of Emily trying to hold back the encroachment of new generations is shown in the description of her house which is built in the style of the 1870's despite being surrounded by new buildings. Faulkner writes:
             "Only Miss Emily's house was left, lifting its stubborn coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps"
             When Faulkner describes Emily as an old woman, he mentions a gold watch she wears around her neck. The watch descends so low on the chain it is obscured by her belt. Although the watch is unseen its constant ticking is audible:
             "...they could hear the invisible watch ticking at the end of the gold chain"
             This serves as a symbol of Emily's reluctance to observe the passing of time as generations pass by, and the world changes.
             Emily seems to cling to a by gone era when her family were given prominence. The authority to which I have referred, which Emily exerts over the townsfolk seems to be the residue of the time when her family had genuine power. This authority is never more evident than on the occasion when Emily buys arsenic from the druggist. It takes very few words for her to persuade him to sell her arsenic. He is prepared to ignore laws to satisfy Emily. This serves as a precursor to the discovery of her suitor Homer Barron's body in her bed some 40 years after his disappearance. The murder of Barron and his position in a marital bed is the ultimate attempt by Emily to halt the onslaught of time, and the dangers it brings.
             Another event which foreshadows the demise of Homer is the death of Emily's father. Emily's reluctance to give up the body of her father mirrors the death of Homer. Her refusal to accept the reality of his death is another example of Emily's fear of the passage of time.
             Throughout the piece Faulkner offers the reader images of Decay as generations succeed each other. Both Emily and her house are shown as decayed as if the great lie that has lain undiscovered in her bed has ...