A Rose for Emily From a Marxist Perspective

A fabulous southern gothic novel by William Faulkner, a Rose for Emily was written during the reconstruction era of the south, sometime after the American Civil War. The time period was one of decline in the southern economy, which brings many problems for the Grierson family. The story focuses on the death of Miss Emily and the events that followed her death, revealing a chilling dark side of the Grierson’s. From a Marxist perspective the novel seems to reinforce a commodified aspect of life as well as a rigid class structure where classism is clearly welcomed by the town of Jefferson and its residents.

The Historical Context of the novel is vital in order to understand a Rose for Emily from a Marxist standpoint. The time period in which the novel was written is one of social, economic decay, the Civil War had just ended and with its end also came the collapse of most of the southern economy. The once prominent families that were considered aristocrats pre-Civil War had now come to a new realization, their previous socioeconomic status had vanished.

The privileged life of most aristocrat families came to an end; they were now seen by many as just another member of the middle class. The Grierson Family according to the author belongs to the upper class, in Marxist terms, this would be considered “Aristocracy”. This upper class feels in many ways superior to those below their social status and therefore feel entitled to certain societal privileges. The ideology was changing in the town of Jefferson; the older generation which wanted to uphold the traditions of the old south and the new generation who focused more in progressive ideology.

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The capitalistic culture portrayed in the novel is minimal considering that the economic standing of the most prominent family in town The Grierson’s was in decline. Although Miss Emily has lost her father she still holds on to the materialistic possessions who she views as commodities. In Marxist terms, it’s not uncommon for people or objects take the shape of commodities. An object may represent a home or a luxury car which value is then exchanged by the image that its owner may want to portray. This happens all the time in a capitalist system where appearances have a great impact on the way people are perceived. In the case of a person this commodified view could be someone from a lower social status trying to persuade a relationship with an individual from a higher social status. In doing so, the individual of lower class status may project the image of wealth conferred by his/her romantic partner. Therefore, in a capitalistic society relating to a person or any particular object in terms of their sign exchange value becomes normalized.

This type of commodified view towards the world is vividly represented in Miss Emily’s relationship with Homer Barron. She saw Homer as her savior a way to change her image to the rest of the town. A town that was eager to know more about the unusual relationship, they whispered “she will marry him” no” she will persuade him … poor Emily” (5). Therefore, in the case of Emily Grierson and Homer Barron the person who has more to gain from this relationship is Miss Grierson who by this point in her life has nothing to lose. So she allows the “Northerner, a day laborer” to court her and in doing so defying the social strictures placed upon her by the society in which she is a part of (4). In previous years her father had kept Miss Emily from seeking a relationship, but now things have changed. The father has passed away and she is now thirty years old, so she must ignore the social status of Homer Barron and persuade a relationship with him. This in turn will restore her dignity.

Most, if not all of Miss Emily’s material goods that she has accumulated over the years and inheritance are viewed as commodities. This is clearly represented by Miss Emily when the board of aldermen sent a deputation to her residence; they saw a woman “with a thin gold chain descending to her waist and vanishing into her belt, leaning on an ebony cane with a tarnished gold head” (2). The pride that her family name provided was the last thing Miss Emily had left. Presenting herself in the manner in which she did to the deputies proves that she firmly believed she still belonged in the upper class. She uses her gold chain and the ebony cane with the gold head to impress the deputies who were only seeking together to pay the taxes she owed. Miss Emily’s home “a big squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies” are also viewed as a sign exchange value(1). She feels pleased at what the ownership of the home confers upon her.

Tobe, Emily’s servant was another way to uphold her supposed wealth to others. Although the story is not clear whether he was paid for his services, slavery still existed in the time period in which this novel was written. So it’s plausible that Tobe was sold into a life of slavery to the Grierson Family. The rest of the town respected this type of ideology when referring to Tobe as “that man of hers” or “the old Negro” they welcomed this type of behavior towards the African American community (1). The Mayor of Jefferson in 1894 Colonel Sartoris, filed an edict upon the town that said “no negro woman should appear on the streets without an apron” this racist mentality was welcomed in town (1). To the reader this type of ideology was not only supported by Miss Emily, the older generation was also at fault. The younger generation was trying to change this, as they kept insisting for her to pay taxes. The Mayor Judge Stevens who was eighty years old was constantly urged on this matter but he was torn into respecting the traditions of the old south and the demands of his constituents.

