A Rose for Emily

A Rose For Emily
“A Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner discusses that change should be recognized by everyone. What was in the past for Emily, should be left in past. Although her father and Colonel Satoris are dead, Emily refuses to accept the fact that her loved ones are gone. In Emily's case she wanted to change a number of times but never had the support of her own town. The townsfolk don't understand why Emily won't change, but in reality she cannot change. Locking herself inside a bubble trying to cope with the mere fact of her losses and not many gains throughout her life.
Emily encounters different complications as her father, and Colonel Satoris are deceased. Emily now being alone with no one to take care of her, so to speak she receives some type of sympathetic curiosity from the townsfolk. When a new major took place in the town, there was some confusion held towards Miss Emily. "I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me. Perhaps one of you can gain access to the city records and satisfy yourselves." (Faulkner, 288). Emily seemed convinced that she did not own any taxes to Jefferson because her father had donated large amounts of money to the town. In any case the townsfolk were surprised but yet glad with Miss Emily's decision. The townsfolk many times show mixed feelings towards Miss Emily, at times they agree with her decisions at others they are appalled and did not agree.

Within some time Emily had been going out less and less.”After her father's death she went out very little; after her sweetheart-the one we believed would marry her-- had deserted her.” (Faulkner 288 Part 2). Emily might have stayed out of the towns eye because she was finally by her self, after the two deaths that accord. Being alone was something that she was not used too. Emily's father never let her be alone and when he died Emily received something she was never supposed to have; Homer. Eventually everyone had believed that Homer was going to be the one for Miss Emily. Meaning that she was going to get engaged with Homer. “The one we believed would marry her, had deserted her.” (Faulkner 288) This caused Emily to shut down furthermore, she had been mourning her fathers death as well as her lover disappearing. The death of Emily's father was tragic and should effect her in some way, but not how she is treating it; as something that she will be mourning forever. Life still has to go on, instead of Emily's decision in locking herself in her home, she could have done something more productive in life.
As for Miss Emily's Cleanliness, is not whatsoever clean, or neat. “Just as if a man-any man- could keep a kitchen properly, the ladies said; so they were not surprised when the smell developed.” ( Faulkner 289). With Miss Emily's gluttony in her life, a stench had developed throughout the house along with the neighborhood. She had been seriously letting herself, as well as her home go. A general failure in self-discipline on Miss Emily's Part. If anything how selfish it was of Miss Emily to sit there and wallow in pain instead of actually doing something with her life, helping out the town, finding a new love in her life and possibly starting a family. Another problem that had accord with Miss Emily was a terrible stench that had been coming from her house. Complaints of the stench in her house had eventually streamed across the town. Eventually, men had to break into her home in order to cleanse the house of the horrific odor. “ Four men crossed Miss Emily's lawn and slunk about the house like burglars, sniffing along the base of the brickwork and at the cellar openings while one of them performed a regular sowing motion with his hand out of a sack slung from his shoulder.” (Faulkner 289).
Rumors constantly fill the town with gossip about Miss Emily. Since the whole stench incident people have been commenting whether or not Emily is so to speak “Crazy.” Certain situations might lead to showing that Miss Emily might have some type of psychological problems. When Emily's father died, the whole town had heard about it and had gone to give there condolences to her, but she had denied his death. “ She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the minister calling on her door. Just as they were about to resort to law and force, she broke down, and buried her father quickly.”( Faulkner 289, 290).
Miss Emily had questionable behavior throughout those few days, but in some sense reasonable for she was in denial of her father's death.
The town had been questioning Miss Emily's actions, and like always they were usually wrong with what they had predicted. Miss Emily had bought poison in the towns druggist. This is the topic that brought up all the questioning and presumptions being made. “ The next day we all said, she will kill herself; and we said it would be the best thing.” ( Faulkner 291 )Once again the Townsfolk's rumors were wrong, she had not killed herself. Instead Miss Emily had locked herself in her home, and died somewhat naturally. Miss Emily had spent most of her life cowering from what could have been, and she had been punishing herself for what had happened. Even though Emily's father died, and her lover left, these are natural ways of life hard to ignore.