A Rose for Emily

For my first journal entry, I decided to read A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner. In this story, the author tells us about the tragic life of Emily Grierson. she was a woman alone in the world, except for two cousins who visited occasionally. Her father died when she was a young woman, and her beau deserted her soon after. Subsequently, she stayed in her house and the townspeople hardly saw her at all. A Negro manservant lived with her and did her shopping. Eventually we are introduced to a man named Homer Barron. Mr. Homer and Ms. Grierson began to spend time together, and occasionally the townspeople would see them driving around in Mr. Homer's buggy. one day, he went into Ms. Grierson's house, and the townspeople never saw him again. Ms. Grierson died when she was 74, alone - save the Negro manservant who had continued to serve her faithfully to the day of her death. After she died, women from the town came to help prepare for the funeral, and the manservant walked out the back door and wasn't ever seen again. The whole town came to the funeral. A few days later, the townspeople broke into one of Ms. Grierson's upstairs rooms, and found, to their shock and dismay, Mr. Homer, stretched out upon the bed gripped in deaths cold hands - this quote stood out to me; "For a long while we [the townspeople] just stood there, looking down at the profound and fleshless grin." Mr. Homer was lovingly laid out, and there was an indention in the pillow next to his with a long strand of iron-gray hair [Ms. Grierson's].

To me this chort story was about an unrequited love, and a woman who tried to keep her love with her for the rest of her life by committing a crime of passion. The author does not come right out and say it, but it is implied that Ms. Grierson murdered Mr. Homer. By murdering him, Ms. Grierson was able to keep him "forever." I could see how a person could read through the story and dismiss Ms. Grierson as being crazy or insane, but the more I thought about it, the more I could kind of understand what she might have been thinking (not that I condone killing of course.)

My thoughts were this: everyone in Ms. Grierson's life either died, deserted her or pretty much ignored her. This man, Mr. Homer, apparently showed an intrest in her for a time, then (for whatever reason) didn't want to be with her naymore. Ms. Grierson apparently loathed the thought of yet another person leaving her. She must have decided the only way to keep Mr. Homer was to kill him and create a shrine with him so she could keep him forever.

I do think this was a good text. It really made me think critically about what I was reading, not just read the story passively to be done with it. The author wrote the story in a confusing sequence, which was a little hard to follow.

There was one sentence that struck me the most powerfully in the whole story; "Thus she passed from generation to generation - dear, inescapable, impervious, tranquil, and perverse." I think this sentence sums up the poingnant story and life of Emily Grierson.