William Faulkner's short Story (The Norton Introduction to Literature) "A Rose for Emily" is a twisted grotesque example of neglect and mental abuse portrayed of a young irreproachable female. We are saddened by the isolation Miss Emily Grierson endured from her father and entire the town in Jefferson, Mississippi. Her father controlled and sheltered her from a life of romance; the stern hand of a strict father turned every man that called upon her away, is responsible for her becoming a hermit. The unknown narrator stated, "We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will."(505) The townspeople too, did not interact with her just observed her from a distance to receive gossip as a conversation piece, which cause her to plummet even more into isolation that made her act unhinge and inhuman after her father died. She knew the people of the town were gossiping about her. Emily's action.
were based on the townspeople's attitude toward her. .
As Faulkner begins this story, the reader quickly learns that this is going to be about a physical death. As the narrator also describes Miss Emily Grierson as a fallen monument and whole town went to her funeral (502) which meant Miss Emily Grierson represented grandeur in Jefferson, Mississippi once upon a time. She represented something of prominent importance but because of neglect and abuse it's no longer. The external characteristics of Miss Emily's house parallel with her physical appearance to show the transformation brought about by years of neglect. For example, the house is located in what was once a prominent neighborhood that has deteriorated. "Originally white and decorated in the heavily lightsome style of an earlier time, the house has become an eyesore among eyesores" (502). Through lack of attention, the house has evolved from a beautiful representative of quality to an ugly relic.