What does the title of the story suggest about the townspeople's feelings toward Miss Emily?

The title is somewhat ambiguous. One gives a rose to a loved one, especially male to female. This suggests that the town loves her, but also that it is somehow a masculine entity to her feminine identity. One also leaves a rose on the grave of someone who is dead. If the town is leaving a rose for her, they are already recognizing she's dead, which, symbolically, she is, long before she dies.

 

It could also be a trade: a rose for Miss Emily. It also indicates the distance with which she is regarded: this is not Emily, this is Miss Emily. Finally, it refers to the love from Homer that went bad.