Charactor Analysis - Emily Grierson - a Rose for Emily

Emily Grierson referred too as Miss Emily throughout the story is the main character in the story A Rose for Emily. She is a rather stubborn and secluded woman who simply will not except change in her life. Miss Emily, her father, and their servants lived in a huge house. The Gierson family was considered superior to others in the town, soon becomes of less significance. As any father would assume for their daughters no boy was good enough for Emily. Growing up with this concept in mind Miss Emily found her father being the only man in her life, making him her world, and leaving her without a love life. When Mr. Grierson passed away Emily was in shock, so much so that she told the towns people her father was not dead for three days (Faulkner 32).

Though throughout the story Miss Emily shows constant weakness, she does attain a bit of strength. She shows her strength when she refuses to pay her taxes. She even shows strength when the men are creeping around her house putting lime everywhere to get rid of the decaying smell that surrounded her home. But of course this strength did not last, because it acted as a front to hide her inner insecurities she received from the loss of her father. What Miss Emily showed was a front to protect her from the world as she saw as changed. And Miss Emily wanted nothing more than to keep her surroundings as familiar as possible.

Emily did later find love in a man named Homer Barron. She was in love with this man, and the towns' people were sure they were to be married. She will persuade him yet (Faulkner 34). Miss Emily's true colors begin to show when she finds out that Mr. Barron is a gay man and will soon try to leave town to pursue his true identity. Emily in a rather calm state buys poison to kill her beloved Homer out of fear of loosing the man that replaced her father, the only other man who seemed to love her; she would not loose another man again who she so loved. In her mind things were destined to stay the same.

Miss Emily's insanity goes further she acts as if things have not changed and goes on with life living every day as she would normally go about it. When Miss Emily's death finally comes many years later, we find out what exactly Emily did with the body of Mr. Homer. As we realized with the death of her father, bad order and decaying smells do not seem to bother Emily. As the towns people gaze through her huge house coming upon Emily's room they find a decaying body which had grey hair lying next to it, it that must have come from the scalp of Miss Emily Grierson.

She so loved this gay man that she would lay next to him every night as if he was still alive to keep him close to her even after his death. That would be the constant in her life, a man to lay next to for the rest of her life. Miss Emily was only human she was seeking love that she so much desired, she showed how twisted her desire for love became when she realized the love