A Rose, the Universal Symbol of Love In William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," Miss Emily Grierson is a lonely old woman, living a life void of all love and affection; although the rose only directly appears in the title, the rose surfaces throughout the story as a symbol. In contemporary times, the rose also symbolizes emotions like love and friendship. The rose symbolizes dreams of romances and lovers. These dreams belong to women, who …showed first 75 words of 637 total…

…showed last 75 words of 637 total…always what they first appear to be. Like Emily, contemporary women also dream of receiving flowers, usually roses. In doing so, they dream of the romances and loves from their past, as well as those yet to come. The meaning of the rose crosses generations, appearing in stories written yesterday, as well as fairy tales from centuries ago. The rose bridges language barriers and spans continents. The rose is the true universal symbol of love.