The Symbol of the Rose in William Faulkners A Rose for Emily :: William Faulkner A Rose for Emily

The Symbol of the Rose in William Faulkners A Rose for Emily In William Faulkners A Rose for Emily, Miss Emily Grierson is a lonely old woman, living a life void of all love and affection although the rose save directly appears in the title, the rose surfaces throughout the story as a symbol. In contemporary times, the rose also symbolizes emotions like love and friendship. The rose symbolizes dreams of romances and lovers. These dreams belong to women, who like Emily Grierson, have yet to start true love for themselves. Throughout the life of Emily Grierson, she remains locked up, never experiencing love from anyone but her father. She lives a life of loneliness, left only to dream of the love absent from her life. The rose from the title symbolizes this absent love. It symbolizes the roses and flowers that Emily never received, the lovers that overlooked her. The domineering attitude of Emilys father keeps her to himself, inside the house, and alone until his death. In his own t rack, Emilys father shows her how to love. Through a forced obligation to love only him, as he drives off young male callers, he teaches his daughter lessons of love. It is this dysfunctional love that resurfaces later, because it is the only way Emily knows how to love. When bell ringer Baron, a construction worker, comes into Emilys life he sheds hope into her life. He offers Emily a chance to feel love and to receive the affection she has previously only dreamed of. Together they take Sunday carriage rides, and for awhile, the towns people seem to think that Emily will finally wed. It appears to them that Emily has finally found her rose. Emily then sets out to take on the ultimate form of the rose dream, that of marriage. She purchases a mans toilet set in silver, with the letters H.B. on each piece(Faulkner 77) and a complete outfit of mens room clothing, including a nightshirt(Faulkner 77). However, Homer disappears when his work is through, leaving Emily once again without a rose. Within a couple of weeks Homer, is seen entering Emilys house late at night. Emily realizes that Homer has no plans to stay, so she demonstrates her love the only way she knows how, by killing him. In her own way, she forces Homer to love her and to stay with her. In doing so, Emilys rose wilts forever.