A Rose for Emily is a short story by William Faulkner in 19th century. William Faulkner (1897-1962) is a famous novelist in Mississippi. Most of his novels focus on the social problems in the 19th century in the Southern society especially the problems of high class women. In "A Rose for Emily", William Faulkner presents Miss Emily's instable state of mind through a missed sequence of events. He arranges the story in fractured time and then introduces characters that contribute to the development of Miss Emily's personality. The role of women in society is constantly questioned. Some women are victim of circumstances and times. So, in order to live happy life, they need to work around their situation.
             In order to understand the story, it is very important to understand the setting and how the main character develops it. The town is very small and isolated. There is a great deal of gossip that regularly circulates from people to people in the town with great interest. Because of the small town, the private life of a person becomes known to other people rapidly. For example, Emily's relationship with construction worker, Homer Barron, is a talk of the town. The town cannot accept the fact that a Grierson would have an interest in a "Northner, a day laborer" (78). The ladies begin to say that Emily is a disgrace to the town and a bad example to the young people. But some older people say, "even grief could not cause a real lady to forget nobles oblige-without calling it nobles oblige" (78). Furthermore, when she buys the poison from the pharmacy, the town is convinced that she is going to kill herself and she is crazy. One of the things people talk a lot about is Emily's servant that works for her. They make racial comments about him. For example, when Miss Emily's house starts giving off some sort odor, people start complaining to a judge named Judge Stevens about the smell. Thus the commentary on ...