I felt very sympathetic towards the character Emily, not only for the fact that she was portrayed to the readers as a lonely, pathetic old woman or the fact that the entire town viewed her as a mere gossip column and a sad excuse for a woman, but also because she perceived herself in the exact same way as everyone else. For her to be "one of Jefferson's finest" seems strange as you think there would be duties in order to remain known as one of the finest, such as being seen in public and maintaining a clean and pleasant household.
Her uncontrollable need to cling to the bodies of her deceased loved one's also seems a bit repulsive. Although you must feel sorry for her in the fact that she is a woman and didn't amount to much without her father or a husband in that time period, you can't help but think about the possibility that she may have mental problems, for keeping a dead body in your house is not exactly a normal thing to do(470). I didn't really understand why she had to murder Homer in order to keep him around either(474). Was it because he "wasn't the marrying kind" (471)? When stating that "He liked men" did that mean that he was gay or was there a deeper meaning that maybe I just didn't quite grasp (471)?
The story maintained my attention for a mere 10-15 minutes but is both challenging and time consuming for me to understand and analyze the basis for her thinking. Perhaps she did go insane like her aunt or perhaps she was just insecure with herself without a man in her life because of the time period in which she existed.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I agree with you that it was quite sad that the townspeople were always spying on Emily and making her life a big deal. perhaps they have nothing better to do with their lives?
Jessica,
You make such a wonderful, insightful comment here! "she perceived herself in the exact same way as everyone else." I think you've really keyed in on the saddest part of the story, and also what makes the character of Emily so intriguing! There is definitely a weird dynamic that occurs in this story (as well as others we've read) in which the perceptions of others begin to make the character see herself in the same way.
You also raise some good questions (which I would like to share with the class) about Emily's possible motivations for killing Homer. Maybe we can try to answer some of those questions today!
Also, you ought to check out Heather's blog...she wrote on a similar topic as you did.
Post a Comment