An expiation is an act of redemption, noting that there has been some amend to make up for a wrongdoing.
This established, "A Rose for Emily" can be read as an expiation from the perspective of "the people versus Emily." For years, Miss Emily has been an object of argument in Jefferson. Her family history, her own weird ways, and the time she has lived in Jefferson has rendered her as
...a tradition, a duty,...
An expiation is an act of redemption, noting that there has been some amend to make up for a wrongdoing.
This established, "A Rose for Emily" can be read as an expiation from the perspective of "the people versus Emily." For years, Miss Emily has been an object of argument in Jefferson. Her family history, her own weird ways, and the time she has lived in Jefferson has rendered her as
...a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town
As such, she had been the subject of wonder, conjecture and criticism. Therefore, telling Emily's story for the first time, from beginning to end, is a way to make up for all the assumptions from the past, and to tell for sure who she was, and what her legacy may be.
The first evidence of expiation comes in the form of the townsfolk narrator's point of view. We know that the story of Emily is that of a lady who is described as a "relic of the Old South." Therefore, the implication is that she is a complex character with eccentric and old-fashioned tendencies.
We also learn throughout the story that she belongs to a family of people, the Griersons, who thought of themselves to be "mightier" than everyone else. This rendered them unlikable, enigmatic, isolated, and iconic in a negative way.
Moreover, we also find out that Emily has lived her entire life trying (and failing) to fit into society. Up until the moment of her death, the narrator says, everyone has thought of her with either contempt or pity. Decades after Emily's house has been shut to the public, the woman dies, and the people finally learn what is the huge secret that lurked inside the old household.
The reason why "people vs. Emily" would be an example of expiation is because the discovery of Emily's secret helps to unveil the extent to which the woman was so deeply troubled. While the secret is morbid and gruesome, it also opens a door into reality versus fiction: Emily was, perhaps, neither haughty, nor overly proud. She was maybe mentally ill, traumatized, or even socially inept. The fact that she kills a man for fear of isolation helps to show her previous lapses of insanity when faced with potential loneliness. She is, nevertheless, a criminal for committing the act that she commits, however, now the people see Emily for who she really is: a very tormented soul. The "rose" for Emily is a way of calling a truce; a way to make peace. It is also a way to make up for all the doubts and generated assumptions made of her in the past. This "rendition" of a rose for Emily is a symbol of expiation.
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