A ROSE FOR EMILY

AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY

William Cuthbert Faulkner was born on September 25, 1897, an American novelist,
storyteller and poet, known worldwide for his experimental novels, awarded the Nobel
Prize for Literature for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to American
contemporary novel.

Faulkner is universally regarded as one of the most important creators of American

literature in general and Southern literature in particular, and as one of the leading
American modernists of the 1930s, following the experimental tradition of European
writers such as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Marcel Proust and Franz Kafka, and he is also
known for its use of innovative literary techniques.

In 1929, Faulkner married Estelle, bringing with him two children from his previous
marriage.

He is considered one of the most important fiction creators of 20th century letters. His
influence in literature lies both in technical aspects (such as his development of the inner
monologue, multiperspectivism, the orality of the narrative, a non-chronological
management of time in the narrative) as thematic (the decadence of a family, the failure,
the creation of a territory of fiction of its own in which to reside a cycle of stories, the
obsession with history, the combination of localism and universality).

Faulkner, who had problems with alcohol for much of his life, continued to write both
novels and short stories until his death in Byhalia on 6 July 1962, following a heart attack.

CHARACTERS

Emily Grierson: She’s the main character in the story. Emily’s father restricted her from
seeing suitors and controlled her social life, essentially leaving her isolated until he died
when she was 30.

Homer Barron: Emily has a romantic interest in him. He is found after Emily’s funeral in her
bedroom, dead and decomposed. At first he enters history as a foreman for a road
construction in his village. Soon people see him with Emily on her rides in her car every
Sunday.

The Narrator: An unnamed member who saw the events of Emily’s life.
Coronel Sartois: The current mayor who matched her permission not to pay her taxes.

Mr. Grierson: Emily’s father, the patriarchal head of the family.

Her Cousins: Distant family of Emily from Alabama. They come to town to see her well-
being.

Tobe: The cook and gardener, and who keeps Emily’s secret until her death.

CENTRAL THEME

The main theme is the concealment of the crime that the character does for his lack of
mental health. Priority is also given to the loneliness that Emily suffers because of her
father and the isolation that he imposed on her.

OUTLIFE OF THE FACTS

A rose for Emily was first published on 30 April 1930. The work consists of five sections
separated by asterisks. The sections present two important facts: one at the beginning and
the other at the end of the chapter. The goal of ending with a fact is to leave the reader
with some curiosity or expectation that will lead him to read the next section. The story is
told in the first person plural and represents the voice of the people who give their
opinion; he is an insignificant narrator.

SUMMARY

The play begins with Emily’s funeral, and then recounts the events that sparked people’s
curiosity and gossip about her life. When the time comes again to narrate the funeral, time
is linear, narrating the discovery of Homer’s corpse in a dark room of the mansion. This
story is set in the fictional city of Jefferson, also in fictional Yoknapatawpha County, located
in the state of Mississippi.

COMMENT

I found this book super interesting, it’s awesome and at the same time terrifying the way
that Emily feels cornered by the feelings encountered towards Homer and kills him. The
crime she did was a consequence of the deprivations her father gave her throughout her
life.