“A Rose For Emily” By William Faulkner And “Araby” By James Joyce: Theme Of Love

Love is a popular them for movies, music, and books. Love is an emotion that everyone can feel. The short stories, Araby and A Rose for Emily, tell a tale about love, how they fall into love and how they lose their love. While Joyce recounts a story of the love a young man has for a friend’s sister, Faulkner recounts a very similar story of love a young woman has for her boyfriend while both characters are living an almost morbid life.

In “Araby”, by James Joyce, the plot is fairly similar to “A Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner. Both narrators recount the love of another that seems too good to be true. In the story by Faulkner, A rose for Emily, it says “We remembered all the young men her father had driven away…” (p.393) and this begins the story of Emily and her love trials. In the story by Joyce, Araby, the main character quickly lets the audience know his intentions with his friend Mangan’s sister. He becomes infatuated with her because “when she came to the doorstep my heart leapt.” (p.504). The love stories, although very different, displayed many similarities. The similarities are that of love. Not only did both go to great lengths for the sake of love, they both lost their love.

In “A Rose for Emily”, the main character is Emily who has recently passed away. She being an only child and under the thumb of her father. When her father passed, she began to close herself off from the community. The story displayed this quite well when recounting the day after her father’s passing. “Miss Emily met them at the door, dressed as usual and with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead.” (p.393) In “Araby”, the main character is a young man who has feelings for the older sister of his friend Mangan. The boy was captivated by her that he was blind to the reality of her sweet manipulation and persuasion. He is living with his Aunt and Uncle in a home made available due to the death of a priest. He is humble, and kind. Yet his, as well as Emily’s, circumstances mean that they and the object of their affections will never be.

Symbolism and metaphors aren’t easy to distinguish. “A Rose for Emily” is quite straight forward. The only real mention of anything that could be said to be symbolism is the author’s use of the term “Idol” in reference to Emily herself. In contrast, “Araby” has quite a bit more. “Her image accompanied me…” (p.504) and “her figure defined by the light from the half-opened door.” (p.505) However, no matter how bold or discreet the symbolism and metaphors, the true story is the illusion of love.

The setting for both stories is quite romantic and real, for the 19th century that is. When we are being told about the setting for “Araby”, the houses are ‘brown,’ with ‘imperturbable faces,’ the gardens are ‘dripping,’ the bicycle pump is rusty. An empty house is located at the end of the blind where a former priest had died. The air within is ‘musty.’ All these images present a stagnant, melancholy atmosphere. However, with the description of Mangan’s sister, the tone suddenly changes. In “A Rose for Emily” the setting is quite different although hauntingly similar towards the end. Although set in a similar time, this story is based in southern USA. Details about setting and atmosphere gives background as to the values and beliefs of the characters, helping the reader to understand the motivations, actions and reactions of Emily and the rest of the town, and changing the mood or tone in the story.

In closing, both stories allow us in the thoughts and lives of two very different people, living two very different lives, in two very different parts of the world. The love stories, although very different, displayed many similarities. The boy was driven by lust and did what a boy his age would do to win over a girl. However, Emily was driven by madness, taking measures into her own hands. She killed her lover because he did not want to marry her. The similarities are that of love. Not only did both go to great lengths for the sake of love, they both lost their love. The boy lost is love from the realization that he was not in love at all, he was only infatuated by her beauty and following his loins, not his heart. Emily, however, lost her love through a broken heart and killed Homer all in the name of love.

Works Cited

1. Joyce, James. “Araby.” The Norton Introduction to Literature, edited by Peter Simon, W.W. Norton and Co., 2010, p.503-507
2. Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” The Norton Introduction to Literature, edited by Peter Simon, W.W. Norton and Co., 2010, p.391-397