In William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," Faulkner uses the character Emily Ryerson to show contrast between the past and present, specifically of her life, in the town of Jefferson, somewhere in the southern United States.
Faulkner begins the story with the funeral of Emily. She is referred to as a "fallen monument" (pg.74). That means that Emily represents what was left of the Ryerson name. A long time and upstanding citizens in Jefferson. Emily is from an earlier era and surrounds herself with reminders of the past. A crayon portrait of her father was given to her and was hung over her coffin upon her death. The image of Emily trying to stop the process of new generations is shown in the description of her house; it is a traditional style mansion, despite being surrounded by newer buildings. It's described as "Only Miss Emily's house was left, lifting its stubborn coquettish decay about the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps" (pg. 75). Emily is described as an old fat woman, she has a gold watch she wears around her neck, which is never seen, but the ticking can be heard. Emily like her watch is unseen for most of her life after the death of her father. At the same time she is unwilling to accept the passing of time, the change of generations, and the change in the world surrounding her.
The new Board of Alderman pays her a visit about her delinquent taxes. She tells them "I have no taxes" (pg. 74). Her beliefs were based on what Colonel Sartoris had told her years before, when he was mayor, that she did not have to pay taxes in Jefferson. Emily holds on to an era gone by her family when they had power. She uses that authority over the townspeople and it is shown by her visit to the druggist, there she buys arsenic poison. The salesmen ignore the laws, which require Emily to tell him why she is buying the arsenic poison. "Miss Emily just stared at him, her head tilted back in order to look him eye to eye, until he looked away and went and got the arsenic and wrapped it up" (pg.
