A Rose for Miss Emily essay

It is possible to state that A Rose for Miss Emily is a story that describes the heart in conflict with itself because of the actions of the protagonist. Such emotions as love, pain, and injured vanity break Emily’s heart into pieces and turn her into a monster.

Although Faulkner does not include the details of the relationship, providing only rumors of other citizens, it is clear that Emily falls in love with Homer and starts to imagine their future together. Homer is the representative of the lower class, and still, she does not take this issue into consideration and gives him a chance. Taking into account that she disagrees to pay taxes like other citizens (Faulkner 1), it is possible to conclude that she feels superior. This feeling of superiority also proves her deep feelings towards Homer, who is definitely not of her level. If he is no match for her, she expects that he will value her affection so much that he will never leave her.

Unfortunately, Homer turns to be far from a marrying kind (Faulkner 4). Basically, he uses her as a temporary toy. Thus, when she suddenly finds out that he splits up with her, she becomes desperate. This unexpected piece of news destroys all her dreams and hopes. In other words, it destroys the world that she started to build around Homer. These events lead to the conflict that raises in her heart. On the one hand, he is the love of her life. She understands that nobody will be able to fill the emptiness in her heart if he goes away. On the other hand, the pain that he causes her is unbearable. As a result, her heart has to deal with both love and pain, which results in the emergence of a new feeling – hatred. Hatred is temporary stronger than love because the wound is fresh. Hatred gives her courage to purchase poison.

 

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Homer is also important for Emily because she stops being lonely with him. The author mentions that Emily’s father destroys every single chance for her happiness by refusing all men who want to marry her (Faulkner 3). Besides, it is clear from the story that Emily is an unsociable person who does not have any desire to communicate with other citizens. She lives a reclusive life and does not let anyone pry into it. It is not clear whether she likes this lifestyle, or she is just used to it, but Homer is her single chance not to stay lonely. It may be another reason for murdering him.

She decides to leave his remains beside her to possess if not his soul, but his body till the end of her life. She is so desperate and confused that Homer’s dead body makes her feel not so lonely. Her broken heart agrees with the crime because it is the only way to make Homer stay. Usually love means that a spouse’s happiness is foremost, but Emily’s love is different – possessive and selfish. Emily’s ego is too huge to accept that the man she loves does not want to stay with her. She thinks that she owns Homer, and his fate is to stay with her for eternity. Emily is so arrogant that she thinks that she has the right to do anything to be happy, even if it means committing such a terrible crime.

To conclude, Emily’s heart is full of contradicting feelings. These feelings tear Emily’s heart apart and lead to an awful deed. Even if a person is desperately in love and his or her heart is in pain, he or she has no right to act like a God.