Revised Essay #1
People live in denial every day and some people live in a state of denial every day of their lives. One fictional character that lives in such denial is Emily Grierson in William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily.” With Emily, Faulkner provides us with a woman unable and unwilling to accept the changing of time and the dangers involved with such behavior. Emily’s denial can be seen in the fact that she lives in a town that is progressing while she still lives in an era before the Civil War. Emily is also a product of her environment, which depends heavily on her father and how he relates to her. In a sense, he is the primary reason that she becomes a woman of solitude. While her father may be a large part of why Emily is the way she is, Emily cannot escape blame. She lives in complete denial of her father’s death for three days. In addition, she lives in denial of Homer’s true feelings for her entire life. Emily is a woman that cannot accept change and would rather deny the real world around her than face the truth. Emily proves that denial can be a strong force in anyone’s life. By looking at Emily Grierson's past and comparing it to her present, we can understand that she did not change with the times. This is important because I believe Faulkner’s biggest emphasis was Emily’s state of denial.
One important technique Faulkner utilizes to emphasize Emily’s denial to accept change is the narrator’s shift between past and present. The present tense is identified with change and progression while the past is coupled with death and darkness. At the beginning of the story at Emily’s funeral, we encounter many images of the past. Some of the men at the funeral wore “Confederate uniforms” (Faulkner 458), which automatically takes us back to another era in American history. Furthermore, these men at her funeral were there “through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument” (451). These images clearly indicate that Emily represents the past--a world that has come and gone. We also read that that past is “not a diminishing road, but, instead a huge meadow which no winter ever quite touches” (458). With this passage, we not only find an association between Emily and the past, we find an association that will not easily be broken. In addition, we see that it is not only Emily’s life that is linked with the past but her death as well. Something about Emily will never let go of the past, dead or alive.
To demonstrate how Emily is living a life of denial, Faulkner proves that Emily is more or less a product of her own environment. Her father is a major factor for Emily’s lifestyle and how she became to live a very isolated life. We know that her father had “driven away” (455) many, if not all, of Emily’s suitors. Here we see an old-fashioned father not protecting but rather preventing his daughter from living a healthy fulfilled life. His methods with her were harmful because while he did protect her from some of the hurts she might encounter, he also deprived her from some of life’s joys as well. Because she was so close to her father, Emily came to trust and believe everything for which he stood and none of those things were buried with him. This was primarily because Emily knew of no other way of life and his death represents an excellent example of how Emily’s life was one of denial.
Emily’s greatest denial is that her father simply cannot be dead. She is so completely accustomed and needful of his presence that she is unable to let go of him even at death. This is a serious problem. For example, we read that she keeps her father’s dead corpse inside their house for three days before she finally allows anyone to take it away. We also know that when the neighborhood ladies paid Emily a visit after her father’s death, when she answered the door there was “no trace of grief on her face. She told them her father was not dead” (454). Here we see a woman in great denial, as she would rather be around her father’s corpse than face the fact that he is dead and that she needs to move one with her life. Emily’s only way of coping was denying that anything had ever happened. Her father’s death is also a foreshadowing of the more tragic event of Homer’s death.
With Homer, Emily is in denial that he could never love her. As a result of her father’s teachings, Emily is quite arrogant and the “Griersons were held a little too high for what they really were” (454). Homer brings a certain level of complexity to Emily’s life and the story as well because of what he represents. Homer is no doubt a symbol of change and progression that represents the modern day Jefferson. However, for Emily, Homer represents something entirely different, which allows us to see the more disturbed nature of her character. For Emily, Homer provides a solution to her isolated life and how she deals with him when he does not live up to her expectations is a result of her denial. Rather than face the truth about Homer’s sexuality, Emily would rather live with Homer as a dead man. At the end of the story, when the town discovers Emily’s secret bridal suite, Homer is just as obscured as his initials are on the tarnished bathroom set Emily bought for him so many years ago. With this final, shocking discovery at the end of the story, we see just how much Emily lived her life in complete denial.
Emily Grierson demonstrates just how powerful the act of denial can be in our lives. While most of us live in denial at one point or another, we finally come to accept how things really are. In Emily’s case, we see a woman whose entire life was lived in denial. Through Emily, Faulkner allows us to see how one can come to live such a life. For instance, we know that Emily was unable to let go of the past. At her funeral, we are reminded of nothing but the past. Emily was also unable to accept the fact of her father’s death. She became so dependent on him, that it took three days for her to finally admit that he was gone. Furthermore, Emily’s denial of the facts refuses to let her see the truth about Homer, which proves to be deadly for him. Emily’s denial illustrates the powerful and destructive force of denial.

Work Cited

Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. New York: W. W. Norton and Company. 1981. pp. 451-59.