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Lindsay Cunningham
Mrs. Pettay
ENG 112 3A
May 19th, 2016

A Rose for Emily From a Feminist Lens

In A Rose for Emily William Faulkner analyzes the institutionalization of gender roles
and expectations in the Deep South. Faulkners references to the oppressive misogyny in the
Deep South and Miss Emilys consistent reliance on men throughout her life; like her father, her
servant, Colonial Sartoris, and Homer Barron are evidence of a bigger problem. Miss Emily
Grierson is a victim of a patriarchal oppression that has dominated her life since her birth;
because of her upbringing and the pressure from the local community, she feels pressured to
conform to the typical gender norms of the period and vie for a male presence to rely on.
The townspeople in the story perpetuate gender roles through their constant criticism of
Emily. After the man-servant becomes a member of the Grierson household, the local community
complains that the smell emanating from the house is a result of Miss Emily forgoing her
household cleaning duties. They blame the servant for the smell, complaining Just as if a man-any man--could keep a kitchen properly. In this case, the people of the town are assigning
women the role of housekeeper, a role that had been institutionalized in the community. The
townspeople also uphold the social norms of the time, and gossip about Miss Emilys refusal to
adhere to typical norms. After Emily buys arsenic from the local druggist, the community

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assumes that she is going do to kill herself. Because Miss Emily had disgraced herself by dating
someone seemingly beneath her, the local townspeople say we all said, "She will kill herself";
and we said it would be the best thing. In this case, the local community is suggesting that
women must abide by gender roles and assumptions, and if they do not, than they might as well
not be alive.
The presence of gender roles in the story appear early on, being introduced in the first
sentence. Faulkner sets the stage for the story at Miss Emilys funeral, stating that the men are
attending through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument while the women are
merely there out of curiosity to see the inside of her house. In this sense, Faulkner immediately
starts the story off by characterizing women as catty, curious, and nosy. The men, however, are
depicted in a way that shields them of their wives insensitivity. A Rose for Emily is rife with
other gender generalizations. Later in the story, Faulker plays upon the stereotype that the female
population is one that is witless and dumb. While writing about Miss Emily and Colonel Satoris
tax arrangement, Faulkner states Only a man of Colonel Sartoris' generation and thought could
have invented it, and only a woman could have believed it. He uses the term women as an allencompassing term that broadly refers to women of any time period, stating that all women are
not as capable or smart as a man of Sartoris generation. The sexist remarks dont stop there. As
Miss Emilys story is being told, it seems that a certain degree of misogyny always is present.
After the death of Emilys father, the townspeople rejoiced in the fact that Emily had become a
pauper, stating that at last they could pity Miss Emily. Being left alone, and a pauper, she had
become humanized. This line of thinking stems from the belief that women cannot be successful
or rich without the help of a man. Now that Miss Emily had lost everything, the townspeople
seemed pleased that she was once again subjugated under the male-dominate influence.

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Colonel Sartoris seems to represent the archetype of masculinity and misogyny during the
time period. Not only is Sartoris sexist and racist, as evidenced by his edict that no Negro
woman should appear on the streets without an apron-remitted her taxes, but he also believes
that it is his duty to care for Miss Emily. In this sense, it appears that he sees Emily as a helpless
woman after the death of her father, and feels an imminent obligation to uphold a duty to her
father to care for her. His role in the story, similar to the roles of other male characters
throughout the novella, denotes the importance and dominance of men in the Deep South during
this time.
Emilys father also plays an important role in both the development of her character and
her dependency on men throughout the novel. As Miss Emilys father is first referenced in the
story, Faulkner immediately creates a dark image of dominance and oppression. The onlookers of
the town clearly saw the dependence that Mr. Grierson forced on his daughter, the narrator
stating that Miss Emily was envisioned as a slender figure in white in the background, giving
her a ghostly, transparent role in the family. Du Fang, a faculty member of the English
Department of Central China Normal University, states that one of the causes that attribute to
Emilys tragedy is the tyrannical upbringing by her father, later saying that Emilys father
exhibited behavior that is typical of Patriarchal chauvinism, meaning that it is the father who
enjoys the absolute power in deciding every family affair (Fang 18-24). Her fathers portrait is a
constant sign of symbolism throughout the novella, sitting on the fireplace and watching the
house even after his death. The presence of the portrait continues until the end of the story, when
the crayon face of her father was sitting above the bier at Miss Emilys funeral, watching her
even after death. Her father seemed to control her, seen as a spraddled silhouette in the
foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung

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front door. According to the narrator, her father also shooed away any potential love interests of
Emilys, in turn isolating her and claiming her as his own property with no regard for her
interests. In this way, Faulkner exhibits the beginning of a dependency that Miss Emily has on
the men in her life.
By becoming reliant on her father in her earlier years, Miss Emily soon gained the
perception that she needed a man to survive. This notion is supported by Emilys reaction to her
fathers death, when she quickly embraced denial and refused to believe that he had died. After
three days, Miss Emily broke down and was not seen again for a long time. Without someone to
depend on, Miss Emily felt alone, hopeless, and in need of someone to rely on. Following her
fathers death, Miss Emily hired a man-servant. The presence of the servant in her life provided a
bit more structure following her fathers death, and gave Emily Grierson another man to rely on.
After her fathers death, Miss Emily continued to look for another man to be dependent
on. The townspeople were surprised to find that Miss Emily had started a relationship with
Homer Barron, a man that was below her social class and previous wealth. The townspeople had
were shocked that Miss Emily had abandoned her social status in order to obtain a man, saying
Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer and later going
on to state that her kinsfolk should come to her to help to set her straight. In this case, the
people of the town were holding Emily to the belief that a woman should be worried about her
reputation, and if she does not, than she has gone mad. Emily seems to do everything that she
can to please Homer, from buying a man's toilet set in silver, with the letters H. B. on each
piece to ordering a complete outfit of men's clothing for him. Her determination to secure a
man leads her to buy arsenic and kill Homer, to be able to finally have a man that will not leave
her. Miss Emily treats Homer as if he is still alive, sleeping next to him at night for years and had

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positioned him in the attitude of an embrace. This final sequence in A Rose for Emily serves
as an example of the pressure of gender roles and the prevalence of crushing expectations for
women during this time period. As the onlookers discover Homers body, they find that the room
is a shade of pale pink, and describe it as a dust-filled tomb. In this way, Faulkner is
symbolizing the aging tradition of gender norms in society.
A Rose for Emily clearly exhibits symbols and characters that reflect the misogyny that
was prevalent throughout the time period. The presence of the townspeople acted as a public
jury, know edging and punishing Miss Emily for every social misstep. From her birth, it seems
that Miss Emily was born into a world that was against her. Her father seemed to be a daunting
figure in the foreground of her life, isolating her and pushing away any suitors. From then on, it
seems that Miss Emily worked hard to secure another male figure in her life, not in a search for
love, but instead for a search for security. The rampant desire of Miss Emily to be dependent on a
male demonstrates the pervading thought that a woman must have a male presence in her life to
be secure. This notion sculpted and controlled the path of Miss Emilys life, eventually leading
her to kill in order to feel secure.

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Works Cited
Fang, Du. "Who Makes a Devil out of a Fair Lady?" Canadian Social Science 3.4 (2007): 18-24.
Web.