Essay about Retrospective Narration in A Rose for Emily

Retrospective Narration in A Rose for Emily â€Å"Now and then we would see her in one of the downstairs windows—she had evidently shut up the top floor of the house—like the carven torso of an idol in a niche, looking or not looking at us, we could never tell which. Thus she passed from generation to generation—dear, inescapable, impervious, tranquil, and perverse.† (128) Because â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is narrated in retrospect, this description of Miss Emily’s relationship with the town possesses a kind of foreshadowing not always present in stories narrated as the action unfolds. Each word takes on added meaning given that the narrator already know about Homer Barron and the room upstairs. Thinking back, the narrator recalls, â€Å"Now and†¦show more content†¦They even go so far as to intervene when they think that she and Homer Barron are being to free and openly affectionate, calling in her estranged cousins to keep an eye on her. However, Miss Emily is aware that she is being watched and shuts herself up away from her nosey neighbors. As they watch her, they debate whether or not she is watching them. What they don’t realize is that Miss Emily is unconcerned with the actions of her neighbors. She sees them for what they are—meddlesome, busy-bodies. The true nature of the narrator and other townspeople becomes even more obvious as he lists Miss Emily’s attributes—â€Å"dear, inescapable, impervious, tranquil, and perverse.† If Miss Emily is so â€Å"dear† to the town, why does the narrator also describe her as â€Å"inescapable?† Perhaps, he is thinking of her refusal to pay taxes and the impossibility of convincing her to do so or of the impossibility of escaping rumors and speculation about her since both she and the man she employed were uncooperative when asked about her comings and goings. Yet, normally, â€Å"inescapable† would mean that someone is trying to get away from her clutches. If this is the intent of the narrator, perhaps he is speaking not of the townspeople, but of Homer Barron who was literally unable to escape Miss Emily. The words â€Å"impervious† and â€Å"tranquil† are equally as ambiguous. It is quite clear that â€Å"impervious† is the perfect word to describe Miss Emily in terms of her reaction to being askedShow MoreRelated William Faulkners A Rose for Emily Essay examples4807 Words   |  20 PagesWilliam Faulkners A Rose for Emily I. Implied author of the story „A Rose for Emily†, a story of horror first published in 1930, is considered by many scholars one of the most authentic and the best narratives ever written by William Faulkner. It is a story of a woman, Emily Grierson, and her relationships with her father, the man she was in love with and the community of Jefferson, the town she lived in. While discussing any narrative text it is crucial to mention the implied author