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LitCourse 6

A Rose for Emily
William Faulkner (1897-1962)

In Brief
Faulkner's short story about Miss Emily Grierson has captivated and disturbed readers for three-quarters of a century. The story concerns the plight of a southern aristocratic woman and her long descent into poverty and isolation. Although slyly, even wickedly, humorous, its ending truly shocks. But don't be too quick to judge Miss Emily: perhaps she deserves our sympathy: Faulkner himself thought so. Read the selection.

A disclaimer
Many readers are offended by Faulkner's use of the N word when referring to Miss Emily's black servant. There are three points to consider. First, the story took place during the Jim Crow era when the term was commonly used; thus, Faulkner would have achieved a more authentic (albeit racist) narrative voice. Second, in a good many of his works, African-Americans stand out as moral forces among his characters. Finally, Faulkner used his Nobel prize status to become an outspoken champion for integration and civil rights.

About the Author
Faulkner is my favorite author, and you haven't truly read Faulkner till you read The Hamlet...or Absolom, Absolom! (see LitPicks-March '07) ... or Light in August. His most famous work, The Sound and the Fury (title from Shakespeare's Macbeth), is a stunning but very difficult work, using stream-of-consciousness. (Cliff Notes are a must for this, honest!) It was this novel that brought him public notice, but not till a good 10 years after publication.

A 1949 Nobel prize winner, Faulkner memorialized southern life, writing about Oxford, Miss., the actual locale of his Yoknatapawpha County, the mythical setting for nearly all his works. Characters appear and reappear in his novels and short stories, creating a rich, complex web of relationships. He did time as a Hollywood screenwriter (along with F. Scott Fitzgerald); his most famous script is Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.