Introduction
A Rose for Emily recounts the lonely life and odd relationships of Miss Emily Grierson, the protagonist in the story. Emily’s father brings her up in isolation, but after his death, she yearns for relations that paradoxically fail due to her obsession. The grotesque is a theme that is seen in Emily’s rebellious attraction to perverse things. The story characterizes the distorted view of conventional norms in relationships that is typical of perverts. The protagonist is portrayed as a local oddity, adamant in her choices, and not receptive to change. This paper examines grotesque in A Rose for Emily, which is depicted through the physical portrayal of Emily, her psychological states, and the idea of hybridity – past and present.
Physical Descriptions
The story’s descriptions of the main character illustrate a grotesque view of the author. Faulkner uses imagery and symbolism to describe Emily, her life, and death. She is portrayed as a sad, lonely figure living in an ancient dusty house. The details of the mansion help reveal Emily’s motivations and drives that are distortions from normality. Faulkner writes, “when they sat down, a faint dust rose sluggishly about their thighs, spinning with slow motes in the single sunray’’ (155). She appears unperturbed by the dirt piling up in the room, which shows her detachment from reality and the odd things happening around her.
The author’s description of Emily’s physical appearance and grooming is grotesque. Faulkner describes her as looking like a corpse: “She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water and of that pallid hue” (135). Here, the author employs morbid and sullen language to describe Emily and her lack of personal drive. These explicit grotesque portrayals help illustrate the dying traditions of the south embodied by the protagonist. Emily appears not to conform to conventional precepts of life and vitality. Her corpse-like demeanor is characteristic of an eccentric individual far removed from reality.
Emily’s unusual fascination with the dead is a further distortion of normality. The author writes that when people saw Emily after the demise of her father, “her hair was cut short, making her look like a girl, with a vague resemblance to those angels in colored church windows – sort of tragic and serene” (Faulkner 160). The appearance depicts her perverse obsession with the decay and surreal. Further, Faulkner’s description of Emily’s hair in her later life and death also distorts normality: “up to the day of her death at seventy-four, it was still vigorous iron gray, like the hair of an active man’’ (163). Thus, Emily perverts conventions of life, vitality, and death through her physical appearance and demeanor.
Psychological States
Emily’s psychology in the story best illustrates the theme of grotesque. Her fascination with dying and corpses presents an aberrant psychological state that defies conventions of grief and bereavement. She assumes a corpse-like look, which is a self-expression of her inner misery that elicits feelings of disgust from readers. Her fascination with corpses and decay is disturbing and likely to evoke repulsion and repugnance from the audience.
Her house is a toxic and sullen place that depicts the decaying traditions of the south. She sits unperturbed by the awful smell in the air and wallows in the stench alone. Emily’s craving for decaying southern values is also seen in her refusal to let her father’s corpse be buried and denial of his demise in public for three days. Faulkner notes that she initially resisted efforts by ministers and doctors persuading “her to let them dispose of the body” (137). The grotesque is clear in her as she misrepresents or twists facts on death and decay.
Emily’s grief following her father’s demise develops into a bizarre fascination with death. She appears void and without an identity and a purpose, and thus, seeks solace in her misery. The identity crisis drives her desire for a gay northern laborer, Homer Barron. Again, she falls into sexual perversion that stems from her seductive fascination with unconventional lifestyles. Even after Homer died, Emily kept his skeleton in her bed – “in the second pillow was the indentation of a head” – and cherished it until her death (Faulkner 143). Her fascination with death and decay is a form of grotesque in this story.
Hybridity
The narration is done in the first-person plural, not singular, as is the norm in most narratives. Further, the narrator presents the collective gossip by all people in the town. For example, he says, “we were glad that miss Emily” was interested in Homer, as all women in Grierson “would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer” (Faulkner 112). The first-person plural narration presented as the people’s gossip is odd and peculiar.
The past and present are also mixed in the story, which adds to the grotesque aspect of the narrative, as it distorts the reader’s understanding of time. It is difficult to make a final judgment about Emily, as her childhood, adulthood, and death are all intertwined in the story. The hybridity of the author is seen in his account of the protagonist’s past and present life. This aspect is grotesque, as it distorts the linear understanding of time and causality. Furthermore, the narrator’s relationship with Emily is not clear, which portrays him as nosy and creepy when he reveals intimate details about Emily’s private life, including her fascination with Homer’s corpse that she keeps in her bed. This revelation seems perverse, intrusive, and disconcerting in a way that is typical of grotesque forms.
Essential Ideas, Lessons, and Criticism
The basic ideas the author conveys in the story are the negative effects of resisting a transformation in society (clinging to southern values). The main character clings to southern values and traditions, refusing to let go of her past and move to the present. Emily’s adamant fascination with southern traditions and death only leads to perverse misery that kills her. The author teaches readers important lessons on social acceptance and observance of conventions of life and vitality. Reminiscing about past behavior, appearance, and sexuality only lead to self-destructive obsessions. The author seems to criticize southern Belle values that the main character was brought up in. He uses symbolism, including Emily’s corpse-like appearance, to depict the dying traditions of the south and call people to embrace societal changes for a better and fulfilling life.
Conclusion
The story, A Rose for Emily, depicts the life of a woman stuck in her past, which leads to misery and a distorted stance towards the conventions of normality. Emily is attracted to things that readers may find repulsive and grotesque, such as death and decay. The author explores this theme through his description of Emily’s appearance, psychological states, and hybridity. The basic idea in the story is that clinging to the past only leads to misery and death.
Work Cited
Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily. Perfection Learning, 1990.