Writing Resources
The Standards of the King A Rose for Emily is a peculiar social commentary which perfectly presents the role and demands of women during the early 20th century This short story would represent the society's perception of a female Every human lives in a certain society and is influenced by its traditions and principles A society is an institution which has a right to judge and sustain the pressure Thus people create a strong sense of one's responsibility for another In A Rose for Emily Miss Emily gets into this situation Jefferson s community feels a great obligation to take care of her and control her actions Throughout the story she is perceived by her environment as a weak and dependent woman When her father passes away she is left alone She does not have a man to care for her so the town council decides to absolve her tax duties The people of the town tried to shelter her needs by offering their help and sympathy They also try to be lenient with her eccentricities dating with a Yankee buying a poison or keeping corpse of her father This caretaking of Miss Emily depicts the perception of women during that period of time A woman without a man is helpless She is not able earn her living as well as to remain mentally well and function properly in the society Miss Emily is portrayed as a lost lonely outsider where she lives in a town full of expectations that she could not meet The short story is based on a female position and her interaction with society where a woman is controlled by men She is taught and forced to live according to the well established principles and rules of the town
