The tragic story of the main character in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is narrated from the perspective of the town’s inhabitants. This approach adds mystery to the narrative while also contributing to the understanding of the cultural underpinning of the described events. Therefore, the selected point of view of a third person narrator by the author is not occasional, and it helps the readers realize the significance of the piece of the public in general.
The fact that the story is being told by an anonymous character implies the presence of generalizations in terms of the attitudes of the population of Jefferson towards Emily and her family. Hence, this dominant perspective indicates that he or she is not a major participants in this piece while being important for interpreting its meaning. In turn, the narrator seems limited omniscient as their perceptions are mostly guided by subjective views of the citizens, who do not have any ideas of the actual situation in Emily’s family and keep guessing.
Meanwhile, this point of view seems advantageous for presenting the events in an unbiased manner, while its main drawbacks are the lack of knowledge about the woman and the ambiguity of her motives. It means that the selected perspective of the author is generally beneficial for discussing the reaction of the citizens and evoking similar emotions in readers. As for the possible change in the point of view, it could have shed the light on Emily’s life and her actual values.
In conclusion, the decision to write the story in the third person can be explained by the need for emphasizing the reaction of the public to the events instead of focusing on the main character’s feelings. This goal was successfully achieved by Faulkner who managed to create a narrative which can described as both mysterious and culturally significant. Thus, the limited omniscient nature of this piece was effectively complemented by an unbiased manner and the emotions of outsiders.