Introduction
If it is stated that the community in “A Rose for Emily” acts similar to a mob against an insect left alone in the colony without any other insect to take care of her. Then the analogy that man is a social animal fits her. The reason is the community a person lives in shapes her/his attitude, lifestyle, and even behavior. When people form a community, they vow to abide by the values the community creates because of long-held customs, traditions, and norms. It does not matter whether these are stupid norms such as in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson or better ones. It is also that the community heightens and increases the status of some in such a way that he/she becomes an icon. Then when the time comes that the person does not conform to the topical and existing social norms and conventions, he/she becomes a butt of jokes, torture, and repression. The people turn into a mob and become hostile against that individual. The victimization of a single individual based on collective torture transforms him/her into a psychological patient suffering from several mental complications. Almost the same happen due to the community in “A Rose for Emily”.
Emily of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is such a victim of the antagonist role of society that it turns her into a psychological patient, leading her to kill her would-be husband. In connection with her, the role of the community and social circle around her is highly complicated, objectionable, and hazardous. Although the community in “A Rose for Emily” has turned Miss Emily into an icon of the elite of the South, it has also insulted her through her victimization with the public attitude of sharp and pointed censure.
Community in “A Rose for Emily”
To understand the inner workings of a person and his/her psychological issues, the role of community and environment is vital. The individuals or families such as Emily Griersons, who lived in the community of Southerners, were first elevated to the elite class. However, then the befallen house for them has become a good place. The narrator says, they feel “respectful affection” for Emily as if she is a hero (52), but the pity is that Emily has left her house for her eternal abode in the end. It is at this point that the narrator states that the women of the town wish to see “the inside of her house” (52) “out of curiosity” (52) to get more information about their lives, as the women were not allowed to enter their house after Emily finished taking China painting classes. In fact, their house becomes a tradition of status quo, as the people have given much respect to tradition like its inmates. It clearly means that the townspeople have accepted Griersons as icons and elite of the community. Hence, the narrator states that the time came when Col Sartoris remitted their taxes (28) because she was the only remnant of the great Southern part, and it was given because her father did a great charity for the city. However, when he states that the “next generation” came to power, they felt dissatisfied with their elite lifestyle without paying taxes (52) by which the narrator means that they wanted to impose taxes on all and sundry. They did not want to leave any house in the town. However, even when they visited Emily, they paid full respect as the narrator states that “they rose when she entered” (53) and she did not even notice their arrival. Even when she displayed rudeness, they did not demur and accepted her manners as being from the upper class and left her house. The narrator further states that she again insulted them saying her servant to “Show these gentlemen out” (53) which clearly shows that she was placed so high that now it was difficult for her to come down to their level to accept their rude entry. In fact, the community transformed the whole family first into their icon, and then each surviving individual into a status-conscious individual that they became a sort of “noblesse oblige” (53). It means that they became very noble people, and it was beneath their dignity to treat or contact or meet people lower than their status. Hence, they were to be considered above all customs, norms, laws, and transformations. Hence, they could not merge in community in “A Rose for Emily”.
Anti-Individual Role of Community in “A Rose for Emily”
The major point is that the same community turned against the very Griersons whom the narrator has stated as “august names” (52). The very first blow comes from the very authorities, which remitted their taxes years ago. Even the mayor could not stay behind and sent her a letter to make her pay the taxes with offers that he could come himself (52), showing her respect. It is also that when both the daughter and the father used to come out in the past, the young men of the area used to chase them. When her father died, they paid a visit for condolence. When there was a smell, they started complaining, which the narrator says is “another link” between them (54). This link suggests that although the people were hellbent on ending that smell, the city judge did not want to interfere, considering this a taboo. According to the narrator, he did not want to disrupt this long-preserved “tradition” (52).
