"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner
Faulkner incorporates the first-person plural point of view in "A Rose for Emily" in order to narrate a perspective of Emily that encompasses all the townspeoples' thoughts and feelings. As such, the word "we" in the short story refers to the townspeople as a whole. Additionally, this first-person plural viewpoint supplements Faulkner's separation of the story into five individual parts. Each part stands to illustrate the progression of the townspeoples' view of Emily. In the early sections, the town sees Emily as "a sort of hereditary obligation", a pretentious woman, living a monotonous existence in her late father's home, free from paying taxes due to a previous agreement with a former mayor (Faulkner 282). Then, as Emily falls ill in section three, the townsfolk grow to pity her, calling her "Poor Emily" and speculating about her seemingly imminent suicide after she purchases arsenic from the druggist (Faulkner 286). In section four, Emily becomes a complete recluse, playing the role of creepy old lady for the townsfolk. Previously, the entire town had thought that Emily would marry the new contractor in town, Homer Barron, but he disappeared suddenly, leaving the townsfolk to conclude Emily had driven him away. Thus, the town expects nothing more than a lonely existence for Emily, wandering her house until her death in old age. As such, section five's dark twist brings a surprisingly grotesque, psychopathic aspect to Emily's character. Following Emily's death, the townsfolk enter her home to hold her funeral and cannot help but pry into a room kept shut for the past forty years. In the room, they find Homer Barron's corpse. Emily, wanting a husband desperately, had poisoned Homer, placed him on a bed in this room, and slept next to him for the past forty years. Thus, the townspeoples' view of Emily shifted radically from lonely sickly, old lady to insane murderous psychopath.
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