after you read the ending, did your view of earlier scenes change?

I think the reader could see something like this coming upon close reflection of Ms. Emily's character. Her inability to adapt to change is demonstrated not only in her refusal to pay taxes after Colonel Sartoris remitted them, but by her refusal to have a mailbox when free postal delivery becomes available to the town. "Thus she passed from generation to generation - dear, inescapable, impervious, tranquil, and perverse." This extended to her relationship with Homer. She could not handle change: Homer had to stay with her and remain the same.