A rose for Emily

Beyond the complexity of the story itself, its sometimes gruesome details and the approach that the author takes in terms of combining different temporal levels rather than using a single temporal line, the story is also interesting because of the way in which the author employs the narrator as the intermediary within the storyline and how the narrator becomes a character himself.

The first notable issue about the narrator that should be discussed here is the use of the pronoun 'we' rather than the usual 'I' for the narrator. This makes him (the paper will refer to the fact that the male is a narrator further below) a collective narrator rather than an individual one. At the same time, the reader understands from that point that he is a member and part of the town, representing and mediating its presence in the relationship between the town collective dimension and the readers. The narrator also makes himself part of the destiny that has surrounded Miss Emily and, in part, accepts the responsibility for the entire town: in part because of their negligence did the events occur and partly because of that did she live in the complete isolation in which she continued her existence.

Parts of the story are also relevant for determining the narrator's age: the fact that he is able to talk in detail about Colonel Sartoris's time, even if he had been dead for about ten years before the members of the council visited Miss Emily to talk about her taxes, shows that he had been a contemporary of the Colonel, although the narrator was probably at a young age then. Following on the same line, all of the events he talks about are sufficiently in detail to mark him as being contemporary for them.

The narrator seems to be more middle class than belonging to the upper classes and the main argument for this resides in his admiration for Miss Emily, despite some of the less noble actions during her existence. His admiration ranges from respect for her choices, including that of separating herself from the rest of the world, which the narrator sees as a manifestation of her sense of aloofness and nobility, to an acceptance of her way of life. This type of admiration can usually be seen from lower classes to the upper ones, because of a type of existence that simply fascinates and intrigues. This is also reflected in the fact that the narrator admits that the entire town has held the Griersons in great esteem, despite their arrogance. Other elements pointing out to the social condition of the narrator as a middle class individual are the fact that he enjoys, alongside the other people in the town, the fact that Miss Emily had become a pauper, as well as the fact that he seems to enjoy the fact that she was not able to get married.