“A Rose for Emily” Notes on the story
Dec 17, 2015
General Information: Emily’s HouseEmily = house (Note the many
similarities between Emily & her house).
As the crumbling Grierson house is being described, think about how the town views Emily herself as a fallen monument.
General Information: Plot
Plot is non-chronological Non-linear plot encourages
growing pity for EmilyThe non-linear plot also
serves to hide Emily’s crimes (just as the town does) by discouraging attention to any single event
General Information: Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing = smell, lime, poison, father’s body
Readers know all along that something (someone) is rotten (dead), yet the ending still has an element of shock.
General Information: Ending
End of story has 2 surprises:
#1: Homer is there, and
#2: Emily slept with him
Making sense of the events
Chronology of Events1. Emily’s father dies2. Col. Sartoris pays Emily’s taxes3. Col. Sartoris dies4. Homer arrives5. Emily buys arsenic6. Homer disappears7. Smell appears8. Aldermen try to collect taxes 9. Emily dies
Portraits of Emily: Section II:
Small fat woman in black framed by doorway; she looks dead (something inside her has died)
Miss Emily sits in window (watching sprinkling of lime)
Descriptions of EmilyHow Emily is presented in the story:
Growing sympathy makes ending more disturbing; romantic view prevents town from seeing reality; they cover her crimes.
Descriptions of Emily
Tradition, duty, careFallen monumentHereditary obligation on the
townWould not accept charityEmily in denial about father’s
death
Descriptions of Emily
Small fat woman in blackBloated, like a body long
submerged in motionless water; pallid hue
Eyes like coal pressed in dough; fatty ridges
An idol
Descriptions of Emily
Hair cut short, like a girlAngelic comparisonCarried head high with
HomerThin, cold, haughty black
eyes; lighthouse keeper
Descriptions of Emily
Fat with iron gray hair; like the hair of an active man
Dead on a heavy walnut bed
Conflicts
Emily vs. Homer– Emily is southern aristocracy,
desperate for marriage
– Homer is Yankee, day laborer, not marrying kind
– Resolution = she kills him and keeps his body
Conflicts
Emily vs. her Father– Keeps her single – chases her
suitors
– Possible Incest and possible insanity
– Resolution = he dies, leaving her alone
Conflicts
Emily vs. Herself– Maintain status or marry– Takes a lover vs. religion and tradition– Murders what she loves– “Loving” Homer after death was her
atonement
Old Southern Setting
What makes this uniquely southern?– Influence of traditions – Negro servant– Role of clergy/relatives/women– Class considerations– Gothic elements: Old house,
mysterious activities, smell, strange servant, closed rooms, dust, darkness, decay…
Symbolic elements
Rose – love; gift of love; delicate; sweet smelling
Iron – strong, firm, cold, inflexibleDust – overlooked, neglected, dirty, return to
dust, antiqueBarron – barrenRat/snake – Homer is bothBlack – death/funeral (psychologically dead)Closed house/rooms – closed mind; isolation
Vocabulary
cupolas: dome on a house, often serving as a belfry
august: majestic; inspiring admirationcoquettish: to act like a flirtatious
womanmotes: particles or specks of dust or dirtcrayon: Pastels, (not crayola) pallid: pale, drained of color
Vocabulary
vanquish: to conquer or subduetemerity: reckless boldnessdiffident: lacking self confidence; timid;
shydeprecation: disapproval oftableau: striking picture or scenespraddled: to straddle or sprawl
Vocabulary
vindicated: cleared from accusation; liberate; defend
imperviousness: impenetrable; incapable of being impaired, injured, or influenced
cabal: a small group of plotters, or their plot; subversives
bier: frame or stand for a coffinjalousies: blind or window with
horizontal slats
Vocabulary
sibilant: hissingmacabre: gruesome; grim; ghastlyacrid: sharp or biting in taste or smellcuckholded: cuckhold=husband of an
unfaithful wife