William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” Southern Gothic

William Faulkner Born and raised in Mississippi Literary family also wrote crime fiction won Nobel Prize in William_Faulknerilliam_Faulkner

screenwriter in Hollywood big drinker prolific: 21 novels, 6 collections of poetry, over 100 short stories, plus screenplays

“A Rose for Emily” Published in a collection, These 13, in 1932 Yoknapatawpha County

What do we know of the American South?

What do we know of the American South? Slavery/the aftermath of slavery Civil War / Reconstruction Economic recession Role of religion Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

southern Gothic “A lurid or macabre writing style native to the American South. Since the middle of the 20th century, Southern writers have interpreted and illuminated the history and culture of the region through the conventions of the Gothic narrative (or Gothic novel), which at its best provides insight into the horrors institutionalized in societies and social conventions.” (

“a style of writing practiced by many writers of the American South whose stories set in that region are characterized by grotesque, macabre, or fantastic incidents.” Encyclopedia Britannica (

In What Ways is “A Rose for Emily” a “Southern Gothic”?

A Possible Chronology for “A Rose for Emily” 1856 Miss Emily is born 1870–1879The Grierson house is built 1888Her father dies after “she got to be thirty” 1889She meets Homer Barron “the summer after her father’s death” 1890She buys arsenic; she poisons Homer Barron; a smell is noticed “a short time after” 1893–1900Miss Emily is “about forty” and gives lessons in china-painting 1894Colonel Sartoris remits her taxes 1920She is visited by the deputation from the Board of Aldermen 1930She dies “at least ten years” since her last visit

Point of View?

Point of View First-person plural non-chronological ordering of episodes

“‘A Rose for Emily’ is a classic expression of American gothicism. Rich in interpretative possibility... this 1929 story is a dark parable of the decline of Southern sensibility. Its impact relies on a slow accretion of atmospheric detail...” Lawrence R. Rodgers, “The Narrator/Detective in William Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily,’” 1995

Foreshadows events of the story Faulkner’s Use of Language

Southern womanhood “frozen in a sort of stasis” her grey hair Miss Emily

Does Miss Emily remind you of anyone?

Miss Emily / Miss Havisham Similarities? Differences?

“If... one approaches ‘A Rose for Emily’ from a feminist perspective, one notices that the grotesque aspects of the story are a result of its violation of the expectations generated by the conventions of sexual politics.” The Bloomsbury Guide to Women’s Literature (1992)