1. “A Rose for Emily”
William Faulkner

2. The Setting -- Jefferson
The county seat of the imaginary Yoknapatawpha County (Faulkner often used this setting in his works)
Jefferson resembles William Faulkner's real-life home of Oxford, Mississippi
Late 1800’s – early 1900’s

3. Fractured Timeline/Nonlinear Structure
The story is told in five sections
Sections 1 and 5 are the present
Sections 2-4 are flashbacks to various points in time
Is similar to gossiping A chunk of info from here, a chunk from there
The townspeople only discovered details of her life in bits by watching her
We find out the details of her life in bits in pieces like the characters do

4. Ghost Story Faulkner calls “A Rose for Emily” a ghost story
Faulkner’s stories often included these characters:
The reclusive spinster
The black loyal worker
The southern gentleman
The intruder from the North

5. Why Emily Feels above the Law
Colonel Sartoris remits her taxes
She didn’t have to give a reason for buying the poison
No one approaches her about the smell in her house

6. Foreshadowing
Not admitting her father was dead/keeping his body for three days
Buying arsenic
The smell

7. The Rose
In general, roses often symbolize love and honor but are also used in funerals
The rose in the title of the story could symbolize both love and morbid tragedy
The “rose for Emily” could be Homer & the vision of marriage she has with him (love)
The “rose for Emily” could be the tragedy of killing him to keep him with her forever (“funeral”)

8. The Rose In medieval times, the white rose was a sign of secrecy
The rose could be Miss Emily’s secret
The rose that she loved, kept, and cherished

9. The Rose In 1955, Faulkner said the rose was a tribute for Emily
“[The title] was an allegorical title; the meaning was, here was a woman who had had a tragedy, an irrevocable tragedy and nothing could be done about it, and I pitied her and this was a salute to a woman you would hand a rose” (Faulkner at Nagano 70-71).

10. Miss Emily
Emily represented the “Old South” – how it was slowly dying & making way for the newer, industrialized South
Emily’s life, defined by death, is like the Old South – she fades from real life although continuing to physically exist
Faulkner refers to her as a “fallen monument” – connected to the ways of the Old South
Modern townspeople don’t know what do with her, so they just leave her alone

11. Miss Emily Reluctant to change
Refuses to pay taxes when the new aldermen try to collect – “Talk to Colonel Satoris”
Won’t let the town put numbers on her house for modern mail
Her bridal chamber is an attempt to stop time from going on and a refusal to accept change (Homer leaving)

12. Her House
Her run-down house in the middle of a town that was changing/growing is the last sign of the Old South
Before the Civil War was beautiful and fancy
Part of a rich, privileged neighborhood
Now decaying and out of place amidst the gas pumps and cotton wagons
Also represents mental illness and isolation
Her bridal suite, lack of visitors and outside connections