Themes in the Story "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner (Essay Sample)

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A rose for Emily
The theme of love has been highlighted in several instances in the story an A rose for Emily. The tale shows that the only way one could love was by power. Emily’s father controls her life and even sends away all the potential suitors whom he claims were not good enough for her (Faulkner). His way of showing love is by the power he has over her and uses it to prevent her from getting a world away from his. Similarly, Emily shows her love for Homer by killing him and holding power over him. Secondly, love has been shown as insincere. The writer says “Presently we began to see him and Miss Emily on Sunday afternoons driving in the yellow-wheeled buggy and the matched team of bays from the livery stable” (Faulkner, pars.31). Homer spends Sunday afternoons with Emily and is in a relationship with her yet he does not want to marry her. Emily is in her thirties and any romantic relationship she is in is expected to lead to marriage. Thirdly, true love has been shown as impossible to attain. Emily is so seriously in love with Home that she kills him so as to be with him forever. However, she ends up with a rotten corpse with no love.
The theme of death is dominant throughout the tale "A Rose for Emily." Firstly, the writer begins it with Emily Grierson’s funeral. The opening sentence of the tale mentions that "When Miss Emily Grierson died the whole town went to her funeral” (Faulkner, pars.1). It also talks of the death of Emily’s father which leaves her almost insane. Faulkner elaborates how it is difficult for Emily to come to terms with his death and, how he is buried without her presence. Thirdly, the narrator likens Emily to a fallen monument which is usually built to commemorate a dead person. It emphasizes the theme and just proves that everything will eventually be destroyed in the end. Additionally, when the townspeople break the secret room they find the corpse of Homer Barron, Emily’s former boyfriend who she has poisoned. The writer says "What was left of him, rotted beneath what was left of the nightshirt: and upon him and upon the pillow beside him lay that even coating of the patient and biding dust" (Faulkner). Dust is usually a symbol of deadness and decay.
William Faulkner also depicts the theme of change in the tale “A Rose for Emily”. It is built by the character of Emily who is very resistant to change. For instance, she is in love with Homer who unfortunately is not ready to settle and will eventu