A Rose For Emily Mental Illness

In “A Rose for Emily," by William Faulkner, the main character Emily Grierson is stuck living in the past within the isolated reality that she’s been forced into and that she herself created. Throughout the story, a major theme, (meaning what the story is about) is Emily’s resistance to change which leads to isolation. This Faulkner classic shows us how Emily became isolated because of her families, community and tradition.

In the short story “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner, Emily, the protagonist, is shown as someone who’s life is falling apart and brought down by society. Emily in this story could be described as a victim to society and her father. Emily Grierson’s confinement, loss of her father and Homer, and constant criticism caused her, her insanity.

In William Faulkner’s story “A Rose for Emily” his main character Miss Emily Grierson’s deranged behavior leaves the reader questioning her mental status.

Her controlling issues are very unhealthy. Miss Emily is so controlling that she is keeping dead bodies in her home. She got the controlling issues from her father. When she was young he used to control her and watch her every move. She does not want to feel lonely or hopeless. It is like she had to have these two men in her presence at all times. "What was left of him, rotted beneath what was left of the nightshirt, had become inextricable from the bed in which he lay; and upon him and upon the pillow beside him lay that even coating of the patient and biding

A person’s insanity can often lead to them being judged and looked down upon by society because they can’t understand that their actions are not accepted in society. This statement is true in relation to the story, “A Rose for Emily”, in the story it is seen how the townspeople speculate about the strangeness of Emily and her family. The story is narrated by several generations of men and women from the town and unlike other stories, the chronology is all over the

When Miss Emily refuses to respond to a government letter regarding her taxes the Board of Alderman comes to visit her. When she comes in she is cold to the gentlemen, showing her lack of social skills which in many cases is a factor in mental Illness. Also before Miss Emily makes the guests leave she tells the, that if they still think she has taxes they need to "see Colonel Sartoris," (Faulkner 149) who has been dead ten years. This statement by Miss Emily could be seen as her minds unwillingness to live in the present. Her mind belives what it wants which is also the case after her fathers death. We see in the book that after her father’s death and her subsequent breakdown, Miss Emily was “sick for a long time." This could mean the state that Miss Emily refused to believe her father was gone. Right after the death of her father, the ladies of the town come to Miss Emily’s home to offer their condolences, and they observe that she had “no trace of grief on her face” (Faulkner 151). The inability to either feel or demonstrate appropriate emotion, is a classic symptom of mental illness. More explicitly, Miss Emily insisted to the visitors that “her father was not dead” (Faulkner 151). For this reason, Miss Emily would not let anyone remove her father's body until three days after her father should have been buried. Finally the third day “she broke down” and let the townspeople remove the body quickly

The first instance occurs with the death of her father. Mr. Grierson died, leaving Miss Emily alone with the house and his body to dispose of (325). Miss Emily did not take care of either the house or the deceased body of her father (325). When the authorities came, she greeted them as if nothing was wrong, and with “no trace of grief in her face” (325). The town even reportedly said that they “hardly ever see her at all” after Mr. Grierson died and Miss Emily’s companion had left her (324). Emily’s tendencies to never leave her house and to keep her father’s dead body show signs of instability. Miss Emily publicly displayed an unstable psyche when she told the men who came to collect her taxes to refer to a man who had been dead for nearly ten years (324). A woman who expresses these psychological abnormalities must be examined closely when she is as closely related to the crime as Emily. Not only did her behavior concern others, it made them suspicious. Miss Emily also tried to cover up her crime in the end.

