A Brief analysis on Emily

王敏潔

【Abstract】：A Rose for Emily is an excellent short story by William Faulkner in 20th century. It describes the individual tragedy of the protagonist， Emily. As the last southern aristocrat in Jefferson town， Emily is regarded as a monument. She sticks to the tradition and convention of the south and refuses to adapt to the new society. This paper， on the one hand， will analyze Emilys permanence of ideology and character； on the other hand， it will also give a brief analysis on Emilys changes in her living environment， her appearance and psyche.

【Key words】： Emily； permanence； changes

This is a sorrowful story about not only love but also individual tragedy. It happens after the American civil war， in Jefferson Town. The protagonist named Emily Grierson is a spinster all her life. At the same time， she is the last southern aristocrat in her town so that villagers there always hold their respect to her. It was two years after her father's death that she fell in love with a Northern laborer called Homer Barron. However， the laborer finally decided to leave her， for he remarked he liked men. In order to leave on her love and lover， she killed Homer with arsenic and even slept with Homer's corpse for decades. This is the truth which villagers find after her death.

As there are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people's eyes， different people may hold different views about this novel's themes. For my part， this piece of masterpiece is about permanence and changes that takes place on Emily， and I'd like to expound them respectively.

The permanence and the changes are not separated. On the contrary， they coexist in Emily herself in this story.

As for the permanence， Emily has never changed her ideology and character.

Emily， an aristocrat， always keeps her traditional views towards people and society and resists changing anything. Her mind is imprisoned in the original pattern her father has molded for her so that she refuses innovations in reality and takes herself as an extraordinary one. When the new government in her village was in charge， they required Emily to pay the taxes just as what other ordinary villagers had done. However， as for their tax notice， Emily did not care at all. She never paid attention to it. Even when these officers came to her house， Emily has never showed any fear and obedience. She still insisted her opinion that she herself represented a sort of hereditary upon the town. For her， the edict that remitted her taxes should be rightly carried out absolutely.

At the same time， her fixed ideology also reflects in her attitudes towards others. When some government officers came， she did not ask them to sit and just stood in the door. Even for the sheriff， she also looked down upon him and never recognized him as the leader. It is not because of her indecorousness but the idea that she always carried her head high enough. She seemed to demand more than ever the recognition of her dignity as the last Grierson.

For Emily， she has her own loftiness and dignity which permeate into anywhere of her life including her love. Frankly speaking， Emily assuredly crushed on Homer Barron the beginning. She was eager to get married with him. However， when Emily realized Barron's abandonment， her affection towards Barron became impure. Her ineradicable aristocratic consciousness started to haut——she would kill Barron to possess him forever. For her part， Barron's abandonment has treaded her dignity underfoot and belittled her noble identity. Driven by her eternal more， Emily decided to get what she wanted， her love. Perhaps the only way for her to remain honors in her love is just killing Barron and then obtaining him forever. Actually this is not only a kind of class consciousness but also the sense of duty. Growing up in Jefferson， a southern village full of traditional mores， Emily is endowed with the responsibility to advocate aristocratic ethics and to preserve the conventional orders. Maybe that is the reason why she prevented people from installing mail-box on the wall and “would not listen to them”. That small box is a modern symbol， breaking her traditional lifestyle even threatening her aristocratic identity. She resists it for sake of mental belief.

Environment shapes one's personality. After her father's death， Emily creates her own living environment —— an imaginary aristocracy society， where she keeps her own noble stance， has a notch above the others and follows her bigoted course. She is always stubborn. Facing the new government officers， she is disciplined to talk to them and just repeats her words again and again. It seems that what she has said is always absolutely correct. No one would change her mind so that she interrupted them constantly.

Of course， her contacts with ordinary villagers also give great expression to the permanence in her stubborn character. When buying some poison， Emily sneezed at the druggist's caution. “She looked back at him， erect， her face like a strained flag"， and she refused to talk with the druggist. She lived in her own unaltered world and has that changeless life. Besides， she also refused the condolence and aids from the villagers after Mr. Grierson died. In daily life， there is little connection between Emily and her neighbors. On the one hand， it may be because she is not good at making friends. Influenced by puritanical “doctrine of woman”， Emily seldom goes out to make communications with others and to learn something about the traditional code of conduct. She is just confined to her home and has no chance to make friends， which causes Emilys insensibility to the humanity and society. Traditional Puritanism makes Emily become unsociable and eccentric. However， it's more probably that Emily wants to keep some distance away from them， reminding them of her nobility. Permanent stubbornness is rooted in Emily's character， consoling her heart but poisoning her mind. Perhaps one of the most important factors that cause Emilys such personality is the patriarchy of the south. Before the American Civil War， the Puritanism governed the whole southern society， where father is the authority of the family. In Grierson family， Mr. Grierson is the center and Emily has to obey him all the time. Even when some lads want to pursue her， Emily also chooses to listen to her father.

