Setting in A Rose for Emily
In William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," Faulkner's details about set
ting and atmosphere give the reader background as to the values and beliefs of the characters, helpi
ng the reader to understand the motivations, actions and reactions of Miss Emily and the rest of the
town, and changing the mood or tone in the story.
The setting in "A Rose for Emily" i
s Faulkner's fictitious post-civil war Jefferson, a small town in the deep south of the United State
s. Faulkner's use of this particular time-period or genre, is successful in giving the reader an und
erstanding or background to the values and beliefs of the characters in the story. The town of Jeffe
rson is a fallen legacy. The hierarchical regime of the Griersons and the class system of the time w
here by ordinance of the mayor- Colonel Sartoris, a Negro women could not even walk the street witho
ut an apron, had changed into a place where even the street on which Miss Emily lived, that had once
been the most select, had now been encroached and obliterated, her house an eyesore among eyesores.
Both the town and Miss Emily herself, now looked upon Miss Emily as the only remnant of that greate
r time. This fact gives the reader an understanding of the mindset of the "town," who is narrating M
iss Emily's story to us in a form resembling a gossip circle, where stories of various townspeople a
re pieced together and of Miss Emily, the protagonist who lived alone except for her lone servant.
The actions of Miss Emily range from eccentric to absurd but it is the readers underst
anding of the setting that keep the story believable. Miss Emily becomes reclusive and introverted a
fter the death of her father and the estrangement from the Yankee- Homer Barron. It is also revealed
at the end of the story that she went as far as poisoning Homer, keeping his dead body in his house
, and sleeping next to him as well. She is doing what she feels necessary in response to the pressur
e placed on her by the town. She is still trying to maintain the role of the southern women, dignif
ied and proper while struggling with all the other issues in her life and dealing with the madness t
hat is said to run in her family. She is also not accepting of the changing times and flat out refus
es to change with them.
Faulkner's setting also helps the reader understand the mental
ity and actions of the town. The townspeople seem oddly fascinated with Miss Emily as a relic of an
older time. They have put her in a special position among the others and while they have not maintai
ned any direct contact with her, they are still curious even after her death about her mystery. This
could be attributed to the fact that as the times are changing, they need someone to restore or uph
old their southern pride or majesty and as she is a Grierson, she is their only link to that past. T
hey even take it upon themselves to try to correct her mistakes by calling on her cousins while she
was involved with Homer. They felt that she was setting a bad example and because she was supposed t
o be of a higher class and epitomize morals and decency in the changing south they felt that they ha
d to do something to restore her moral standing for her.
Besides helping the reader un
derstand the motivations and events in the story, the setting also changed the tone of the story. Th
e descriptions that Faulkner gave and the images he conjured gave the story a very gothic feel to it
. The image of the Grierson place with its out of date structure and furnishings, and of Miss Emily
herself as a fat old woman resembling death itself also helped to create a clear picture of an old
run down town. The physical setting was parallel to the social change that was taking place at the
time and could be used to symbolize the breakdown of the old structures that had once held their soc
iety up.
In all the cases, the essential element in Faulkner's story that gave the rea
der both background and insight into the story, was the setting. The use of a familiar genre support
ed the actions and motivations of the characters in the story and elevated the tone for the reader's
enjoyment.setting rose emily william faulkner rose emily faulkner details about setting atmosphere
give reader background values beliefs characters helping reader understand motivations actions react
ions miss emily rest town changing mood tone story setting rose faulkner fictitious post civil jeffe
rson small town deep south united states this particular time period genre successful giving reader
understanding background values beliefs characters story town jefferson fallen legacy hierarchical r
egime griersons class system time where ordinance mayor colonel sartoris negro women could even walk
street without apron changed into place where even street which miss lived that once been most sele
ct been encroached obliterated house eyesore among eyesores both miss herself looked upon only remna
nt that greater time this fact gives understanding mindset narrating story form resembling gossip ci
rcle where stories various townspeople pieced together protagonist lived alone except lone servant a
ctions range from eccentric absurd readers understanding that keep believable becomes reclusive intr
overted after death father estrangement from yankee homer barron also revealed went poisoning homer
keeping dead body house sleeping next well doing what feels necessary response pressure placed still
trying maintain role southern women dignified proper while struggling with other issues life dealin
g with madness said family also accepting changing times flat refuses change with them also helps un
derstand mentality actions townspeople seem oddly fascinated relic older they have special position
among others while they have maintained direct contact they still curious even after death about mys
tery this could attributed fact times changing need someone restore uphold their southern pride maje
sty grierson their only link past take upon themselves correct mistakes calling cousins while involv
ed homer felt example because supposed higher class epitomize morals decency south felt something re
store moral standing besides helping understand motivations events changed tone descriptions gave im
ages conjured gave very gothic feel image grierson place date structure furnishings herself woman re
sembling death itself helped create clear picture down physical parallel social change taking place
could used symbolize breakdown structures once held their society cases essential element gave both
background insight into familiar genre supported motivations characters elevated tone enjoymentEssay
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