The changes that occurred in the southern states during the late eighteen hundredths and early nineteenth hundredths was met with harsh resistance. The civil war between the north and the south brought about these changes. One major change was the abolishment of slavery. The south wanted to keep slavery alive and well and was not happy to say the least when slavery was abolished. After the abolishment of slavery, the south found new ways to repress the newly freed slaves. William Faulkner presented us with “A Rose For Emily.” This short story gave us a beautiful insight into the life of one tragic woman named Emily who stayed emerged in her old world views and refused to see the world for what it was becoming. How does Emily’s refusal to accept the changes in the south lead to her demise?

The civil war brought about a new era in the southern states of America. The change that was most notable was the abolishment of slavery. The abolishment of slavery meant the aristocratic wealthy slave owners no longer had free labor. Though this was met with harsh resistance the law made owning another person illegal. In Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” Emily acted as though she was unaware of the slavery abolishment because while Faulkner did not state outright that the African-American man who seemingly served the family was the family’s slave, the implication was absolute. The “man servant” worked for Emily until she died and according to the text was hardly ever seen unless he was going to the market. During a time when the south was resentful and angry because of the changes that the civil war brought about especially abolishing slavery, the notion of letting go was difficult for many southerners (Faulkner 6). According to James M McPherson, author of “Out of War, A New Nation” the debate on slavery between the north and the south was such an outrageous debate that at one point Mississippi Senator Henry S. Foote brandished a revolver. Change is an extremely difficult thing, especially when that change affects people’s lifestyle and livelihood; some people refuse to accept the change and carry on as if the change was never made and this is illustrated here with Emily (McPherson).

Change affects people differently, and the changes in the south affected many people, some in catastrophic ways. The aristocratic families of the south that depended on slave labor to continue their businesses received a staunch upset to their lifestyle when slavery was abolished.  The families of the elite depended on the slave labor for many other things aside from slave labor. House slaves would perform a multitude of duties. When slavery was abolished, this forced many people to have to do the work themselves or hire people to perform these task for them.  The manservant that tended to Emily’s needs would be considered a house slave before slavery was abolished. Another area in which changes affected the aristocratic families, especially in the southern states was their status in their community. 

Prior to slavery’s abolishment, wealth was calculated based on how large a plantation was and how much money was being made; this required a vast number of slaves, and many plantations had well over 50 slaves at any given time. Wealth afforded plantation owners respect and status; if they did not have wealth or status, they were considered a “hilly billy” according to Rudolf Herbele who did a study on the changes that occurred in the southern region. According to Herbele the term “hilly billy” had nothing to do with social class; it had to do with status. Where was the family’s place in the community? Plantation owners were well esteemed, so any salaried employee was considered a hilly billy. At one point, Emily’s family was extremely wealthy and well esteemed in the town, and they carried themselves as such. Though it was evident that Emily’s family had little to no money after her father passing, Emily still considered herself above everyone else, at least this is what we are led to believe by the people in town. Of course the fact that Emily spoke to no one did not help her cause in any way (Herbele 43).

How exactly are the changes that occurred in the south relevant to Emily both in a cultural and historical context? The culture of the south was vastly changing; Faulkner noted this when he discussed the garages and cotton gins that took over the neighborhood, adding that Emily’s family’s outdated house was the only thing left standing which signifies her defiance of a changing culture (Faulkner 1). Also, obviously there were working class people everywhere; a laborer was no longer considered a hilly billy if he or she worked for someone else in order to provide for his or her family because with the free slave labor gone, well, what exactly were people to do? 

Another way Emily defied the town and stayed in her old generation’s ways was refusing to pay taxes. Emily claimed she did not owe any taxes. The towns people all had to pay their taxes, except for Emily. Though times changed Emily found no relevance in the changing times and dug her heals in. Although the town disagreed with Emily’s views, no one dared challenge Emily because she was looked upon as a “monument,” a monument that the old generations would protect at all costs, (Faulkner 1) a monument turned murderer as the town’s people came to see when they pried that door on the second floor open. 

What exactly are the results of the changes that occurred in the south after the civil war? The once thriving economy of the south suffered greatly. The plantation owners had no one to work their plantation and many were reduced to a “hilly billy,” they had to work their own plantations or hire other laborers to do the job for them. The lavish lifestyle of these aristocratic families came to a halt. They no longer had the money to maintain such lifestyles, and this increased their hatred and resentment towards the northerners and African Americans. The northerners were a disgrace, and the townspeople made note of this when Emily started dating northerner extraordinaire Homer Baron, “ a Yankee, and a lover of men” the towns people criticized her relentlessly because “ no respectful southern would take him serious” (Faulkner 4). While the town criticized Emily for dating a northerner, one has to wonder if the roles were reversed and a man was dating a northern woman, would the town be so harsh in it critique? The town quite possibly would not; they did not like Emily, so anything she did was scrutinized. This in part was to the fault of Emily and her high society attitude, her refusal to be neighborly and communicate with the other people in the town. However, a man would not have been met with the same harsh resistance.

Faulkner’s, “A Rose for Emily” gave us an insight into the mind of one deranged woman who thought that the changes that occurred around her daily did not apply to her. The old world attitude that Emily refused to leave behind hindered her progress in the ever-changing new world. Emily’s refusal to accept what was right in front of her led her down a very drudgery path from which she did not recover from. Had Emily accepted the changes that occurred, as it seemed that many people in the town did, she quite possibly would not have ended up a sad, old, recluse of a person who had to possibly murder her lover to prevent him from leaving. 
