William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily
In the William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily, the author tells the story of Emily to show how she lived after the death of her father. The narrator holds different points of view about the society. William's narration is an indication that he holds traditional views about marriage and family. His assertions show he believes that women should marry before the age of thirty years. He argues that when Miss Emily reached thirty years and was still single, then they "were not pleased exactly, but vindicated" (William, 1970). It is William's expectation that Emily should have accepted the advances from men even with the insanity in her family.
The society assumes that when a man and woman walk together regularly, then they are courting. As a member of the Society, William holds the same opinion. William's narration indicates that his expectation was that Emily could marry Homer because he had seen them driving on Sundays. He says; "we said, she will marry him," to show his predictions about the life of Miss Emily (William, 1970). Thus, William represents the views of the community that a woman cannot walk with a man if they are not in love.
William believes that Emily's father caused her madness because he had prevented her from getting married. He believes in revenge and as such he says that "we believed she had to do that" in that she had to stay with her father's body claiming that he was not dead (William, 1970). Staying with her father's body was a form of revenge because by doing that she will be punishing the person who robbed her of the opportunities of marrying the love of her life.
References
William, M. (1970). A rose for Emily. Columbus, Ohio]: …
