William Faulkner introduces us to Miss Emily Grierson at her funeral, in his short story "A Rose for Emily". With heighten curiosity and a level of pity the whole town had gathered at Miss Emily's home for this event. Who was this woman that kept the curiosity peeked of town? That is the question indeed! Miss Emily is a frigid, unbalanced character, who while very strong and dominating, her bouts with loneliness and entitlement turn her into a pitied mad woman. .
Miss Emily wasn't always so distance, she was once a vibrant young girl with many suitors. She could have easily been married, but her father would not allow that to happen and drove away the young men. The people of Jefferson, "believed that the Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were. None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such." Miss Emily had no one in her life besides her father. He instilled the Grierson's entitlement, and influenced her actions, and refused her a life of her own. She craved his acceptance and leaved to please the only man in her life, her father. When her father dies, this is the breaking point. Overwhelmed and all alone she became frigid and isolated. .
She cannot except that the world around her is changing, instead she is determined to keep things as they were. Miss Emily is very strong and dominating and she will not be told what to do! Jefferson has transformed while the Grierson residence still remains decaying. William Faulkner tells "only Miss Emily's house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps-an eyesore among eyesores." She remains in the past, and the house remains stuck as well. When faced with the changing of the times, and she will not allow the newer generations to control her, she refuses to pay taxes. She fights the law and will not allow numbers or a mailbox on her property.
