It is a really wired story. A woman poisoned his boyfriend in order to let him stay with her forever and make his dead body rotten in the bed. She just slept with the dead man for nearly 40 years. She did not socialize, she did not get out of his home, and also she even did not talk to anybody. What does make the eccentricity of Emily's behavior? The narrator mentioned that his father, who was very strict on her, get all the boys away from Emily. Also, his father did not have a good relationship with his sister or relatives. When his father died, Emily did not want to admit his death. Does his father make the miserable life for Emily?
Another question hanging in my mind is that what the Negro servant represent for. The narrator said something about the servant but not very much. We know he worked for Emily for many years since he was young. And then, he must know that Emily killed the man and what she deals with the body. Why did he accuse her or just leave? Why did he leave quietly after she died? He seems like a silent shadow in the fiction.
What does the name represent for? What does” Rose” stand for? The narrator never mentioned rose in the text. People always interpret rose in love. But Emily’s love is not the real meaning of love. The author never depicts her romantic love stories for us. Why does the author want to give Emily a “Rose”? To some extent, Emily is like a rose with thorn. Emily likes a rose that attracts people's attention but her eccentricity seems to be thorn that separates her from others.
Ji,
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up some very interesting points! Please talk in discussion tomorrow because I think the class could get a lot from your insight into the literature!
I think Emily's relationship with her father is a very complex one. She wasn't allowed to have any relationships with other men because of him (almost like a reverse Oedipal complex) and perhaps that did drive her desire to keep her father with her after he'd died. And then, once he had been taken from her, she killed the first man who seemed interested in her so she could permanently keep him with her.
I don't know what the servant represents. It's curious as to why he doesn't say anything when he must of known what was going on. I also wonder why Emily went after Homer Barron and not him (wouldn't he have made an easier target?).
And the symbolism of the rose is very interesting. In fact, you could probably write an entire paper on what the rose in the title means. I hadn't thought of Emily being the rose (beautiful but with thorns) but I think that's a wonderful, interesting image and I'm glad you mentioned it! You've deepened my own understanding of the text. Thank you!
Becky