In “A Rose for Emily”, a short story by William Faulkner, Ms. Emily is portrayed as a complex character. Readers can interpret her actions in different ways, where some might view her as a victim deserving of sympathy and others as a vengeful murderess. Either way, each viewpoint can be supported with conducive evidence from the text. I believe that Ms. Emily can be a representation of both, depicted as not only a character who lives in isolation and societal pressures in need of support but also as a perpetrator who committed a horrific crime, showing the vengeance of her nature.

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On one hand, Ms. Emily is a victim deserving of sympathy, due to the oppressive environment she lived and the societal pressures put on her. Belonging to a declining Southern aristocratic family, Ms. Emily is stunted due to her family, especially Mr. Grierson, her overbearing father. Largely due to not being able to accept her father’s death and the unwillingness to let go of the past, Ms. Emily struggles to adapt to the changing post-Civil War society. Moreover, the judgemental and intrusive attitudes of the townspeople plays a role in her downfall to reclusivity. She likely fell totally in love with Homer, and then suffered the bitterest let down when he told her that he was leaving. In this case, Ms. Emily is indeed a vulnerable victim of her circumstances who deserves sympathy and understanding in order to break free from her constraints.

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On the other hand, Ms. Emily can be viewed as a vengeful murderess. In the story we learn that Ms. Emily is more committed into the relationship than Homer is, so to ensure Homer doesn’t leave her Ms. Emily ends up poisoning him to death. She kills Homer just to fulfill her romantic interest, keeping his corpse in her bedroom for years where the truth does not unfold until Ms. Emily dies herself. For many readers including myself, this is an act of extremity. If Ms. Emily was alive when the townspeople found out she killed Homer, she could’ve been jailed for the case of murder. Therefore, it is reasonable to argue that Ms. Emily was a murderess, who, even though was fully aware of the consequences, decides to take revenge and perform this act as her assertion of power.

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All in all, Ms. Emily is portrayed as a complex character in the story “A Rose for Emily”, whose traits and circumstances play major roles in her life decisions. Due to various different interpretations and perspectives of her there is no definite answer for describing Ms. Emily’s identity. Ms. Emily has indeed grown up with poor circumstances and lack of support, and therefore can be characterized as a vulnerable woman needing sympathy. However, when the story continues to unfold later on in the story Ms. Emily poisons Homer to death and engages in an act of crime, making her a murderess. Whether if Ms. Emily is viewed as a victim deserving of sympathy or a vengeful murderess, it is important for us readers in the modern days to develop an understanding of people living in the post-war era.