A Rose for Emily: Literary Analysis, Essay Example

A Rose for Emily is a short story that is based on the death of Miss Emily Grierson. The story begins with her funeral with the narrator detailing the attendance of the event. Most notable is the fact that no one has entered Emily’s house for over 10 years and most women who attended the burial were curious to see the inside of the house. The narrator shows how Emily had a unique relationship with the town as it had stopped charging her tax from 1894, something that hadn’t sat well with the new generation of town administrators. In the past, the town has a bizarre encounter with Emily. This was when there was noticeable pungent smell that came from her house. Fearing to confront her, the authorities sprinkled the outside of the house with lime till the smell eventually disappeared. This was shortly after lover went missing and 2 years after her father’s death. She had a tough time accepting her father’s death.

The narrator highlights the suspicious unfolding of events right after her father’s death. She began dating Homer Barron, an affair that did not receive the approval of the town. Two of Emily’s cousins were involved in an attempt to discourage and end the relationship. One day, Emily is seen purchasing arsenic in one of the drugstores and people assume that she would kill herself since she was presumably being dumped by Homer. Homer is last seen entering her house, after which Emily never leaves the house except for a twelve year period that she gave painting lessons. The story goes back to the funeral. After the burial of Emily, the townspeople break into a room that had not been opened for forty years. There they found Homer Barron’s decomposing corpse on the bed. Next to the corpse, they notice an indentation that resembles a head. In the indentation is a long gray hair that appears to be Emily’s.

The Theme of Isolation

Isolation is evidently one of the major themes that are engrained in the story. The whole story is founded on a clear depiction of the adverse effects of isolation, both physical and emotional. The story shows how one can be isolated by their own choices and action, the past, law, tradition, community and family. The narrator, through this theme, seeks to take a stand against isolation by invoking emotion.

Isolation through Symbolism

The narrator has managed to clearly bring out isolation by effectively applying symbolism. This can be seen in the following way;

The House

This is one of the major symbols in this story. Throughout the story, the story is seen from the outside, just as the townspeople saw it. The narrator shows how despite the fact that the house was built in the 1870s, it was still the best house around the town. By virtue of no one, save Emily’s help, had seen the inside of the house, symbolizes the physical and emotional isolation that Emily had been subjected to. It symbolizes her prison, both physically and emotionally. This can be seen in the story:

[…] the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old man-servant – a combined gardener and cook – had seen in at least ten years. (1.1)