Emily Grierson

Miss Emily, as the narrator of "A Rose for Emily" explains, is “a tradition, a duty, and a care, a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (119). In other words, she is a recluse and a source of fascination for the townspeople of Jefferson, who keep a constant eye on her doings. She never married, and her domineering father kept potential suitors away from her, but after his death she had a potentially scandalous relationship with a single suitor, a Yankee stranger named Homer Barron. Although her exact birthdate is unknown, it is likely she was born around 1850 - in any case before the Civil War. Her death is the point at which the story begins. The meaning of her life as a totemic Southern lady is the (implicit) question the story revolves around. "A Rose for Emily" is the only text she appears in.