Character of Emily in A Rose for Emily - Essay Example

She even tried to convince the townspeople that he had not died, but they eventually got her to hand over his body for burial.

After her father’s death, Emily spent years in mourning. She became a recluse, seldom showing her face to the town. Despite being very much alive, Emily was no different than someone dead. She had no life to her. Even her appearance, gray and fading, was similar to her house, which was in ruins. Then, she found Homer, who it was rumored that she would marry. One day, Homer went into her home and was never seen again. Many decades later, when Emily died, some of the townspeople went into her home. In the bedroom lay Homer, who had been dead for quite some time. On the pillow that his head rested on were an indention and a gray hair from Emily’s head, suggesting that she had spent much of her time sleeping next to him.

Just as Emily had been in denial about her father’s death, so was she about Homer’s death. She was either unwilling or unable to leave behind the past, wanting to live with Homer as though he were still living. Emily spent her years stuck in the past, trying to hold on to something that had stopped being there. It is difficult to judge Emily’s actions as change, especially death, can affect someone. Just as anyone else would cope with death, Emily found her method of coping, and that was to not let go of the past, even if it meant living with a dead man. The townspeople did not interfere with Emily’s life for a similar reason. They could not justify telling Emily how she should cope with her despair. They let her do what she felt she needed to.