FREE ESSAY ON ROSE FOR EMILY

ROSE FOR EMILY

A Rose, the Universal Symbol of Love
In William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily, Miss Emily Grierson is a lonely old woman, living
a life void of all love and affection; although the rose only directly appears in the
title, the rose surfaces throughout the story as a symbol. In contemporary times, the
rose also symbolizes emotions like love and friendship. The rose symbolizes dreams of
romances and lovers. These dreams belong to women, who like Emily Grierson, have yet to
experience true love for themselves.
Throughout the life of Emily Grierson, she remains locked up, never experiencing love
from anyone but her father. She lives a life of loneliness, left only to dream of the
love missing from her life. The rose from the title symbolizes this absent love. It
symbolizes the roses and flowers that Emily never received, the lovers that overlooked
her.
The domineering attitude of Emily's father keeps her to himself, inside the house, and
alone until his death. In his own way, Emily's father shows her how to love. Through a
forced obligation to love only him, as he drives off young male callers, he teaches his
daughter lessons of love. It is this dysfunctional love that resurfaces later, because it
is the only way Emily knows how to love.
When Homer Baron, a construction worker, comes into Emily's life he sheds hope into her
life. He offers Emily a chance to feel love and to receive the affection she has
previously only dreamed of. Together they take Sunday carriage rides, and for awhile, the
town's people seem to think that Emily will finally wed. It appears to them that Emily
has finally found her rose.
Emily then sets out to fulfill the ultimate form of the rose dream, that of marriage. She
purchases a man's toilet set in silver, with the letters H.B. on each piece and a
complete outfit of men's clothing, including a nightshirt. However, Homer disappears when
his work is through, leaving Emily once again without a rose. Within a couple of 
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weeks Homer, is seen entering Emily's house late at night. Emily realizes that Homer has
no plans to stay, so she demonstrates her love the only way she knows how, by killing
him. In her own way, she forces Homer to love her and to stay with her. In doing so,
Emily's rose wilts forever.
Following Emily's death, the townspeople enter her bedroom to find a shocking sight. The
room appears decked and furnished as for a bridal. A rose color drapes over the room,
upon the valance curtains of faded rose color, upon the rose-shaded lights. The wilted
image of the rose permeates the room, symbolizing the tarnished love between Emily and
Homer. Unfortunately, the love that Emily knew proves impermanent. The rose, and the love
it symbolizes, die along with Homer. This love disappears forever as Homer enters the
long sleep that outlasts love, that conquers even the grimace of love.
Today, a rose can symbolize many emotions, from passionate love and true friendship to
sympathy and regret. As in A Rose for Emily, not all roses are the same. Only roses of
true love last forever. The wilted roses of forced and obligated love, like Emily's,
cannot stand the tests of time, and eventually die. In life today, roses of all types
exists, and are not always what they first appear to be.
Like Emily, contemporary women also dream of receiving flowers, usually roses. In doing
so, they dream of the romances and loves from their past, as well as those yet to come.
The meaning of the rose crosses generations, appearing in stories written yesterday, as
well as fairy tales from centuries ago. The rose bridges language barriers and spans
continents. The rose is the true universal symbol of love.