The rigid class structure portrayed by William Faulkner in a Rose for Emily is in part to blame for the way the town of Jefferson is divided. In a rigid class society for example if a person is born in the upper class it is almost certain that, that individual will remain in the same privileged social class the entirety of his/her life. For instance the Grierson family and Colonel Sartoris belonged to the upper class which meant they enjoyed the finer things in life and had some sort of privilege that the rest of the town did not. The middle class was represented by the towns “Board of Aldermen” who worked on getting Miss Emily to pay her fair share of taxes owed to the town (3). The underclass might be someone like Tobe “the old negro” who had no life of his own and took care of Miss Emily until the day she died (2). He was also destined to stay in the same social class this is due to the circumstances of his birth. Tobe’s family was most likely depraved of their freedom which meant he was destined to a life of slavery. Tobe’s skin color was his worst enemy setting him for a life of servitude to Miss Emily.

Homer Barron in contrast has a better life than that of Tobe but is unable to get ahead as he is stuck in a construction job that offers little to no hope for a better future. Working in “paving the sidewalks” of the town of Jefferson, he was not destined to be successful in life (2). The class system worked perfectly in Jefferson as no one could ever get ahead as long as they accepted this ideology of a rigid class system. Everyone remain in the same social class until their death just like Miss Emily; who remained too proud to accept that she no longer belonged to the upper class. The only memory of a wealthy life were her last possessions inherited by her father who thought that “none of the young men were quite good enough” for his only daughter (3). Due to the patriarchal structure in Emily’s family she had to submit to her father’s wishes and remain unmarried. Mr. Grierson a controlling individual with a strong defiant demeanor always seemed to get his way with regards to Emily’s social and love life.

William Faulkner display of classism is mainly portrayed in Miss Emily Grierson, the main character of the novel. From a Marxist perspective, classism is considered an ideology that is strictly tied to an individual’s human value to the social class to which he/she belongs to. This ideology claims that self-worth comes from within, and the higher an individual’s social standing the better their “quality of blood” that is innate. Consequently Classism fosters the idea that individuals from a higher social class are naturally superior to the lower class. From this standpoint according to the values of classism the upper class individuals should hold the positions of power. Hence the ideology of classism can be considered to be in many ways discriminatory against the poor.

The notion of classism is vividly depicted in the main character, Miss Emily who despite losing her fortune still feels superior to the rest of the townspeople. This is due to the historical economic standing of the family name, which was still perceived by many as “the high and mighty Griersons” (2). Throughout the novel Miss Emily renders herself as a respectable wealthy woman. Mayor Judge Stevens also believed this as he remained unwilling to confront Miss Emily about the smell protruding from her home shortly after the death of her lover. The Mayor clashed with the new generation of aldermen who by then saw Miss Emily as a burden a “hereditary obligation upon the town” (2). Miss Emily who believed was exempt form civic responsibilities remained uninterested as the rest of the town tried to deal with her smelly home. Judge Stevens preserving the traditions of the old south was unwilling to confront Miss Emily he believed in proper etiquette when referring to a lady such as Miss Grierson. This dilemma persisted throughout the novel where traditions and progressive mentality clashed in the town of Jefferson. The unwillingness of Judge Stevens to confront Miss Emily, leads her crime to remain unpunished and the body of her lover discovered decades later shortly after her death.

In this short novel the author invites the reader to criticize and expose the underlying factors that govern the town of Jefferson and its residents. The commodified ideology expressed by the main character and the rigid class structure as well as classism that dominated the town was clearly exposed by the author. The views displayed by the main character seem to do more harm than good. The feeling of alienation that Miss Emily suffered, was the consequences of this type of commodified view who she used to relate to the outside world. The rigid class structure that the town welcomed was in a sense condemning them to continue in a world where the rich remained in power and the poor oppressed. The distorted view that Miss Emily had of classism was to blame for a life of loneliness as she and her father believed to be of a higher social standing until death. A society governed by oppressive ideologies like those depicted in the novel have no hope for change. Moreover, the responsibility then lies upon the new generation of citizens to fight against repressive ideologies that promote social and economic discrimination against the lower class.