Cited
Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” Collected Stories of William Faulkner. New York: Vintage Books, 1977. Print.
Donaldson, Susan V. "Making a Spectacle: Welty, Faulkner, and Southern Gothic." The Mississippi Quarterly 50.4 (1997): 567-84. ProQuest. Web. 27 January 2014.

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