Men That Died in Faulkner\'s Story, Emily\'s

¶ … men that died in Faulkner's story, Emily's father and Homer. In what way, if any, were they responsible for the way Emily reacted to them? How did her father's treatment toward her impact her relationship with Homer? Why was there no mention of Emily's mother in the story? Was this significant, in your opinion?

Miss Emily was to the town what a lot of people who have enough wealth to be exclusive are in a small town. The South is especially populated with families that have names which are recognized in their region or state as having been prominent at one time, so they are afforded more notice than everyone else. The people were curious about her, and they were, it seemed, especially curious about her relationships and why she had not appeared in public after Homer left her.

From the story it does not seem that the town was expecting any relationship between a man such as Homer and Miss Emily. Faulkner says, "Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer." It intrigued the town at first that she was "stepping out" with someone who was considered beneath her, since she had considered the boys of her class unworthy when she was younger. But, she did continue to see Homer. Faulkner show with the language he uses how abruptly the romance ends because one moment Emily is going riding with him on Sundays and the next she is buying poison from the druggist.

The two men in the question, Homer and Emily's father, were both pronounced dead by the author at some point in the story. It begins talking about Emily's death and then begins to discuss different elements of her life. Her father was apparently an important man in the town because he was revered by the mayor. Colonel Sartoris pronounced that Emily would not have to pay taxes because her father had been a prominent man. The story never reveals exactly who her father was, but it does talk about some of his characteristics. One trait is explained when Faulkner says

"None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such. We had long thought of them as a tableau, Miss Emily a slender white figure in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung front door."

Faulkner also talks, later in the story, about "that quality of her father which had thwarted her woman's life so many times had been too virulent and furious to die." He is speaking of the deficiency that Emily developed because of the actions of her father. Apparently he believed that no one was god enough for her because of her name, and he passed that sentiment on to her.

It seems that Homer had a different type of responsibility for Emily's actions toward him. He was a commoner, a day laborer, someone whom her father would definitely not have approved of. Homer was gregarious and fun, something that had probably always been missing from Emily's life. At first, she enjoyed the fun and attention that he offered, but, eventually, the nature that her father had instilled in her reasserted itself. It seems that she was probably torn between loving Homer, and, especially after the visit from her cousins, reminder of the high standards that she needed to maintain because of her family name. She most likely bought the poison because she thought it would be a passive way to kill him and one, because of the strength of the poison, would be quick. The interesting part of the story is what the people found in her room after her death.

The long gray hair on the pillow next to Homer's body suggests the part he played in her actions. She was still absolutely in love with him, but she could not marry him. So, she took the only out that she knew; she killed him and had his body entombed in her room. The negative parts of her character seemed to come from her father and the positive, if she had any, were form Homer.

The real issue is that she probably would have had a more positive role model in her life if her mother was around. Given that the story does not mention a mother, it is safe to assume that she did not have one when any of the events of the story took place. Many women died in childbirth at that time, so this may have been the reason she was not around, but regardless that influence does not seem to have been present for Emily.

Throughout the story it seems that Emily has many more manly characteristics than feminine. She is strong and aloof to the townspeople and she reacts to situations with insensitivity. The only time in the story she shows any feminine sensibility is in her reaction to Homer. A mother may have been as bad as her father in keeping her away from the people of the town and from boys unworthy of her, but maybe not. She was dominated by her father and by his name, thus she could never truly be herself. A mother would have probably taught her how to be a woman, whereas her father taught her to be a man. For these reasons, it seems that she would have been much better off with a mother.