The story, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner shows an important relationship between the setting of a story and the main characters in a story. This particular story is told from the point-of-view of other townspeople in Jefferson. The story is based on their portrayal of Emily and her house, but there is no context about what Miss Emily is thinking herself. Emily’s character is closely related to the setting in this story, which is primarily her house. In the story, “A Rose for Emily”, the specific details about Miss Emily’s house gives insight towards Miss Emily’s character. Her house was described as “an eyesore among eyesores” (206), “dust and disuse” (206), and “the house filled with dust and shadows” (211). These descriptions about her house are comparable to her character.
The story begins at Miss Emily’s funeral, the description “a fallen monument” (206), which could easily be described as both the house and Emily. The women of the town come to Emily’s funeral for the sole purpose to see her house, which had been private for years after Emily’s father’s death. The house was once a part of the most popular and up kept street in Jefferson, until slowly the houses decayed and soon there was only her house left. Even throughout the sporadic chronological order of this story, Miss Emily loses control over certain things as time goes on. When the city authorities come to collect Emily’s taxes, she claims that she has no taxes in Jefferson and refuses to pay. She refers them to Colonel Sartoris, who had died nearly a decade ago. This is an example of how Emily is becoming less aware of the changes in her town. She seems to enjoy keeping to herself instead of becoming involved with current town affairs. Miss Emily chooses to live in the past because she finds no grantees for her future nor does she show any interest in any changes her town of Jefferson. “After her father’s death she went out very little” (207) is an example of how she chooses to remain locked up inside her own house.
The story begins at Miss Emily’s funeral, the description “a fallen monument” (206), which could easily be described as both the house and Emily. The women of the town come to Emily’s funeral for the sole purpose to see her house, which had been private for years after Emily’s father’s death. The house was once a part of the most popular and up kept street in Jefferson, until slowly the houses decayed and soon there was only her house left. Even throughout the sporadic chronological order of this story, Miss Emily loses control over certain things as time goes on. When the city authorities come to collect Emily’s taxes, she claims that she has no taxes in Jefferson and refuses to pay. She refers them to Colonel Sartoris, who had died nearly a decade ago. This is an example of how Emily is becoming less aware of the changes in her town. She seems to enjoy keeping to herself instead of becoming involved with current town affairs. Miss Emily chooses to live in the past because she finds no grantees for her future nor does she show any interest in any changes her town of Jefferson. “After her father’s death she went out very little” (207) is an example of how she chooses to remain locked up inside her own house.
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