A Rose for Emily

"A neighbor saw the Negro man admit him at the kitchen door at dusk one evening. And that was the last we saw of Homer Barron." -"A Rose for Emily"

     This story is much more than a well-crafted and unsuspecting ghost story. For me, it truly made me look into the mindset of Emily Grierson compared with the thoughts of society. On the outside world, she was always a woman of old money and natural status. However, the plot suggests something more unusual, not sinister, took place in her mind. When her father died, Miss Emily as left with the house. She had no more money from father or any reason to go about town. Homer Barron was the replacement of that money and purpose. He gave Miss Emily a reason to be seen. Perhaps Emily, socially and behaviorally inept due to isolation, viewed him as an essential item. Whether she killed him or imprisoned him in the house I do not know. If I had to guess, I would wager the former. Nevertheless, Faulker presents a glimpse into soutern society and its inevitable effects when placed upon a lonely, aging, and longing woman.