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A Rose For Emily Schizophrenia

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Diagnosing Miss Emily In the short story, “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner writes about Miss Emily Grierson’s entire life and focuses on her secretive lifestyle. Throughout the story, she is the talk of the town, being the ‘upper-class’ who definitely does not act as such. A major event in Miss Emily’s life that seemed to have a drastic impact on her behavior is her father’s death (Faulkner). Her abnormalities begin to arise after his death and she seems to suffer from depression because she denies the fact that her father has passed, she never cleans her house, and she secludes herself from the outside world. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, depression can occur after stressful situations, such as the loss of a loved one. Mr. Grierson’s death appears …show more content…

“It [the house] smelled of dust and disuse – a close, dank smell” (Faulkner 2). It is apparent that Miss Emily lacked the motivation to clean or was just too tired to clean. Her body also showed her lack of movement. She is described as: “Her skeleton was small and spare; perhaps that was why what would have been merely plumpness in another was obesity in her” (Faulkner 2). Both her unkempt house and fragile frame suggest her lack of motivation or extreme tiredness, which is a symptom of depression (Depression: MedlinePlus). Lastly, a clue that Miss Emily suffered from depression is her isolation. Her actions are described as: “After her father’s death she went out very little; after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all” (Faulkner 3). She also seldom spoke to anyone and had little contact with her family, except for her two cousins (Faulkner). Social withdrawal is, in fact, a symptom of depression, further proving that Miss Emily suffered depression (Signs and Symptoms - Depression and Bipolar Support

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One can assume her marriage was not a good one. Miss Emily Grierson was abused at a young age by her father Mr. Grierson. Emily grew up under the shadow of her father and it haunted Emily for a long time. Many people grow up differently, and the way they grow up could affect the person they become

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Miss Emily comes from an old wealthy line of family in the deep south. Faulkner story is highly symbolic, enhancing miss Emily’s values and character. “Miss Emily is described as a fallen monument to the chivalric American South”(Allmon). Faulkner uses the setting of the story to show the emotional state of Emily. The female-male relationship between Emily and her father is strict, oppressive, and controlling; Their relationship has a major impact on Emily’s character Throughout the short story.

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Emily’s Mental Deterioration After getting over the initial shock of finding out that the mysterious woman that everyone was talking about was going to sleep each night with a decaying body next to her, it makes sense for the reader to question her mental state. If the reader took a closer look at the town’s description of her, they will realize that as time went on, Emily’s will power began to deteriorate. When she was young, she was the topic of everybody’s conversation, however, she did not let that bother her and walked down the streets with her head held high. Emily took over the old house after her father’s death and kept a few servants around to keep the house tidy, nonetheless, the outside of the house was not kept in the best of conditions.

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Miss Emily’s father dies, she finds a suitor, and buys poison, then shuts herself and her

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After reading A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, many people initially wonder why Miss Emily would murder Homer Barron. When reviewing the events of the story, it becomes apparent that she displayed symptoms, manifestations of her mental state in her behavior, of being socially inept and thus capable of this heinous crime. These symptoms are unsurprising, as her father represses her, withholding her from the public. Emily accordingly displays symptoms of this repression by evading authorities and the townspeople. Faulkner is trying to get the reader to go back and review this problem-the cause of Homer’s murder- by identifying the signs that this crime occurred and Emily’s symptoms of mental instability.

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Actions may be influenced by other mental instabilities, such as; mood disorders, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm and thoughts of suicide. Some symptoms Miss Emily struggle with are abandonment issues, unstable relationships, untrue self-image, reckless decisions, and empty feelings (“Borderline Personality Disorder”). She shows some of these symptoms as she refuses to pay taxes and refuses to recognize that the former mayor, Colonial Sartoris, had passed away (Faulkner).

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Because her family was prominent in the town of Jefferson, Emily Grierson was watched her entire life and wondered about by everyone. The townspeople had a lot to do with Emily’s changing mental condition because they constantly gossiped about everything that happened in her life. It generally

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After Emily’s father’s death, she doesn’t keep the house clean anymore, the first floor is closed off, and the home begins to smell of a strong stench. Dust begins to fall on everything in the house “…smelled of dust and disuse—a close, dank smell” (Faulkner 629). As the house is no longer being maintained, so too is Emily as she begins to age and descends into madness. Thomas Dilworth, journalist, quoted “In her personal life, Emily reproduced the pattern of this social myth by twice keeping at home the bodies of dead loved ones while refusing to acknowledge their deaths” (Dilworth). Faulkner relates the use of arsenic as a symbol of getting rid of a rat, specifically, Homer because he had no intentions of marrying Emily.

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She was alone, she was humiliated by the town, she had to hide away because she was not able to cope. In Tim O’Brien’s article he states, “After her death, Emily is reunited with the other members of her southern class …”, which means, in death, with the people she loved she will no longer be alone” (O’Brien

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William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” critiques the American South Describing Emily’s vibrant life full of hope and buoyancy, later shrouded into the profound mystery, Faulkner emphasizes her denial to accept the concept of death. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” takes place in the South during the transitional time period from the racial discrimination to the core political change of racial equality. Starting from the description of her death, “A Rose for Emily” tells the story about the lady who is the last in her generation (Emily Grierson). Being strong, proud and a traditional lady of southern aristocracy, Emily turns into an evil, unpredictable and mysterious old lady after the death of her father. Even though “A Rose for Emily”

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Like Gothic literature, Southern Gothic literature aims to point out society problems and their grim realities; however, it tends to focus on both grotesque, complex Southern characters who are often “broken in spirit and struggling to find a place in society once again,” and on the shortcomings of Southern traditions and values (???). Miss Emily is immediately portrayed by Faulkner as a once prominent individual, now out-of-place recluse in Southern society as evidenced by the condition of her mansion, once grand and pristine, now decayed: “[...] Only Miss Emily’s house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps - an eyesore among eyesores” (341). In addition to creating a foreboding Gothic environment, this statement suggests that Miss Emily does not fit in with the society. After her father passed, Faulkner positions Miss Emily as innocent yet crazy, evidenced by the frequent repetition of sympathy from her fellow townspeople. At the disturbing conclusion of the short story, the townspeople realize how much they had misperceived

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Just as they were about to resort to law and force she breaks down and buried her father quickly.” (Faulkner 453) Miss Emily tries to keep her father’s body so she isn’t left lonely. She tries to keep him until the townspeople basically force her to bury him. The second reason Miss Emily may be crazy and mentally ill is because she kills Homer Baron.

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In the William Faulkner novel" A Rose for Emily," we can see evidence of Southern Gothic. Southern Gothic shows the tale of a crumbling landscape, racial tension, and southern traditions. Emily Grierson is the daughter of the late Mr. Grierson. We can see that in the story Emily's father is very controlling of everything that she did. We can make the analysis that since that he is so controlling of her, that he is the only man she really knew.

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Kierrah Edwards ENGL 201 9/20/15 Character Analysis: Emily Grierson The short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner depicts how seclusion can certainly impact one’s life. Throughout the story, Emily gives off this “insane” impression. However, after fully reading the story, the reader can fully understand why Emily was the way she was. Emily Grierson was a very dependent person.

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Her father was quite authoritative. He drove many young men away from Emily and we can assume was very abusive toward her. “We had long thought of them as a tableau, Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her clutching a horsewhip” (2). As a result, when Miss Emily’s father died she had nothing left and “ would have to cling to which had robbed her, as many people will” (2). Her house displayed this by developing a vulgar stench.

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