One of the primary sources of opposition that Miss Emily
faces is found in Emily's father who dismisses any potential suitors Miss Emily might
have had. Her father is of the Old South, where the father and husband (or even brother)
exercised complete control over wives, daughter and even sisters. It is because of
Emily's father that she never marries, although she did come from a strongly rooted
family not just of the South, but within her community, in the town of
Jefferson.
A second force that opposes Miss Emily is the
community itself. When Miss Emily's father dies, and she insists that he is still alive,
the community has to force Emily after three days to relinquish her father's body, and
the funeral takes place quickly thereafter.
When a group of
civic leaders comes to her house to collect taxes, Miss Emily gets the upper hand,
turning them away with news that the [deceased] Colonel Sartoris had excused her from
taxes. It seemed that he had taken pity on this single, rather poor woman, pretending
the county owed the family money from a past loan,
and…
...remitted Miss Emily’s taxes “in
perpetuity”...
Community vs
isolation is a strong theme in this story, but while the community is very interested in
Miss Emily, and often times is faced with problems that need to be addressed with her,
Miss Emily not only remains isolated, but she always seems to get her way, while the
members of Jefferson are forced to accommodate her.
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