William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” gives a very accurate depiction of how the Southern attitude and culture was during the Reconstruction era after the Civil War. Everything from the small town culture to the racism of the period is depicted in this story and that helps the reader better understand not only the time period, but also gives more context to the story. Overall, the “Southern Attitude” is the whole reason a story like this even makes sense. The small town attitude, the local government exempting a pitiful girl from taxes when she could of paid, men being vigilantes and breaking into a house to fix a smell, and the hatred for the Black man and Yankee that were the only two people in Emily’s life are all such key parts of the story, that it couldn’t exist without them. 

During the reconstruction period there was still lots of animosity between North and South because of the war. However, after the war many northerners moved down too south to try to capitalize on the aftermath of the war. (History.com Staff) These Yankees were called “Carpetbaggers” and per history.com, “the term “carpetbagger” refers to a traveler who arrives in a new region with only a satchel (or carpetbag) of possessions, and who attempts to profit from or gain control over his new surroundings, often against the will or consent of the original inhabitants.” In the story the townsfolk say, “of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner,” because during that time they were hated in the South. That’s why people are even more concerned when the high class women, who is going insane, decided to marry him a low class northerner. 

A key part of the story the relationship between Emily and her father. During this time period woman were not totally free. The couldn’t vote, were expected to be a housewife, and the social norm was to respect their husbands and fathers and obey them without question. (Reconstruction) During her younger years her father was incredibly controlling and wouldn’t let her marry any man. He is probably a big reason for her insanity because while it was normal for a father to have to approve them men his daughter married during the time, he went overboard. She followed the social norm of living with her father until she was married, but since she never married, she never left. He was her whole world and so when he died, she even refused to let anyone in for three days to get the body.

While women weren’t free to do what they wanted, men were expected to not do certain jobs as well. The “negro man” that takes care of Emily is mocked for getting groceries by women of the town. One even says, “Just as if a man--any man--could keep a kitchen up properly.” This was widely the attitude of the entire time period. Men simply didn’t do that and it was wrong and strange to not have the woman of the house take care of all the cooking, cleaning and basic housework.  

Now while women were not totally free, just a few years earlier blacks were actual slaves. In the story there is a black man that takes care of Emily and he is only referred to as, “that negro man” This time period was incredibly racist and odds are that man had been a slave before the war and just continued to work for Emily’s family. Many slaves had continued to work for their former slave owners because they truly had nowhere else to go. Some slave’s entire family was born and died on one plantation. (Reconstruction)These people had done nothing else their whole lives so they didn’t know what to do if they left. Throughout the whole story however they never give the negro man a name and that’s because in that period many thought of them as less then human. Now while that seems terrible and certainly is, that was the attitude of all the time and was widely accepted as common. 

The fact that the story is set in a small town makes it possible for some things to happen that couldn’t of in a big city or even in modern times. One thing that would not be possible in a bigger city is that Emily is exempted from taxes because the local government felt bad for her. In this small town everyone knew everyone and no one wanted to make the local pitiful crazy lady pay taxes when she was convinced her long dead father had met with a long dead Colonel and took care of it. Another thing that happened in the story that couldn’t have happened if it was set in a different town was how they dealt with Miss Emily’s house smelling. When the local Judge receive complaints of Emil’s house smelling bad he puts it off because he didn’t want to be mean to a local girl. The next day he receives more and he says “Dammit, sir, will you accuse a lady to her face of smelling bad?” During this time men were supposed to be very hospitable and chivalrous to women and especially a Judge had to be a perfect gentleman. However, during tis time and especially in a small town in the South there was lots of vigilantism. When it came to dealing with this smell the only way it was fixed was when four men broke into her yard and cellar and spread lime throughout it. The whole town knew this happened and yet no legal action was taken against people literally breaking into someone’s house and trespassing because it was for in at least the towns eye’s the right reasons. 

William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” perfectly encompasses the culture and attitude of a small southern town during the reconstruction period. It mentions everything from a Yankee carpetbagger coming into a town for the first time to a high-class woman marrying what some would call, “below her station.” It mentions how women are during the time not truly equal and how blacks are certainly not. The negro man that works for Emily was almost certainly a slave at some point that continued to work for Emily’s family as that was a common thing to happen during the time. Not even to mention the small-town attitude where the local government makes exceptions to laws and vigilantism is rampant. This story is truly a great picture into the small town attitude and reconstruction period’s culture.
