Script - A Rose for Emily

PART FOUR (Emily's Downward Spiral)

N1: BUT THEN IT BEGAN TO SHOW. AN ALTER-EGO OF HERS, WE WERE UNSURE. THE SUBMISSIVE MISS EMILY WAS QUIET AND PREFERRED TO BE UNSPOKEN TO, STILL HAD THE BLOOD OF A SELF-CENTERED CONTROLLING NATURE, RUNNING THROUGH HER VEINS.

N2: SHE HELD HER HEAD UP HIGH FOR REASONS OTHER THAN WHAT SHE WAS RAISED TO BE, WE FIGURED. OR MAYBE SHE JUST DID NOT WISH TO GROW AND DEVELOP, AS THE TOWN OF JEFFERSON SLOWLY WAS. SADLY, SHE LIVED IN HER OWN VERSION OF THE WORLD.

*TOBE ACCOMPANIES THE SHERIFF INSIDE AND TWO OTHERS* *THEY SIT DOWN BUT TOBE REMAINS STANDING BY THE DOOR* *EMILY COMES IN*

TOBE: MISS EMILY.

SHERIFF: MISS EMILY. *EVERYONE STANDS UP*

EMILY: WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE, GENTLEMEN?

SHERIFF: WE'VE MET BEFORE, MA'AM, AS A DEPUTY. MY NAME IS SHERIFF FOLEY AND THESE ARE MY PARTNERS. *EMILY JUST STARES AT THEM* WE CAME HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE-

EMILY: THE LETTERS? YOU'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE LETTERS?

S: WELL, YES, MISS EMILY. I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT YOU HAVE BEEN GETTING THE NOTICES ABOUT-

E: TAXES, IS IT?

S: YES, MISS EMILY.

*SILENCE FOR A WHILE*

E: I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I HAVE NO TAXES IN JEFFERSON. COLONEL SARTORIS EXPLAINED IT TO ME. SPEAK TO THE AUTHORITIES AND ACCESS THE CITY RECORDS TO SATISFY YOURSELVES.

S: MISS EMILY, WE ARE THE TOWN'S AUTHORITIES. THESE MEN HERE ARE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN WHO ASKED FOR MY ASSISTANCE. I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU RECEIVED THE LETTERS? THEY WERE ALSO SIGNED BY ME, AS THE TOWN SHERIFF.

E: I RECEIVED THEM, YES. PERHAPS YOU MAY CONSIDER YOURSELF THE SHERIFF, BUT THAT DOES NOT CHANGE THE FACT THAT I DO NOT OWE JEFFERSON ANY TAXES.

S: BUT WE MUST GO BY THE-

E: SEE COLONEL SARTORIS.

S: MISS EMILY, COLONEL SARTORIS HAS LONG BEEN DEA-

E: SEE COLONEL SARTORIS. I HAVE NO TAXES IN JEFFERSON.

S: MISS EMILY...

E: TOBE!

TOBE: YES, MISS EMILY?

E: SHOW THESE GENTLEMEN OUT. *LEAVES THE ROOM*

TOBE: MY APOLOGIES, SIR.

S: NOTHING TO BE SORRY FOR, TOBE.

*SETTING BACK TO THE FIRST ONE*

N1: THAT WAS THAT LAST TIME ANYONE HAD SPOKEN TO OR SEEN THE LATE MISS EMILY GRIERSON. OLD AND ALONE. IT IS A SHAME THAT HER DEATH IS WHAT MADE ALL OF THESE PEOPLE COME TODAY. NO ONE WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME WHEN THE WINDOW OF THE BEDROOM UPSTAIRS STILL HAD HER FIGURE DOMINEERING OVER A LIT CANDLE LIGHT.

N2: AND SO SHE DIED. SHE DIED IN ONE OF THE DOWNSTAIRS ROOMS WHEN WE FIGURED THAT SHE SHUT UP THE TOP FLOOR OF THE HOUSE-LIKE THE CARVEN TORSO OF AN IDOL IN A NICHE, LOOKING OR NOT LOOKING AT US, WE COULD NEVER TELL WHICH. THUS, SHE PASSED FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION-DEAR, INESCAPABLE, IMPERVIOUS, TRANQUIL, AND PERVERSE.

*THE TWO NARRATORS AND COUSINS ARE BACK IN THE MIDDLE, SITTING TOGETHER IN THE ROOM*