A Rose For Emily Rhetorical Analysis

In William Faulkner’s somewhat disturbing short story, A Rose for Emily, Emily is a symbol of the patriarchal oppression of women in society. In the story, she does not conform to society’s patriarchal expectations. This is apparent when comparing the expectations of Emily in the story to the expectations of women during the time it was written. It is also revealed in what the townspeople say and do as well as the behaviors and responses from Emily regarding the pressure of conformity put on her.

During the time in which A Rose for Emily was written, there were specific gender roles set in society—especially for women. These patriarchal expectations in America at the time are no different than those found in Faulkner’s short story. A Rose

Faulkner used her strange characteristics to make a claim that a woman is defined her her ability to complete her feminine objectives in society. Otherwise, she is more of an object than a person. This is supported by the story when the townspeople did not see Emily as a person and referred to her death as a "monument falling." The people that knew her, thought of her as something that stands out and doesn’t fit into their normal life. This has to do with her refusal or inability to find a living man and get married, as well as her reclusive nature. The strange thing about her is that she is isolated from the town, yet she is always being watched and talked about by the townspeople. As a woman, she gets gossiped about more than a man under similar circumstances would. She is also seen ridiculed behind her back by the narrator when he or she says that “only a woman could have believed” the far-fetched comment made by Colonel Sartoris about her taxes. The comments and actions by the townspeople exist either for the fact that Emily is a woman or for the fact that Emily does not fit into the defined expectations of the patriarchal society she lives in. If she was a “normal” woman—if she fit better into the society she lived in—the gossip and ridicule she experienced would cease to exist. Faulkner includes this to justify ridicule or gossip about a woman in