“A Rose for Emily”

Notes on the story

General Information: Narrator

The voice of the town (Jefferson, MS) tells readers the story.

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:

Descriptions of Emily framed in a portrait, window, or doorway

Portraits of Emily: Section I

Crayon portrait with her father – tarnished gilt easel

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)

Portraits of Emily: Section III

Angel in window (short hair)

Portraits of Emily: Section IV

Emily is seen in upstairs/downstairs windows

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 in the story

Character conflicts that drive the plot

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. Town– Taxes

– What is acceptable (smell, Homer)

– Gossip

– Is there resolution?

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

“…the man himself lay on the bed.”

End of presentation