What A Fall for Emily!

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"A Rose for Emily" is a short story by William Faulkner that portrays the startling life of Miss Emily Grierson. Beginning with the death of Miss Emily, the story focuses on the town's reflection of her spiraling life. She was part of the Southern traditional generation and did not succumb to change, especially when it came to her neighborhood. Arrogantly, Miss Emily fostered the idea that her father had loaned money to the town, so Miss Emily excluded herself from the town's changes. Surely, this act of defiance made the town speculate about Miss Emily's personal life and that curiosity is one of the main reasons the town attends her funeral. Another reason the town attends is to pay respect to a "fallen monument". The town refers to Miss Emily as a "fallen monument" making her life the perfect example of not only a good riddance, but of the fall situational archetype. During her life, she went from being in a high state of romance to a lower state of isolation and finally, concluding in her death.
The story adheres to the fall situational archetype since Miss Emily is able to fall in love, marking a golden moment of her life. Miss Emily's love interests has always been controlled by her father who dies shortly before Emily finds a potential lover. Incidentally, a sidewalk-building Yankee named Homer Barron captures Emily's heart. While the town sees their relationship as taboo, they see that the Yankee makes Miss Emily genuinely happy. Haughtily, she pays no mind to the town's sentiments and enjoys being with Homer Barron. She parades their affair through twosome cruises in her buggy around the neighborhood. The town anticipates the two getting married to make their time spent together more proper. Stunningly, Miss Emily holds...

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...h control and obsession can lead to a fall. This is a mildly understood concept among society. Miss Emily is a fabricated depiction of the typical person and their obsessions. Love is an obsession that most people have and it can become unhealthy. Agreeably, not many would go as far as Miss Emily did which makes Faulkner's story gothic and exciting. On the other hand, a reviewer named Rebecca Balcarcel mentioned "A Rose for Emily" was a dedication to women and the title was meant to honor a "Miss Emily". With the story being evidence of literature at its most gruesome, Miss Emily's life is a prime example of the fall situational archetype. Through her chronology of love, murder, and death, what a fall for Miss Emily!

Works Cited

Balcarcel, Rebecca. "Understanding 'A Rose for Emily'." Online video clip. Sixminutescholar. YouTube, 2 Mar 2013. Web. 16 February 2014.

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