Emily Grierson's Friends And Foes

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Emily Grierson’s Friends and Foes
Emily Grierson’s closest companion can unknowingly be her own worst enemy. Whether it is a girlfriend, boyfriend, parent, or sibling, one can never know who is trying to bestow evil on her. Emily always has enemies lurking around in the shadows somewhere and for some reason. In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” enemies are found throughout the main character’s entire life. Emily Grierson is victimized by those who should have cared most for her.
Emily’s father is the first to be misleading to her in her life. Her father thinks that “none of the young men [are] quite good enough for Miss Emily…” (7). Emily feels differently about the young men, but her father never allows her to have any boyfriend. Everyone “…remembered all the young men her father had driven away…” (7). Therefore when Emily finally gets herself a boyfriend, she doesn’t want to let him go.
Homer Barron is Emily’s first real boyfriend. No one in the town can believe she would “… think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer” (7). Homer is also someone who deceives Emily. Not only does he use her just for his satisfaction while he is in town, he lets the whole town know about it. Homer makes a mockery of Emily at the Elk’s Club with the younger men. Then the whole town believes that Homer and Emily are going to marry, until he tells everybody that “… he is not the marrying kind” (8).
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When Emily and Homer’s relationship ends, she doesn’t even have any friends to rely on.
The women of the town aren’t very helpful in Emily’s time of need. When her father dies they don’t even feel true pity for her for the loss of her father, “they pity Miss Emily [because she is] left alone [and now] has to be humanized” (7). Instead of offering condolences out of the kindness of their hearts, the ladies only offer it because it is their custom. When Emil...