One theme that I think you can successfully discuss in
relation to these adjectives would be the decline of the Old South after the Civil War,
which was a key theme in all of Faulkner's works. There are plenty of examples of how
this theme is presented in "A Rose for Emily." A major one is how the aristocratic men
of the Old South were incredibly chivalrous and women were depicted as unworldly,
innocent and moral. Thus Colonel Sartoris engineers a story to explain why he is not
charging taxes to Miss Emily. Note too a similar situation occurs concerning the smell
that is developing around the house. The Judge, who is clearly from the same generation
as the Colonel, prevents the issue from being raised, arguing that it would be
completely wrong to accuse a woman of smelling bad.
But
note how these quaint customs change. The word of Colonel Sartoris does not prevent the
new generation from attempting to gather taxes from Miss Emily. Likewise it is the
younger generation that has no problem in accepting Homer and his relationship with a
member of a respected family whereas it is the older generation that finds this
liaison unacceptable. The passing of time and the changes of the norms and values
of the Old South are unavoidable in this work as Miss Emily eventually comes to inhabit
a world to which she is a stranger. Some critics have gone as far to argue that the
secret Miss Emily has guarded for so long is a metaphor for the general decadence of the
Old South.
Thus, you could argue the list of adjectives you
supplied could apply to the theme of the Old South and its decline and replacement with
a very different set of values that isolates characters from Miss Emily's
generation.
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