Kubat 1

Aaron Kubat
Mrs. Pettay
ENG 112
20 April, 2016

The Feminist Critique of A Rose for Emily

The idea that a womans place is in the kitchen or beside a man in the home is an
antiquated one. It revolves around the false premise that a woman, because she is a woman, is
inherently inferior to her male counterparts. Sexism is defined as unfair treatment of people
because of their sex; especially : unfair treatment of women(Merriam-Webster). Sexism can not
exist without the premise that is stated above. As time goes by and civil rights are expanded in
ways women previously havent seen, life becomes much better and more in tune with the
American Dream, an idea that revolves around concepts like equality and mutual respect.
However, during the beginning of the 20th century, the status of feminism was decidedly lacking
in its widespread influence. A great example of the sexism inherent in American society,
especially southern society, is the depiction of women, and men, in William Faulkners A Rose
for Emily. A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner exemplifies the influence of the patriarchy
on early 20th century southern society through its depiction of women and their roles in society.
The depiction of how the townspeople saw Ms. Emily is a perfect example of how sexism
was a very large part of life in the town. When Ms. Emily dies, the narrator describes the way in
which the townspeople look upon her death. To the men of the town, the attending the funeral
was out of a sort of affection for a fallen monument.(Faulkner and Inge) The question therein

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lies, a monument for what? Ms. Emily, in the eyes of the townspeople is a maverick. She never
got married and lives alone in the house with a negro, something that causes a great amount of
speculation and rumors. Her entire life she did things that was not entirely appropriate for a
woman and so, she was an oddity to take notice of. However, because of this, no one in the town
wants to interact with her. She is a like a mutated animal in house shaped cage that hides in the
shadows whenever the townspeople come by to take a look at her, if ever they want to. The
reason why the townspeople think of Miss Emily in this way is because she has rejected the
notion of the status quo and so when she dies, it is as if a monument is being dedicated to a faulty
way of life, one that is now seen to be a proven failure. The women, being brainwashed by the
patriarchy into believing that their place is in the home, only comes to the funeral to see inside
the house, to drool over the things that they think might make their own homes nicer for their
male overlords and, of course, to gossip, an activity that is supported by the patriarchy because it
supports the fracturing of the female community, making it less likely for them to rise up and
become a united front in opposition to the patriarchal powers that be.
If women were to rise up and reject the status quo in the deep south, conservative, town
that the story takes place in, it might have ripple effects that would cripple the patriarchy in its
strongest hold out. By the time of the funeral in the early 20th century, 1st wave feminism was
coming to a close and women were beginning to be seen as equal members in the eyes of the law.
The seed was planted that women have the potential to contribute just as much if not more than
men according to Caroline Dorey Stein, a contemporary feminist scholar and historian (Stein).
With the seed already planted, the southern patriarchy in the story couldnt afford for it to spread

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deeper into the psyche of southern women who up until then, had no problem bowing down to
the men of the world.
The beginnings of this conspiracy came with the death of Emilys father, a man who had
failed to marry his daughter off the way that he should have. Colonel Sartoris, who, at the time of
Ms. Emilys fathers death saw this very clearly and took the first steps in ensuring that Ms.
Emily would become a monument to a failed life style. Because she refused to get married in the
proper fashion, or in any fashion at all, Ms. Emily lived alone in a large house with limited
means. As the leader of the town, the Colonel had to make it seem like he truly cared for Ms.
Emily and wanted her to live well without the support of a male figure. However, being a
conservative male and a veteran of a failed war that centered around a conflict to keep another
group of people in their place (the blacks), he resented that Ms. Emily was relatively independent
and feared that her independence would spread to other women. And so, he created the tax
scheme that would place Ms. Emily and crazy radicals in the same corner of the townspeople's
minds. Ms. Emily would not need to pay taxes because of a fake, undocumented debt that the
town owes the Grierson family, to which Ms. Emily belongs. However, Sartoris would keep it to
himself in order to make sure that the future leaders of the town would have no knowledge of
such an agreement and begin to ask questions after his death. A rift would eventually form
between the townspeople who pay their taxes like good, God fearing Christian Southerners and
Ms. Emily who refuses to upon an agreement that only two people know about, her and a dead
man. Along with her anti-patriarchal eccentricities and a refusal to pay her fair share, she would
eventually be ostracized by the town. This whole scheme is something that only a member of
Colonel Sartoris generation could have invented because his was the last generation free of the

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scourge of a female population bent on destroying the very fabric of society. Unfortunately, it
was also a scheme only a woman could have believed most likely because the women of the
era, still relatively untouched by the wonderful and freeing effects of feminism, reveled in a
naeitivity that kept them in the chains of their male overlords (Faulkner and Inge).
In this story of woe, set in the sexist times of the early 20th century, William Faulkner
showcases the power of the patriarchy through a southern towns treatment of a kindly old
woman that rejects the ways of the old south and the institutional power of men.

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Works Cited
Faulkner, William, and M. Thomas Inge. A Rose for Emily. Columbus, OH: Merrill, 1970. Print.
Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 10 May 2016.
Stein, Caroline Dorey. "A Brief History: The Three Waves of Feminism." Progressive Womens
Leadership. N.p., 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 18 May 2016.