Foreshadowing in Miss Emily

In the short story, “A Rose for Emily”, the author, William Faulkner, creates a mysterious, respectable main character in a small town. This character, Emily Grierson, keeps to herself and her silence adds to her mysterious life. Miss Emily, throughout the story, undergoes various changes as she experiences the death of her father and lover. She becomes distant from her community which she is known as a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation. As her community changes, she also changes, both physically and mentally. In the story, there are many objects in which William Faulkner uses to help illustrate foreshadowing which symbolizes the passing of time and the changes in Miss Emily Grierson throughout the story. Faulkner uses objects such as Miss Emily’s house, and the ticking of the invisible watch to help create the changing images in her life itself.
The first example of foreshadowing in the story would be when the men went to visit her, to persuade her to pay her taxes; Miss Emily enters the room with a thin gold chain descending to her waist and vanishing into her belt. While there was silence in the room, the men could hear the invisible watch ticking at the end of the gold chain. The ticking of the watch symbolizes the passing of time, as it also symbolizes the passing of Miss Emily’s life and the entrance to a new generation.
The house in which Miss Emily lives in is another example of foreshadowing. The connection betw...

Foreshadowing in Miss Emily

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