The short story “A Rose for Emily,” written by William Faulkner, examines the psychological downfall of Emily Grierson, an aristocratic Southern woman, and her inability to cope with the changing times. Grierson's life during his youth was filled with an immense amount of tragedy, which left him with a desire to hold on as closely as possible to the important things that brought him happiness. After Emily's father dies and her lover leaves, she finds herself unable to cope with the dramatic changes in her life. As a result, she goes to extreme measures to ensure that her new lover, Homer, never strips her of the happiness he brings her. Additionally, Faulkner develops the main character, Emily Grierson, as having an obsession with the past due to the death of her father and her abandonment by her former lover. As a result, her obsession leads her to kill Homer in order to have him as hers forever. Faulkner introduces Grierson to his audience after his death as his readers are introduced to him at his funeral. It then takes readers on a journey through her life to reveal the events that led her to decide to kill Homer. However, Faulkner decides to first inform his readers of Grierson's obsession with the past and his inability to accept the change that follows. Faulkner informs us that Grierson was a “tradition, a duty, and a concern; a sort of hereditary obligation for the city” (Faulkner, 998). This is the result of Colonel Sartoris "[inventing] a complicated story that Miss Emily's father had loaned money to the town" (Faulkner, 998), leading Grierson to believe that she had not not to pay the taxes demanded by the new government. generation of local government. When the local government...... middle of paper ... acts on her troubled and grief-filled past, making her obsessed with the past and unable to move forward, however, with the arrival of Homer, she eventually achieves his goal of controlling time through the death of Homer.Works CitedBinder, Aubrey. “Discovering the Past: The Role of Dust Imagery in A ROSE FOR EMILY.” » The Explainer 70.1 (2012): 5-7. Academic research completed. Internet. Recovered. March 27, 2014. Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily” The Norton Anthology American Literature, 8th ed. Ed. N. Baym and Robert S. Levine. New York: WW Norton & Company, Inc, 2013. 998-1004. Print.Harris, Paul A. “In Search of Dead Time: Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.” » KronoScope 7.2 (2007): 169-183. Academic research completed. Web Retrieved. April 27, 2014. Schwab, Melina. “A watch for Emily.” (time in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner) » Studies in Short Fiction 28.