From A Certain Point of View

Perspective on A Rose For Emily, By Emily Grierson.

“A Rose for Emily” is the story of Emily Grierson, an eccentric spinster. Through the effective use of first person narration by an unnamed narrator from her hometown of Jefferson, we learn the tale of Emily’s life and her strange relationships with her father and her lover. William Faulkner’s ghost narrator gives us the town’s perspective and views of Emily, and provides crucial information related to the plot, in order to create the horror and suspense that it does as we discover the horrible secret she hides.  Faulkner decided the narrator be the townspeople, rather than from an individual characters point of view.  If the story was told from a different point of view, say the main character Miss Emily, the story would lose its suspense and horror, and essential parts of the plot would be negatively impacted.  Several aspects of the story stand to gain by being told in the towns folk’s point of view including realistic descriptions of the settings and characters, the creation of suspense and horror, and pivotal information regarding the plots development.

Faulkner begins the first sentence of the story telling us of Emily Grierson’s death; the narration continues to describe Emily’s house and her surroundings, describing it as “an eyesore among eyesores” (114).  It’s likely quite an accurate description, however, if the story were told from Emily’s point of view, she probably wouldn’t describe it the same.  We’re told that Emily “has been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (115) when she was alive.  By telling the story from the towns peoples point of view we gain this perspective and understanding that the town has a sort of respect for her, if only for being ancient.  If the narration was from Emily’s point of view the reader would lose a sense of how she was perceived by the town, it’s unlikely she would consider herself an “idol” ().

Something else the story gained by the use of first person narration was the use of suspense, which also helped in creating a sense of horror as well.  Faulkner wrote the story in metaphorical puzzle pieces, allowing the reader the joy of trying to put those pieces together; to use clues placed through the story to try and hypothesize about the conclusion.  By the story being told through the towns people we see the woman complain to the mayor, and the conversation with Judge Stevens about the smell from Emily’s yard; he said “It’s probably just a snake or a rat that nigger of hers killed in the yard” (115-116).  “So the next day, after midnight, four men crossed Miss Emily’s lawn and slunk about the house like burglars” (116) they looked for the smell that several neighbors had complained about, and sprinkled some lime on the cellar door and the other outer buildings.  We’re told the smell went away after a week or two; quite some time for a mere dead rodent to still stink.  If the story were told by Emily, we would know exactly what the cause of it was: her dead father’s body; which would effectively ruin the shock and horror of the ending.  Another clue the reader gains through first person narration is when Emily buys the Arsenic from the druggist, and the conversation that takes place between them.

“I want some poison”

“Yes, Miss Emily.  What kind?  For rats and such?  I’d recom-“

“I want the best you have.  I don’t care what kind” (117).

Emily’s apathy toward the poisons recommended use gives the reader a clue as to what she intends to do with it.  However, if it were told from Emily’s point of view, we would know her true intentions for the poison, and would lose the surprise of finding out what she used it for.  Another good use of foreshadowing by Faulkner, “So the next day we all said, ‘She will kill herself’” (118), simply implying the possibilities of what she could use the Arsenic for, and “it was known that he drank with younger men in the Elks’ Club—that he was not a marrying man” (118) hearsay by some townsfolk describing Emily’s new love interest, Homer Baron, foreshadowing a potential situation in the future: Emily will surely want to marry at some point, and Homer’s not a marrying kind of man; what did Emily say she was using that Arsenic for again?

If the narrator’s point of view were to be changed, to Emily, the story would be told from her eyes, and would change drastically.  The story wouldn’t start with Emily’s death, because if she were telling the story she would have to be alive, and we would lose the overall feel of the entire tale.  By the end of the story, we come to see Emily as a sad, lonely, murderous, old woman; hardly the idol the town’s folk first thought she was.  However, if the story were told by Emily, the reader would likely come to the realization that she is lonely and sad from the start of the story, whereas using first person narration the reader gains the process of discovering how someone so old as to be considered historic and an idol by the people in the town, can be as much of a stain on the past, as an idol to remember it by.