Queen Emily Essay, Research Paper

“Queen Emily” Emily Grierson was an enigma in her town. No one truly knew who she was or what she did during her life on Earth. The townsfolk were obsessed with her every move, which were few and far between. She lived a peaceful, yet somewhat tortured life inside her dark house, away from the stresses and problems of everyday life. It was almost as if she had the town hypnotized to think she was a Queen. She did not have to pay taxes, she did not speak to others, and she always got her way. It was as if the town was possessed.

When Emily died, it seemed as if the whole town exhaled a sigh of relief. No longer would they wonder if she were ok or if she had passed away without anyone knowing. The only person in constant contact with her was the Negro who acted as a maid and caretaker of her estate. He took on somewhat of a father figure to Emily after her father died, yet to our knowledge, he never spoke. He was more of just a comfort for Miss Emily, I believe, someone to have around just in case. He was a loyal servant, never spilling any much-wanted gossip about Emily to the town s people. At Miss Emily s funeral, the town finally had the opportunity to see Emily one last time and pay their respects. After Emily died, some people from the town went to her house. They casually walked around; looked at everything they had only seen previously through the dark windows. The last time anyone was on her property was to plant some lime slices in her home to stop the smell. We had no idea what the smell could be, only that it was wretched. But on that fateful day of Emily s burial, we finally unearthed that god-awful smell. The upstairs door had been shut for some time now it seemed. No one had seen the room in over forty years. When we finally broke the door down and the dust settled, another body, rotted through, lay on the bed. This was the body of her love, the Yankee, Homer Baron. They had been in love and were married a while back. Two years after her Father s passing, Homer suddenly disappeared as well. Next to Homer s remains, we noticed something quite disturbing. The pillow next to his had an indent of a face, and a long gray hair on the pillow as well. Emily had apparently been sleeping with her beau for many years after his death. This thought sickened me, as I m sure it sickened everyone else in the room. As I walked out of the room, I felt not only sick, but also sad for Miss Emily. She had no one after Homer died, except for the Negro man. Did she find comfort in lying next to Mr. Baron s dead body all these years? The thought crossed my mind whether she had poisoned him a long time ago. On one of her infrequent visits to town, she had bought a bottle of very dangerous poison without explanation. Homer went into the house one day and never came back. Maybe Miss Emily was upset after hearing about his sexual preference, or maybe she was just completely insane. What we do know is, we ll never truly know the facts of Emily Grierson.