"A Rose for Emily" is the story of the last representative of the noble family of the Griersons in Jefferson. The main character, Miss Emily Grierson, first appears at her funeral, where all the flowers gathered to pay their last respects to the fallen monument and satisfy their curiosity - for almost ten years, no one has been in her house except for an old maid. The whole piece is presented in retrospect, gradually discovering new facts from Miss Emily's life, as if removing layer by layer the age-old dust from this southern idol that, in life, could not sometimes determine at what time, past or present, he lived.

It is understood from the narration that the attitude towards the deceased was contradictory. On the one hand, Miss Emily was treated as if by the English queen (tradition), on the other - this is an obligation to burden the city, all awaiting the final finale of the horrific tragedy that happened 40 years ago, which was guessed and passed on to young people by word of mouth.  All that remains is to enter the chambers of a 74-year-old lady and see for yourself that she is right and generally say goodbye, finally, to the past.

The image of the queen is always associated with mother, the patron saint. Therefore, from the very beginning, it is possible to recognize in Miss Emily the manifestation of the archetype of the Great Mother, which, according to Jung, is the central archetype in the human psyche and has an infinite number of aspects (images). Accordingly, the image of the queen is just one of them, which may also have a different connotation. Moreover, from the very first lines, this connotation has a negative meaning in this case. It should be noted that in most women, regardless of the complexity of the mental system, not only one, but several archetypes are active, which can change each other. So, it is best to start with the very origins of the heroine's history.

Miss Emily lived in a house that stood on what was once the most aristocratic street. Almost the palace of the fairy princess where Miss Emily's daddy's daughter lived was a "skinny figure in white". However, she was seen, usually through the back door of the house from behind the back of her father's silhouette with her legs spread wide and the whip in her hands. The residents of the city felt that the Griersons were behaving too high because no young man was worthy of Miss Emily's hand. When she was 30, she was still unmarried, considered unacceptable by that time, even slightly embarrassed. History obscures any facts about the mother as if she had not. The only explanation can only be the desire of the narrator to emphasize how Daddy's daughter she was and how lonely she was with him. The white color of Miss Emily's clothing is a Christian symbol of chastity and innocence; it is at the same time the color of the death of womanhood imprisoned in a maiden's palace and a color that breaks down into a whole spectrum of other colors, symbolizing that streak of emotions that lingered in the soul of the Faulkner queen.

The inability to meet the couple characterizes the reverse side of the image of the Princess, her so-called shadow manifestations: the Whore, the Old Maid, and "Madam" (mistress of the haunt). Given the harsh religious patriarchal world of South America and the city residents' attitude to the Grierson, Emily had a chance to become just an old maiden and embody this popular archetype. However, when Miss Emily is 32, Mr. Grierson dies. The women of the city come to help the young lady with the funeral, but she meets them on the threshold in an ordinary dress without any sign of grief on her face. Besides, he assures them that his father did not die. For a few days, doctors and priests persuaded her to allow him to bury the dead, and when they were about to apply law and force, she suddenly agreed and was quickly buried.

Emily is a good victim. Upon learning that her father had left her nothing but a home, the mayor invented a whole story, such that Miss Grierson herself believed (she would not take alms) to exempt her from paying taxes. By the way, the narrator did not shed any light on how Miss Emily was shopping before that. Appearing in a stroller with Homer Barron, Emily also enjoyed her new life. The phrase "Poor Emily!" became the most used. Inhabitants of the city, regretting her (she is slightly fluttering), first closed her eyes for such walks, then, again regretting her (the lady should not forget her social status), summoned her cousins, as well as old maidens. Furthermore, she kept her head even higher during the walks, demanding respect as the last of the Grierson. Finally, regretting that Emily would also remain an old maiden (persuade or not persuade him?), The city again sided with the young lady, waiting for the departure of cousins  and weddings, even with the scandal.

The way Emily behaved during a meeting with the council representatives thirty years later confirms this view once again. When they decided to make a personal visit to the lady, she acted like a queen (she did not invite them to sit, listen to them, standing peacefully in the door and silently examining their faces, categorically refusing and telling You to take the gentlemen to the exit). The very fact that she had sent them to Sartoris, who had not been alive for ten years, indicated that time had stopped for her, she lives in the past. Therefore, the narrator agrees that she has utterly defeated them, just as her parents had once defeated the stench. She won with her authority, her spirit.     

At the end of the story, the attitude of Jefferson's residents to Miss Emily is understood, a mixed sense of respect, compassion, shame, and disgust. This small exploration into the realm of fairy-tale archetypes has helped to uncover the motives of a woman of the patriarchal South who, having to repress her natural desires to be loved and to have a family, eventually committed a crime and became mad in the struggle for her happiness.