Character Analysis: A Rose For Emily

Faulkner's very deep short story, "A Rose for Emily" is about an old woman who has lost everything in her life that she could possibly love; her childhood, her father, her lover, and her newer lover, Homer. Emily has a little bit of a twisted mind as she barely comes out of her house, and the townspeople believe she is a little crazy. After Emily’s father dies, that is when she goes downhill. Shortly after that, she begins to date Homer Barron. The townspeople didn’t like the idea so they tried to stop it by bringing in Emily’s cousins. Homer leaves town, and so do the cousins, but then randomly, Homer comes back. He is last seen going into Emily’s home and nor him or Emily were rarely seen coming out of the home for over 5 years. She eventually dies in an old room that never got light, and Tobe, her butler, sets up her funeral. He lets the townspeople into her home, which they have not been in since over 30 years ago. After the funeral, Tobe goes out the backdoor leaving the home to the townspeople. They come to find a rotting body in a bed which is Homer Barron. They also come to find that Emily slept beside Homer every night while he is deceased.

As one can tell, Emily is kind of demented and sick in a way. She is the main character of the story. The story is mainly about her and how her life was. From the narrator’s point of view, the townspeople, Emily is a true tragic figure. As the townspeople describe her to be demented and crazy, they don’t know any more about her than the reader does. Emily is how one would say, “impervious” because no one can truly understand her.