This story gave me the chills but I like stories with gothic
feels to it. The way the author dragged on this mystery and his foreshadowing
built up suspense. Which is always great in stories. It was hard to stop
reading. I initially felt pity for Emily because she was lonely and wanted
nothing more but to be loved.
Faulkner portrays the negative psychological effects a man can have over a woman by using his
characters Emily and her father. All her life Emily was never allowed to be
with men because of her over bearing father. The only man in her life was her
father, and when he died she had trouble letting him go. Any sane person would
not keep their father's dead body in the house for three whole days. The way
her father raised her resulted in her having difficulty of letting go of the
past and people. It was no wonder why she killed her lover Homer. She was a
afraid to lose another man in her life and if she kept his dead body he would
never leave her. In a sick and twisted way Emily could be loved forever. Emily was
psychologically abused by her father and resulted in her insidious behavior.
I love the
way Faulkner puts imagery in describing Emily and her father, "Miss Emily
a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette
in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them
framed by the back-flung front door." The white to me symbolizes a pure soul &
innocence, the silhouette of her father is something dark, evil and mysterious.
Also the fact that he is in front of her shows that he wants no other man
getting to his daughter.
My question
for you is do you blame Emily for the way she acted?
