A ROSE FOR EMILY

by William Faulkner

"Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily” is known as an important example of Southern
Gothic literature and it is possible to recognise many different aspects of this genre in it, as the
evident decay, the presence of violence and the use of irony. Nevertheless, one of the
essential characteristics of this text is the treatment of social issues and, in particular, the
position of women in the society of the time.

On the one hand, the role of women on a global level can be detected in some commentari es
and expressions of the narrator. They are basically portrayed as credulous busybodies. This can
be observed in the first paragraph when it is said that men assisted the funeral due to the
respect they felt “for a fallen monument”, while women assisted just to see the inside of the
house. In addition, later in the text, we find the sentence “only a woman could have believed
it”, that highlight the negative image of women in this society.

Furthermore, the absolute separation of the roles of men and women is obvious when, instead
of trying to find the origin of the disgusting smell, people justify it because it is a man who
takes care of the house and the kitchen.

However, on the other hand, it is in the main character Emily, where the deplorable situation
of women is most palpable. During her whole life, she suffers due to the fact she is a woman.
From her childhood, due to the excessive control of his father, she is prohibited from finding
love and a husband. Therefore, after his death, she is considered to be alone and helpless by
the society of the time. Nonetheless, she rebelled against what was set, acting in an
extravagant and bizarre way, firstly dating Homer, then buying poison and finally killing the
man.

In the end, Faulkner manages to highlight the precarious situation of women in the society of
the time and the consequences of this unequal treatment in the main character.