Power and Love in "A Rose for Emily" One of the most frequently anthologized stories by William Faulkner, "A Rose for Emily," is the remarkable story of Emily Grierson, an aging spinster in Jefferson, whose death and funeral draws the attention of the entire town, "the men through sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity." The unnamed narrator, which can be identified as "the town," in a seemingly …showed first 75 words of 629 total…

…showed last 75 words of 629 total…confidence in, herself. Forty years after Homer’s death, Emily dies at age 74 and her secret is discovered. Tobe becomes free at the death of his master, symbolizing the release of power and its disassociation with affection. In the very last sentence, “we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair,” we realize the pathetic nature of Emily’s life and sympathize with her. She never experiences true love outside of the restrictive reigns of power.