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Alexandra Rodriguez Vega

Professor Phillips

ENGL 1302

6 June 2022

Emily’s Extreme Isolation

Human connection is absolutely necessary for a person's well-being. Regardless of the

harm that can be done when one is injured by another, the lack of connection is lethal. A grim

story that follows Miss Emily Grierson in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” where the

author employs numerous methods to deconstruct the theme on how severe Emily’s isolation

towards her family, town and love may have led her to commit such a heinous crime.

When everything goes wrong, family should be a solid support system, but unfortunately

for Emily, she never gets one. When Miss Emily gets romantically involved with Homer, two of

her cousins from Alabama pay her a visit and remain with her to ensure that her behavior does

not violate their rigorous code of decorum. “There was no communication between the two

families. They had not even been represented at the funeral.” (Faulkner) This quote demonstrates

how isolated Emily was from her own family. They did not show up when Emily’s father died,

and they were not in the picture as Miss Emily grew up, meaning the only thing they cared about

was their reputation. When things are not going well at home, family is meant to come to the

rescue. However, it is evident they lacked family affection towards Miss Emily. She seemed

unconcerned about this, but the reality is that if she had known what true affection was, she

would have realized her family lacked it. Her relatives realized she had no one and chose to

abandon her, leaving her to fend for herself.

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The harm that is done to a person can be seen in the public's overly critical, talkative, and

sometimes hypocritical attitude towards them and in a person's inability to build relationships

due to isolation. Emily Grierson is subject to criticism of her small town at various times in her

life. As soon as her funeral began, the townspeople gave way to various aspects of their home

that may explain their society. Emily’s isolation becomes apparent when she ceases to attend

church with the rest of the town. The town tried to get in touch with her as they thought it was

their job to keep an eye on her, but they kept their distance. The town respected her because she

hailed from an affluent household. She was part of their “once …most select street’’(Faulkner)

and everyone was envious of the Grierson’s money and power. But now that her father was no

longer present, her once first-class house became an “eyesore among eyesores” (Faulkner)

isolating Emily farther away from her own community and into her own little world.

Even though there is no rose in this short story, the title introduces it as the concept of

love. She is a dried up rose preserved in the pages of an ancient book, much like Homer's body

preserved in his wedding robes within the house's closed off room. As a young girl, suitors

flocked to her, but she was never given the opportunity to accept the rose of love, until Homer

arrived in town. Not having to wait for her father’s approval, Emily let Homer, an outsider, into

her world. The new couple seemed as happy as one can be, but this happiness was short lived.

Their relationship soon fell apart. Her inability to maintain a genuine relationship with someone

is obvious, exacerbating her loneliness and the impact of her abandonment. Homer left her,

setting off a chain reaction in her troubled spirit. He provided her love, something she had

yearned for all these years. She had been deprived of this because of her background, so when he

took it away, she became so desperate that she is determined to keep his companionship all to

herself. Killing Homer was the only way she could retain the happiness she once felt, forever. “A
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neighbor saw the Negro man admit him at the kitchen door at dusk one evening. And that was

the last we saw of Homer Barron. And of Miss Emily for some time.” (Faulkner) This quote

shows how once again, Emily isolates herself from her hometown, but this time, bringing Homer

with her.

Monsters are not born, but instead are created. A Rose for Emily, a disarranged short

story, demonstrates that for a person to develop a healthy morality, they must have some form of

connection to anything other than their poisonous home. Miss Emily is not a functioning person

since she has spent her whole life in strict solitude. Inside her house, she lived in despair and

loneliness, slowly decaying away without any human contact. Her absence of affection proved

lethal to her and anybody who tried to approach her. Everything in her house withered away,

from her dictatorial father to her daring boyfriend to her sanity. Isolation and abandonment can

lead a person to commit such heinous crimes as staying too long without human contact may

actually cause a broken heart.

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Work Cited

Faulkner, William. ” A Rose for Emily.” Archin org, Internet Archive, URL. Accessed 3 Jun.

2022