“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is about a woman named Emily Grierson, an elderly Southern woman whose funeral is the obligation of their small town. Her life before death was not a normal one. The townspeople pity Emily not only after her father’s death but also during his life when he wouldn’t let Emily marry. Emily depended heavily on her father, believing he would never leave her; he was all she had.
After her father’s death, the only person seen moving about Emily’s home is Tobe, a black man serving as Emily’s butler. He is frequently seen entering and exiting the house for groceries. Although Emily did not have a strong relationship with her community, she did give art lessons to young children within her town at the age of forty. The reason why she gave art lessons was her financial problem since she was running out of money. She wasn’t respected in her town, and was considered a joke. With the acceptance of her father’s death, Emily somewhat revives, even changing the style of her hair, and becomes friendly with Homer Barron. He is a Northern laborer who comes to town shortly after Mr. Grierson’s death. The connection surprises some of the community while others are glad she is taking an interest; however, Homer is attracted to men. Emily shortly buys arsenic from a druggist in town, presumably to kill rats, however, the townspeople are convinced that she will use it to poison herself. Homer move into her home, and is never seen alive again.
Despite these turnabouts in her social status, Emily continues to behave mysteriously, as she had before her father died. Her reputation is such that the city council finds itself unable to confront her about a strong smell that has begun to come from the house. They believed Tobe was unable to maintain the house and something was rotting, unaware that a death has occurred. Instead, the council decide to send men to her house under the cover of darkness to sprinkle lime around the house, after which the smell dissipates. The mayor of the town, Colonel Sartorius, makes an agreement to overlook her taxes as an act of charity, though it is done under a pretense of repayment towards her father. Years later, when the next generation has come to power, Emily insists on this informal arrangement, flatly refusing that she owes any taxes. After this, the council declines to press the issue due to her stubbornness.
Her death sparked a great deal of curiosity about what remains of her house. After she is buried, a group of townsfolk enters her house to see what remains of her life there. Tobe walked out of the house and was never seen again, giving the townspeople access to Miss Emily’s home. The door to her upstairs bedroom is locked, and some of the townsfolk break down the door to see what has been hidden for so long. Inside, among the possessions that Emily had bought for Homer, lies the decomposed corpse of Homer Barron on the bed. It was seen that Emily had slept with Homer’s corpse. The house reveals how Emily struggled to keep everything the same, in a frozen time period, avoiding change. This was an odd story, but it was pretty interesting.