The relationship Emily Grierson has with Homer Barron is also an example of how she rebels against society. Homer Barron is a Northerner. Emily is a southern belle. Homer is a man of the working class. Emily is rich and built on the legacy of her family. She is a prominent figure in her town while Homer is an outsider. Barron was also a man of darker complexion. These two types of people are supposed to stay separated. The women of the town say, “Of course, a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer” (124). This shows how it is not the way society worked in this time period. After all, the South was still recovering from, and most certainly had not forgotten, the events of the Civil War.
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Gender Roles
The traditional gender role for a woman in this era requires them to be silent as well as submissive. They are always kept in check. After her father dies, Emily rejects this ideal and becomes its parody. She sees this as an opportunity to seize control of her own life, something a woman never does. Emily Grierson assumes the gender role of a man. She becomes a strong character and does what she wants. She takes control of both the things and the people around her. She does things that women aren’t seen as capable of doing. An example of this is on page 121 when she refuses to pay her taxes. Emily completely dismisses the tax collectors and refuses to even recognize or validate their authority. She continuously repeats “See Colonel Sartoris” and “I have no taxes in Jefferson”. Not only does she refuse to pay the men, she doesn’t dignify their presence with her attention. Another example is on pages 125 and 126 when she buys the poison. The clerk asks her what it is for, but she does not tell him, giving the impression she is up to no good. Faulkner describes how Emily intimidates the druggist, saying “Miss Emily just stared at him, her head tilted up in order to look him an eye for an eye until he looked away and went got the arsenic” (126). This is also an example of how she is taking the role of a man by being forceful and intimidating. Later in the story, we learn that poison was used to kill Homer Barron. Taking a person’s life or showing violence is not seen as something a woman is capable of doing because women are “supposed” to be frail and clean. They are not supposed to get their hands dirty both figuratively and literally. Grierson does both.
In “A Rose for Emily”, Faulkner gives us a perfect example of a female character who defies the societal norms and conventions of that time period. Emily Grierson takes on the gender role of a man. She does the exact opposite of what the traditional woman is expected to do by taking control of her life, intimidating others, refusing to acknowledge them, being independent, and ultimately committing the act of murder.
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Character Analysis Essay on ‘A Rose for Emily’.
(2023, September 25). Edubirdie. Retrieved April 28, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/character-analysis-essay-on-a-rose-for-emily/
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Character Analysis Essay on ‘A Rose for Emily’. [online].
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Character Analysis Essay on ‘A Rose for Emily’ [Internet]. Edubirdie.
2023 Sept 25 [cited 2024 Apr 28].
Available from: https://edubirdie.com/examples/character-analysis-essay-on-a-rose-for-emily/
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