Time plays a significant role in "A Rose for Emily." It is actually a crucial point in the theme of the story. Emily's character reminds me of a huge boulder. No matter what happens, she's immovable. Things all around her may change, but she is always the same (disregarding any wear-and-tear that may occur.) With time comes change, whether Emily wants the change or not. Emily is far too stubborn to let such a silly thing as time change who she is and how she acts. She only sees the world as she wants to see it, and not even time can change that for her.
Because of the way the story is narrated, time is a little askew. The story jumps back and forth through time on multiple occasions. Although this may be confusing, it allows a special kind of exposition to develop in the story. Before you hear Emily's story, you hear what others felt about her when she passed away. It also helps to foreshadow the story of her life and events that occured in the past. In a sense, the timeline of the narration could be looked at as reverse foreshadowing, if that at all makes sense. But all in all, I believe that time has a crucial role in the narration of this story.