Narrative and Community in “A Rose for Emily”
It is actually the narrator, who has presented the Griersons and their house as a tradition, becoming a judge by himself to give his verdict about them, commenting that Griersons were haughty themselves. This seems the only reason for their downfall. However, when it is time that the mighty have fallen, it is the same community about which the narrator states that the people feel “sorry for her” that she has turned into a spinster, and nobody was there to marry her (52). However, at the same time, the narrator also thinks that these misfortunes are rather good for her as the lady has “become humanized” (53) for she was left as “a pauper” (53). It appears to have made the community happy which is quite a contradictory attitude. These sudden contradictions in the role of the community in giving them a high status equal to squires and earls of the area and then punishing the Griersons for none of their faults show how callously the community turns against the icons it has elevated to the heights of social status. They feel happy about what is left of her, and also offer condolence for the misfortunes. This victimization leads a person to suffer from psychological ailments and this is exactly what happens to Emily.
The narrator also points out the contradictory censure of Emily Griersons living in the community in “A Rose for Emily”. He states that nobody wants to help her in her misery. It is true that her father did not arrange her marriage but it is also because of the very community. The community realized that there was no young man suitable for her and when her father left her, nobody paid attention to this fact. When she started meeting the northerner, Homer Barron, the narrator states that the whole city seems to realize that “a Grierson” should not marry such a lowly person (53). It seems hypocritical as they did not help her in either way but again started criticizing her choice. When this time is over, the usual comments about her are just that she is a “Poor Emily” (55). However, when her escapades with the Yankee started again, they report it to the church minister and also communicated the same to her relations. It affects her so much that she was transformed into a reclusive. When she purchased arsenic, the narrator says that the rumor was spread about her that “She will kill herself” (56). The narrator clearly states that “We were a little disappointed” (57) about this event of the going of Homer from her life. This shows the callous attitude of society that there was no rumor and no enjoyment at her expense. However, when Homer was seen again entering and exiting Grierson’s house, it was said that “She will marry him” (56). The community also spread rumors about her lover that he might have been a homosexual as the narrator tells that Homer himself stated that he was interested in men “he liked men” (56). This sort of censure does not leave any option for her except to commit suicide. Even the narrator does not stop saying at the end that “we did not even know she was sick” (56). It means that nobody from the locality has ever bothered to interfere in her life or ask whether she is feeling sick or good. When her funeral is held, the narrator states that “some in their brushed Confederate uniforms – on the porch and the law, talking of Miss Emily as if she had been a contemporary of theirs, believing that they had danced with her and courted her” (58). These comments and chit-chat of the older generation after her death is pointed criticism of the role society played in her horrible death.
Conclusion
In short, it was the role of the whole community in “A Rose for Emily”, including the narrator that proved antagonist to the wishes of an individual. The community was responsible not only for giving them a great status but also for making them a fallen household by gripping them in so-called norms and traditions. It is correct that she started behaving strangely after the death of her father, but it is again the community, which was responsible for this. The people living around the Griersons made them so much high that they enjoyed it for the time being, forgetting that they were also human beings. Society is fully responsible for this and it made her a butt of its victimization and amusement. This constant eavesdropping about her personal life and intrusion into her privacy turned her into a confirmed spinster that she could not even marry Homer Barron which they also disapproved of on the basis of her high status. The people around them consider her coming down to meet Homer a sacrilegious act, tantamount to slandering the very honorable name of the Griersons. Even if she attempts to see a little happiness in life by meeting him, it is rumored and duly reported to her relations and church authorities. This constant censuring transforms her into an individual who suffers not only psychologically but also socially and financially. This becomes clear that the local community treats her with respect and honor as a relic of the past but it also censures and criticizes her and her acts as sacrilegious, which finally leads her not only to kill her paramour but also to commit suicide.
Works Cited
William Faulkener. “A Rose for Emily.” An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. Ed. Kennedy X. J. & Dana Gioia. 3rd ed. Vol. 7. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. 53-58. Print.
Relevant Questions
- Social Isolation: How does the community in “A Rose for Emily” exemplify the theme of social isolation, and what are the consequences of Emily Grierson’s isolation on both her and the town’s residents?
- Community as a Character: In what ways does the town of function as a character in its own right in the story, and how does the collective mindset and actions of the community in “A Rose for Emily” contribute to the overall atmosphere and outcome of the narrative?
- Tradition vs. Progress: How does the town’s community in “A Rose for Emily” represent the tension between tradition and progress in “A Rose for Emily,” and what insights can be gained about the South’s changing social landscape during the time the story is set?