Character Analysis of Emily Grierson

A Rose for Emily

In the short story, A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, the protagonist is an outcast in a small town who is just trying to live the way she always has; her name is Miss Emily Grierson.

The story begins with the death and funeral of Miss Emily. Because the whole town was at her funeral, one could assume she was well known and respected. In the story it states that the men went to pay their respects, but the women went to finally see inside her house which no one has entered in over ten years, other than her gardener and servant, Tobe. Miss Emily was a reserved woman to say the least and not many people knew too much about her. She is described as a tradition, meaning she was well known and certain things did not apply to her, such as the payment of taxes. Her father was a highly respected man in the town of Jefferson. Because of his relationship with the mayor, Colonel Sartoris, and their high social status, the Griersons were higher priority than other townspeople. Miss Emily’s father had power not only over her, but over the town as well. Not having to pay taxes was repayment for the money he lent the town. As a result to her father’s death, the mayor told Miss Emily that she had overdue taxes, which did not please her. A new generation and new way of governing was thrown into play.

The way Miss Emily is described in the sixth paragraph when they went to ask her for her tax payment is anything but comforting or nice. “They rose when she entered--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 was why what would have been merely plumpness in another was obesity in her. She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue. Her eyes, lost in the fatty ridges of her face, looked like two small pieces of coal pressed into a lump of dough as they...