            The insanity of Miss Emily is also foretold in A Rose for Emily.  When the body of Homer is found in her bed, the reader can understand that Emily killed him, because her mental stability had been questioned a number of times.  The narrator begins these allusions to her mental state when he tells how the mayor, Colonel Sartoris, bestows a special tax exemption upon Miss Emily.  Colonel Sartoris makes up a story so unbelievable that it is described as so outlandish that "only a woman could have believed it".  Later, the townspeople talk about her great-aunt, the lady Wyatt, who had gone completely crazy.  They wonder about "poor Emily" with the insanity in her family.  Her mental state comes into question again when the town removes the body of her father.  She is said to have "broke down" and finally let them in to take and bury the body.  This is an obvious analogy to her having a mental breakdown.  This is followed with the statement that the townspeople did

Emily lives in self isolation or what was perceived to be isolation. The only person Emily came in daily contact with was her servant. Isolation exacerbated the reality that Emily was truly alone. When left to themselves in isolation, many killers, often live out their world in a fantasy. Fantasy serves to relieve anxiety or fear and most people have them to one extent or another (Douglas, J.E., Burgess, and Ressler, R.K. 1995.) We may not know what really fed Emily's behavior, some theories are that she could have suffered from separation anxiety due to her father's death, others suggest that she was suffering from a form of neglect. This can be concluded by her longing for a companion.

The Psychoanalytic Theory may be the most engaging ways of accessing Emily Grierson, of how mentally disturbed she turned out to be. First, we look at Emily’s issues, she showed a big amount fear of abandonment. When her father dies, she doesn’t want to let the town’s people take his body away. She kept the body long enough to where the town’s people noticed a bad smell and had to bust into her home and take the body, that’s when she lets go, at least physically speaking. Emily learned to love like her father and she demonstrates some of her father’s personality traits as she grew older.

In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” the story is revolved around the character Emily Grierson. The story is told by the townspeople where Emily lives. These people are attending her funeral and pitching in memories and tales they remember from Emily’s life. It is through the collective voices and opinions of the crowd that the reader is able to interpret Emily’s struggles. With Emily Grierson’s choices the reader can tell that she is a dependant woman, with psychotic tendencies, and does not take the thought of change and rejection lightly.

William Faulkner's short story, "A Rose for Emily" is often held as a literary classic due to Faulkner?s ability to play with our mind and emotions almost to the point of frustration. However, there is much more than mind games that Faulkner plays that makes this story great. Emily Grierson, the main character, is a strong-willed stubborn old bitty, who was quite odd, this alone is a reason for greatness. To fully understand why Emily is the way that she is one must look past the obvious and truly look at Emily. Emily Grierson has a mental condition that is just itching to be discovered.

In the Article by Jack Scherting, I agree that in the short story called “A Rose for Emily” her father did cause to act psychotic. Even at the age of thirty, her father did not let her married anyone. He believes that no one was good enough for his daughter. After her father death, she could not cope with his death. She kept his body for over three days, and when the town people wanted to talk to Emily but she acted like he was still alive. Law officials had to force her to buried her father. After that she became sick with grief and she cut her hair like a small girl. That begun her psychotic personality after she met Homer Barron. Emily notice that he had the same personality like her father. They dated for a long time, and was a part of

As stated in the Mayo Staff quote “neglect of personal hygiene” is also, another symptom of this awful mental illness. Later in the story, Emily decides to never really show herself in public again. The townspeople are curious as to what is going on, but no one ever sees anything. When they finally did see her again, they described her fat and noticed that she had gray hair and every time they saw her again, it would grow even grayer. This shows she was unable to perform even the simplest of tasks. She could not take care of herself. At this point she’s unable to be social, unable to relate to others and is totally irrational. Especially when the newer generation “became the backbone and spirit of the town” (Faulkner 485). The story also describes a time when the town received mailboxes. Emily refused to let the metal number hang above her door and continued to not

Another thing that might have contributed to Miss Emily’s motive was all of the gossip about her. In the small town of Jefferson, there was an abundant amount of gossip. Miss Emily was a main topic of that town gossip. When Miss Emily’s relationship with Homer Barron began, many of the townspeople looked down on the relationship. Scherting asserted that “Miss Emily’s conduct during the time baffled the people of Jefferson” (401). At this time the women were held to certain standards. Miss Emily was meeting none of the standards that the time