Mental Illness In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

Mental illness is a disease that can affect almost anyone in society. Many people cast aside those with these illnesses and say they are delusional. The reality of the situation being that they aren’t crazy, but in desperate need of help. In William Faulkner’s “A Rose For Emily,” the reader becomes acquainted with Emily Grierson, who, unlike most in the community, is a woman from a highly respected family. She is faced with loss and the scrutiny of the community. With an onset of schizophrenia, Miss Emily cannot function like most others in society and this causes her to act in un-socially acceptable ways. This isn’t her fault; the illness stems from a number of situations out of her control. While Miss Emily was under the acumen of how southern women were supposed to act, the root cause of her irregular behavior was due to the onset of schizophrenia, which was caused by early childhood trauma, hereditary genes, and shown through a lack of emotional presence and self-care.
Miss Emily’s raising in highly respected family meant that

This is not the case. A few days after Mr. Grierson’s death, some women from the community come by to offer their condolences. Emily meets them “with no trace of grief on her face” (Faulkner). She acts as if she doesn’t care about her father’s passing. She shows no signs of grief that someone would normally have after the loss of a loved one. One of the symptoms of schizophrenia is the lack of emotion. “Inexpressive face, including a flat voice, lack of eye contact, and blank or restricted facial expressions” (Symptoms, Types, Causes, and Early Warning Signs) are all signs that point to schizophrenia. A schizophrenic loses their feeling of emotion and cannot express themselves like everyone else. People think that someone with this psychosis is odd or off putting, but in reality they just can’t find their emotions to