In fact， the above illusions originate not only from Emily herself but also from native villagers in Jefferson. Whether in the past or at present， they always regard Emily a " sort of respectful affection" for a monument standing for southern conventions， which compels Emily to live such kind of life. Just as what Faulkner writes， “She passed from generation to generation——dear， inescapable， impervious， tranquil and perverse”.

However， on the other hand， time indeed witnesses some changes taking place on Emily.

First of all， the external environment around Emily changes remarkably. In large part， Civil War gave rise to many contradictions between southern traditional civilization and northern modern civilization. Influenced by the industrial revolution， old Souths plantation gradually decayed. More and more southerners cast away their original conventions and social orders， pursuing modern instant-gratification culture. People are obsessed with materialism and realism. To be exact， Jefferson town has changed much. At one time， Emily's house was "set on the most select street "in the town； nowadays， there are lots dilapidated garages and cotton gins surrounding the house， and it became "an eyesore among eyesore". What's more， a new administrative government came into power in Emily's town， with its more modern ideas. As a matter of fact， the above social changes have unintendedly taken away Emily's aristocrat identity in essence. Although villagers still regard Emily as “a tradition， a duty， and a care”， they actually believe that she is fallen and poor. Villagers have started to show their sympathy and compassion for her， not just admiration and respect. Only poor Emily is imprisoned in the past and ignores the passage of time—she behaves like an aristocrat at any moment.

Obviously， with time going by， the appearance of Emily has changed a lot. In villagers memory， young Emily had a slander figure and always stood at her fathers back because there often are lads admiring her. Afterwards， her father died. Emily was sick for a long time. Then her hair was cut short， making her look like a girl. However she seemed to be “sort of tragic and serene”. At her midlife， Emily becomes a small and fat woman， looking bloated and waxy. Her quondam charm had gone with the wind. During Emilys declining years， she grew fatter and her hair grew “grayer and grayer until it attained an even pepper-and-salt iron-gray”. Time and tide wait for no man. Although resisting against changes， Emily still has to yield to time. Living in such a fixed lifestyle， she doesnt seem to realize her own changes， though they are so noticeable. Or maybe， poor Emily has noticed them but she refuses to admit and accept.

Whats more important， some incredible changes can be found on Emilys psyche， which perhaps Emily herself does not realize. As a young girl， Emily loves， at least not detested， her life， for she would give china-painting lessons to kids. At that time， she has the potential libido to go out and understand the outside world， though her father might impede her.， which indicates that she has the self-consciousness and potential awareness to break through the imprisonment of puritanism and patriarchy. Gradually， she ceased giving such lessons， and her house was the only place attracting her. She started to escape from life， and avoid having contact with others. Endless boredom and monotonousness inundated her life. She becomes from an enthusiastic girl to an indifferent and isolated woman. Even worse， Emilys view towards marriage also completely collapses. At the beginning， Emily valued her love very much. Although Barron was a laborer from the north， she did not care at all； even it meant she had gone against her traditional view. To get her love， Emily was determined to stay with Barron， regardless of their great disparity in status and peoples criticism. At that moment， she was so na?ve and pure as other women longing for true love. However， something wrong happened to her. Strong love and hatred for Barron twisted her mentality and the whole soul. She becomes an insane woman， and her sincere love for Barron transform into a monstrous one. Unfortunately， Emily commuted herself to possessing Barron's body instead of struggling for his love--she killed him so that she can leave on him forever. It was her way to escape from the reality that Barron deserted her. Of course， Emily has changed. She turned out to be a totally psychopath.

Everyone is a community of contradictions. Emily is also no exception. Although the permanence is chosen by Emily herself actively and those changes are imposed to her passively， there are tragic elements implied within both of them. Definitely Emily is bound to get rid of her tragic fate out of the question. It is the time that brings Emilys permanence and changes up； likewise， it is also the time that destroys Emily relentlessly. At the same time， Emily is also an incarnation of William Faulkner himself to some extent. Also as a southern successor， Faulkner can deeply understand Emily， including her plight and her sensation. Faulkner almost devotes all his emotions to Emily. Through Emily， he， on the one hand， conveys his pity for southern declining conventions； on the other hand， he also criticizes its harm and erosion for people's mind. Obviously， William Faulkner is also a community of contradictions. He sneers at Emily's stubbornness， apathy and insaneness； meanwhile， he shows his sympathy and respect for Emily's longing for love. The rose， Faulkner presents it for Emily， for her permanence of traditions as well as for all of changes in her life.

References：

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[2] 呂萌靜. The analysis of Emilys tragic destiny in A Rose for Emily [J]. 校園英語，2015， （01） ： 249-250.

[3] 佚名. A Rose for Emily [EB/OL].

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