Throughout the short story "A Rose for Emily," William Faulkner uses vivid descriptions of the Grierson house to describe Emily's life, as she grows old only to wither anyway and die. As the story progresses the events that take place in Emily's life leave her distant to the community. The death of her father and the shattered relationship with her sweetheart contribute to her isolation. The house represents Emily's through her physical deterioration, her shift in social standing and her inability to accept change.
             The Grierson house symbolizes Emily's physical appearance. In the beginning of the story, the narrator describes the house as "white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies" ( ). These details indicate that the house is luxurious and impressive and not a common residence among all the townspeople. As the narrator continues with the story the house and Emily both have a decline in appearance. The house being "smelling of dust and disuse" is evidence of Emily's old age. The narrator compares Emily's body to a skeleton and says "she looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue" ( ). Emily's aging is evident when her voice is "harsh, and rusty, as if in disuse" ( ). A hint of being senile also points to Emily being an elderly individual. She refers to Colonial Sartoris, a person who has died a number of years ago. At the time of Emily's death and the house being seen by the townspeople as "an eyesore among eyesores," people associate Emily with a "fallen monument" ( ). Both the house and Emily are vacant and lifeless.
             The narrator uses the house as a symbol for Emily's change in social status. In the beginning the house was big and elegant located on the "most select street" ( ). This i...