Shaping Up "A Rose For emily"

Angel Han
Ms. Clapp
AP Lit and Comp
15 September, 2008
Shaping Up “A Rose for Emily”
William Faulkner’s use of an observer as a narrator with an editorial omniscience shows the narrator’s respect and sympathy of the main character’s, Miss Emily, peculiar actions in his short story, “A Rose for Emily”. The narrator tells the story in the point of view as a minor watching events occur in the main character’s, Miss Emily, life. Faulkner uses “we” in reference to the narrator, which shows that the story is seen not just by a singular person, and the narrator acts as a speaker on behalf of the community. Through the narrator’s point of view, the audience is brought into the short story, with more depth and understanding.
The narrator emphasizes Miss Emily’s isolation by taking the point of view as an observer. Instead of being a part of Miss Emily’s life, the narrator and the community watch her life progress. Faulkner writes, “That was two years after her father’s death and a short time after her sweetheart—the one we believed would marry her—had deserted her…A few of the ladies had the temerity to call, but were not received. . .” (27). The narrator exposes to the audience how lonely Miss Emily is, and also shows the void between the community and Miss Emily. The narrator and most of the community do not interact with Miss Emily, as they are not included in the few women who gave their condolences to Miss Emily. Faulkner uses point of view as one of the sources that leads to Miss Emily’s strange actions later on in the story.
The narrator shows editorial omniscience to provide a connection to Miss Emily’s isolation to her odd actions. After her father dies, Miss Emily goes into a phase of denial, unable to let go of her father’s body. Faulkner writes, “Miss Emily met [the ladies] at the door, dressed as usual and with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body.” (28). The narrator then goes on to give commentary about Miss Emily’s actions, saying, “We did not say she was crazy then. We believed she had to do that. 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 robbed her, as people will.” (28). The quote shows that the narrator is sympathetic towards Miss Emily, through the use of words such as, “robbed”, “nothing”, “cling”, and “driven away”. Through the narrator’s point of view, Miss Emily’s bizarre actions are justified as her inability to handle being alone.
Throughout the book, the narrator conveys a sense of respect towards the seemingly crazy Miss Emily. When the narrator opens the story with Miss Emily’s funeral, he or she compares her to a “fallen monument” (26). A monument is a structure that marks a person, event, or place that is notable, and by using the description, “fallen”, gives Miss Emily a sense of grace. At the end of the story, the narrator addresses Miss Emily’s abnormal act of killing and keeping the body of her lover, Homer Barron. Faulkner writes, “Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair.” (32) While the narrator offers commentary about Miss Emily’s actions and life, the story ends at this passage without any judgment from the narrator. The narrator uses his or her objective point of view as a sign of consideration and understanding for Miss Emily’s creepy actions. Although Miss Emily appears mad, the narrator shows acceptance for her.
Faulkner uses the narrator to bring the audience into the book as they follow the events and feelings of the narrator. As the narrator goes through the sad to strange events that occur in Miss Emily’s life, the audience makes the same transition. By being able to see through the narrator’s perception, the audience sees another distressing side of Miss Emily than her fanatical exterior.