Miss Emily was a slave to tradition, and she died a relic,
a testimony to the disappearing ways of the Old South. Examples
include:
- Miss Emily has remained living in the
same old house in which she grew up; once a centerpiece of the town, it now had "garages
and cotton gins" surrounding it. - She remained a
"hereditary obligation" to the town after her taxes were forever remitted by the old
mayor, Colonel Sartoris; knowing Emily would not accept charity, he concocted a tale
that claimed it was the city's way of repaying a loan to her father.
- Though she had little or no money, she still maintained
a black manservant to wait upon her. - The townspeople put
up with her eccentricities, since they knew that there was "insanity in the
family." - Emily went against local traditions by romancing
the Yankee, Homer Barron. - She flaunted social protocol by
appearing in public on a Sunday with Homer--and without an
escort. - She gave china-painting lessons--long out of
vogue--to the daughters and grand-daughters of her father's old
acquaintances.
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