from 
William Faulkner on the Web

Emily, an insane spinster, a devoted lover or symbol of the past?

• The first task for you after reading the story once will be to straighten out the plot.  The story begins and ends with the "end" of Emily's story. Try to draw a time line from Emily's life before her father's death to her own death.
• It is hard to separate the narrator's views about Emily from Emily the person, since the whole story is told from the former's perspective. But try to gather factual information about Emily (for instance, her refusing to acknowledge her father's death, her appearing in public with Homer Barron, etc.) and describe what kind of person Emily is.
• What does the narrator think about Emily at different stages of her life? What kind of person do you think the narrator is. (Notice the frequent use of "we.") How, or in what sequence, does he tell the story.
• This story is what we call "a gothic story." The grotesque ending is no less shocking than that in "The Lottery." Is it in any way prepared for? What does the very ending about the hair imply?
• What does the title of the story mean? The story, however, is not only about Emily and her eccentric character. Considering the setting of the story--both in terms of time and place, what could the story be also about?