The Major Years: Isolation and Emily Grierson - A Deadly Combination William Faulkner, one of the most famed writers of our times, explores in his writing the themes of alienation and isolation. He interweaves these themes with his female characters. In A Rose for Emily, Miss Emily Grierson is a woman who is alienated and lives in isolation from the people in her town. The theme of isolation is the focal point of the story, since it is what drove her to her madness. Faulkner's theme of alienation comes up many times in his writing. In the book The Major Years, Melvin Backman states that Faulkner was reaching for a more decen