Underlying Meanings In "A Rose for Emily".
Most stories, even books for younger audiences, have some sort of underlying meaning. All that this means is that generally there is more that just a story, rather the story is a tool used to get a different point across. Beneath the surface of William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," it tells a story of the Old South's lingering presence in a more modern time.
After being the only man in her life, by not allowing any man to have a relationship with her, Emily's father died and naturally she found it difficult to let go (love). Emily was raised during the pre-Civil War era and carries an out of date view of society like her father once did. Emily possessed a stubborn outlook towards life, and refused to change. In the story, Emily's views are used to represent the Old South, as well as set up other situations in which change has not occurred. She represented the ideas and mores of a society that was crushed by both the war and its eventual defeat for example when Miss Emily is referred to as a "Fallen Monument"(p87) representing the falling of a part of the old southern culture (A Rose for Emily). This story, on the exterior appears to be little more than a horror story. However, it is clear that Faulkner intends to show much more than that. He wants us to see how Emily, the representative of the Old South, faired against the beginning of the new society. Faulkner uses a unique structure to achieve his goal. As the book progressed there was not a steady progression of time, the conflicting order is just another way in which he is able to show conflict between the old and new south. The order of the story moves from present to past and back to present, the story shows the differences in people from past times and present times. For example Colonel Sartoris" story that the town owed Miss Emily money from a loan her father had given. "Only a man of Colonel Sartoris" generation and thought could have invented it- (p88) .
