A Rose For Emily

“ A Rose For Emily” by William Faulkner is great novella, characterized by a mystery that slowly unfolds piece by piece. Faulkner uses first person multiple narration to set up the story as pieces of puzzle as he tries to tell the story of the eccentric Miss Emily. The story is set in a small town that is close enough where people know each other by name, and the subject of their gossip is Miss Emily. Each townsperson only knows a snippet about the events in her life, so with more of these tales we are able to characterize her. With that the story takes a kind of creepy, yet sad motif. From what enfolds, the audience finds out that Miss Emily was a loner, who mostly kept to herself. She shuts herself up in the house after her father dies, and refuses to let go of his corpse, adding again to this creepy motif. The only time after her father’s death that Miss Emily comes out of her house is when she meets her lover Homer Barron, who disappears just when it seems that she might finally get married and be happy. She then begins her descent into lifelessness, just as her home does, as it decays and emits a pungent smell, which fills the town. With this the story descends into a sad motif, as the audience is left pitying the poor heartbroken Miss Emily. Yet the mystery does not end there, as it seems Miss Emily has been hiding a big secret from the town. I definitely would recommend this story for those who enjoy putting together mysteries, as well as those who love eerie stories.