Flower for Emily

A flower for Emily takes place after the Civil War and into the 1900’s in the town of Jefferson, Mississippi—a town very similar to the one in which William Faulkner spent most of his life. It is a story of the conflict between the old and the new South, the past and the present—with Emily and the things around her steadfastly representing the dying old traditions and the present expressed mostly through the …

…she had tucked him away just like one would preserve a rose in order to bring back memories. The rose-colored room could also represent optimism. Perhaps Faulkner is suggesting that the old attitudes of both the North and the South must die in order for the two to be one. This is supported by the fact that the old Negro servant disappears upon Emily’s death and after the new generation has entered the house.