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Faulkner deftly utilizes foreshadowing to build to the final reveal: the discovery of Homer Barron’s corpse in Emily’s bed. Beginning with her funeral, Faulkner characterizes Emily as an oddity, someone whose death sparks not grief but curiosity among the townspeople. The knowledge that her once-grand house has fallen into decay and that no stranger has been inside for over a decade introduces a mystery: what happened to Emily and her house between then and now?
To answer this question, Faulkner traces the trajectory of Emily’s life and subsequent instability through a series of unsettling flashbacks. The lack of linearity further generates a sense of unease; we learn about the foul odor coming from Emily’s home before we are introduced to Homer Barron, and before we are introduced to Homer Barron we learn that Emily once refused to to relinquish her father’s corpse, choosing instead to believe he was still alive. Time and time again, we are made aware of Emily’s isolation; from the beginning of the story (though at a point later in her life) when she informs the mayor she doesn’t leave the house anymore, to the eventual disappearance of Homer Barron (which occurs when Emily is young), at which point the narrator only remarks that they occasionally saw Emily’s Black servant, Tobe, entering and exiting the house with a market basket. By alluding to her isolation so frequently in the midst of these time skips, Faulkner implies there is indeed something going on behind closed doors, and the smell, the disappearance of Homer Barron, and Emily’s fractured sense of reality offer ominous hints as to what that might be.
Furthermore, throughout the story numerous references are made to Emily’s graying hair. This serves the dual purpose of evoking the relentless passage of time, and foreshadowing the fact that Emily has been sleeping with Homer’s corpse, as evidenced by the long gray hair on the pillow beside him.
