Mental Illness In A Rose For Emily And The Yellow Wallpaper

“After her father’s death she went out very little, after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all” (Faulkner 805). Miss Emily was an interesting character that is commonly associated with death and isolation. According to Willow D. Crystal, William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" suggests that there is a tension between what is private and what is public. I agree, but I would add that the character of Miss Emily emphasizes the isolation and death themes that Faulkner attempts to achieve.

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrator must deal with several different conflicts. She is diagnosed with “temporary nervous depression and a slight hysterical tendency” (Gilman 221). Most of her conflicts, such as, differentiating from creativity and reality, her sense of entrapment by her husband, and not fitting in with the stereotypical role of women in her time, are centered around her mental illness and she has to deal with them.

In addition to the impact of her family on her mental state, it is also through the relationship Miss Emily has with her community, that helps to foreshadow the fateful ending. It is through the words and actions of the community that this relationship is shown, such as how they even distance themselves from her. In the beginning of the story in Act I, Faulkner describes Miss Emily’s position in the town as “a sort of hereditary obligation”. Since the death of her father, the town is aware of the struggle she is having while being alone, so that is why they see her

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.

The author, William Faulkner, has a collection of books, short stories, and poems under his name. Through his vast collection of works, Faulkner attempts to discuss and bring awareness to numerous aspects of life. More often than not, his works were created to reflect aspects of life found within the south. Family dynamics, race, gender, social class, war, incest, racism, suicide, necrophilia, and mental illness are just some of the aspects that Faulkner explored. In “A Rose for Emily” the aspects of necrophilia and mental illness along with the societal biases that were observed in a small-town setting are seen to be a part of this captivating story. These aspects ultimately intertwine with the idea of insanity that characterizes “A Rose

People often refer to mental illness as being trapped in one’s own mind. This is undoubtedly depicted in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Gilman’s story, written in 1891, captivates readers and allows one to enter the mind of a mentally ill person and experience this illness in a first-hand narrative version; almost as if reading the diary of Jane. “The Yellow Wallpaper” explores how treatment of mental illness during that era could cause one to spiral into a state of psychosis, how Gilman used the narration of Jane in “The Yellow Wallpaper” to narrate the feelings of being imprisoned in her own mind, and how this story was reflected as an early act of feminism in the nineteenth century.

Her relationship with her father is a total mystery, however it’s well implied that their relationship was more than the typical normal father and daughter relationship. For this reason the community wasn’t at all shocked that Emily was single and turning thirty. In denial about her father’s death, she refused to le the townspeople remove the body for three days. Once she met Homer Barron, Emily begins an undesirable affair. Many of the town people were happy she was with someone. Though it is soon found that Homer played for the other team, Emily goes to the pharmacist for poison, it is then that the townspeople think that she will kill herself. After buying the arsenic, the next time they see her it’s stated, “she had grown fat and her hair was turning gray” (Faulkner 521). This perhaps the result of Homer Barron’s murder and the loss of her dad. At seventy four years old, Emily died in her home “She died in one of the downstairs rooms, in a heavy walnut bed with a curtain, her gray head propped on a pillow yellow and moldy with age and lack of sunlight” (Faulkner 521). The major plot twist is that the townspeople find Homer Barron in a bedroom upstairs, lying in a lover’s embrace, with the indentation of a head upon the pillow next to him and one “long strand of iron gray hair” (Faulkner 522). Ms. Emily is “jilted” by the death of her father and Homer Barron leaving her. Since her father isolated her so well

A constant theme conveyed throughout “The Yellow Wallpaper” is the theme of mental illness and the extremes that it can reach. Introduced in the beginning of the short story, the main character, Jane, is supposedly diagnosed with “temporary nervous depression” and “a slight hysterical tendency.” Charlotte Perkins Gilman conveys the theme of mental illness throughout the story using point of view, irony, Gothic elements, and personification. Point of view plays an important role in communicating the theme of mental illness. Since the story is written in a first person perspective, we as readers have a deeper understanding of what is going on in Jane’s mind and how she feels as time goes on.

In “A Rose for Emily” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Faulkner and Gilman employ point of view to question gender roles and mental health. Faulkner uses a third-person point of view in order to narrate the story from the perspective of the town. The perspective of an outsider looking in on Emily’s life highlights her lack of control as a woman and later, a lack of control she has over herself. The distant narrator creates a barrier to fully understanding Emily’s character and reflects how the town does not truly know her and her secrets. In contrast, Gilman uses a first-person point of view to narrate from the protagonist’s perspective. The utilization of an unreliable narrator allows for more understanding of the protagonist’s character, but less understanding of her situation as a whole. Moreover, the protagonist only writes when her husband John is not around which provides further insight into her deteriorating mental condition and the lack of control she has as a woman. Faulkner and Gilman use different narrative perspectives to achieve similar results. Each point of view hides or highlights the female character in order to reveal the struggles and insufficient help they receiving. These stories provide commentary on common issues for women and mental illness for their time period.

Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," a story that entails a man's epiphany about a misplaced prejudice, is narrated from the first person point of view to enable the reader to fully understand the narrator's thoughts. However, in William Faulkner's "A Rose For Emily" just the opposite is true. In Faulkner's story, the narrator has a limited third person point of view which allows the reader to dodge any emotional ties with Emily, the main character, and to form his own ideas about Emily's actions. Both story's meanings rely on the fact that the author's choice of point of view gives the reader the ability to experience the narrator's epiphany as the narrator does.

“We remembered all of the young men her father had driven away” (Faulkner 316). We note that Miss Emily never married and was a recluse from the townspeople until the day she died. She was isolated from her town, abandoned by her father, and judgment fell upon her from every watchful eye of that small town.

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.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a detailed account of the author’s battle with depression and mental illness. Gilman’s state of mental illness and delusion is portrayed in this narrative essay. Through her account of this debilitating illness, the reader is able to relate her behavior and thoughts to that of an insane patient in an asylum. She exhibits the same type of thought processes and behaviors that are characteristic of this kind of person. In addition, she is constantly treated by those surrounding her as if she were actually in some form of mental hospital.

The story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner would be drastically different if it was written from the point of view of Miss Emily. Her intentions and thoughts would be more pronounced, and because of this, the ending of the story may not come as such a shock. In addition, Miss Emily would be less distanced from the audience, and they would be able to understand her character in a way that the townspeople could not. Miss Emily being the narrator would immensely change the reader’s perception of the story’s ending and her character.

Emily had depression and was dealing with it in her own way by closing herself off. Looks could be very deceiving and in this case, Emily surprised the town when she died. The townspeople realized that there was more to her than they thought and were quick to judge.