In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily there is more than enough evidence to determine that Miss Emily is mentally ill. Most of the clues and hints are subtle, but when they are all pieced together the puzzle becomes clear. Not saying it is clear as too what Miss Emily was suffering from, the only way to know that for certain would be if the author or narrator told us in the text. We can conclude, however, she was suffering from some form of mental illness. Miss Emily was seen as a recluse and odd, but what no one in the town knew was that she couldn't help it there was more going on with her then people could see.
By the story’s conclusion, the reader can go back through the story and identify many episodes where Miss Emily behavior hinted at the fact she may be suffering from a mental illness. It can be seen that the town wanted to deny this fact and to keep her as a social idol. This information, in fact, could be used to support the claim that Miss Emily may have suffered from a form of schizophrenia as defined by the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-IV criteria. Miss Emily could have developed this mental illness in response to demanding conditions living as a Southern woman from an aristocratic family. This turn to mental illness would have occurred because she was unable to develop healthy coping and defense mechanisms so her mind decide what to process and what to leave unknown. Her community viewed her as having a “hereditary obligation” (Faulkner 150) to maintain certain traditions. Her father, who placed these traditions and values on Miss Emily, was rigid in reinforcing these expectations. By this point in the book we know also that Miss Emily “had grown fat and her hair was turning gray” (Faulkner 149). This fai...
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...ed to see the good in her and to idolize her. Again leading to too much pressure on her and causing her psychotic break.
Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a short story that is a tale about the pressures of society and the ways in which they can wear people down. This story in itself should implicitly and explicitly show the readers the effects of terrible loss and social pressures upon an individual. Miss Emily lacked adaptive coping skills to help her manage substantial stressors, and for this reason, she was vulnerable to the onset of mental illness. Being so there is more then enough textual proof showing the compromised mental state of Miss Emily. In every part of the story another layer into her life is uncovered and brought to the reader for their interpretation, but to state that she was sane would not be an accurate account of the stories implications.
Without bluntly saying it, Faulkner, in several instances, hints that Emily has gone mad. At a few points in the story, the narrator mentions Emily's Great Aunt Wyatt, who "had gone completely crazy at last" (paragraph 25). This is the narrator's insinuation that insa...
Emily was drove crazy by others expectations, and her loneliness. ““A Rose for Emily,” a story of love and obsession, love, and death, is undoubtedly the most famous one among Faulkner’s more than one hundred short stories. It tells of a tragedy of a screwy southern lady Emily Grierson who is driven from stem to stern by the worldly tradition and desires to possess her lover by poisoning him and keeping his corpse in her isolated house.” (Yang, A Road to Destruction and Self Destruction: The Same Fate of Emily and Elly, Proquest) When she was young her father chased away any would be suitors. He was convinced no one was good enough for her. Emily ended up unmarried. She had come to depend on her father. When he finally died, ...
William Faulkner, an American writer born into a family that was affected by the Civil War, was well recognized for his emphasis on social issues. In a “A Rose for Emily,” Faulkner presents the darkness and mystery of Emily Grierson’s life, and her social and political issues. In the other hand, “Schizophrenia,” poem written by Jim Stevens, presents the obscurity inside a person’s mind that suffers an incurable disease. Although “A Rose for Emily” and “Schizophrenia” have different themes and setting, they share several similarities. In both, the protagonist has an unstable behavior that causes pain and misery to themselves and people around them. In addition, the protagonists have a selfish conduct and
In the short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner the main character Miss Emily, a so-called monument amongst the towns’ people, lives a rather peculiar life. She comes from a well respected family and remains the last living member of noble decent. A woman whose life is restrained to see love because of her father’s strict ways. She was never able to experience the companionship of another besides that of her own father. The silhouette of her father clutching a horsewhip was hung on the wall, as one was to enter the house (31). This represents her father still hovers over her after his death; almost controlling what she does. Emily does not listen to her father’s words of wisdom and appears to fall for a man of lesser stature. With the uncommonness of the relationship along with several other events; it is evident that Miss Emily is up to something. With that said the central theme of Faulkner’s story is madness and insanity and with supporting evidence from the story I will be able to prove my case.
Miss Emily was brought into the spotlight the same moment as her father died. Being the last remaining person from the high ranking Grierson family in town, she became the new ambassador of the old days. The people welcomed her with open arms, without actually knowing anything more about her than her admirable name. Her father's death also meant that Miss Emily's unrevealed secret was brought into the grave. It is well known that insanity is a hereditary disposition, and Miss Emily's great-aunt, lady Wyatt, had "gone absolutely crazy"(80) before she passed away a couple of years earlier. Emily's father had since then dissociated from that branch of the family, as if to run away from a dishonorable influence. I believe that he was aware of her condition, and he therefore had kept her from social life and driven away the long road of suitors to prevent her from causing another scandal, which could spot his and his family's remaining reputation.
Emily Grierson, referred to as Miss Emily throughout the story, is the main character of 'A Rose for Emily,' written by William Faulkner. Emily is born to a proud, aristocratic family sometime during the Civil War; Miss Emily used to live with her father and servants, in a big decorated house. The Grierson Family considers themselves superior than other people of the town. According to Miss Emily's father none of the young boys were suitable for Miss Emily. Due to this attitude of Miss Emily's father, Miss Emily was not able to develop any real relationship with anyone else, but it was like her world revolved around her father.
Emily’s psychotic personality disorder is made completely obvious through the details of the story. Before his death Emily’s father refused to allow her to reach sexual maturity by preventing her from loving any man below their class. This caused sexual ...
By using strong characterization and dramatic imagery, William Faulkner introduces us to Miss Emily Grierson in “A Rose for Emily”. The product of a well-established, but now fallen family, Emily plays common role found in literature- a societal outcast, who earns her banishment from society through her eclectic behavior and solitary background. Often living in denial and refusing to engage with others, Emily responds to her exile by spending the remainder of her life as a mysterious recluse that the rest of society is more content to ignore rather than break social customs to confront her. Emily’s role as an outcast mirrors a major theme of the story, that denial is a powerful tool in hiding a secret, however, the truth will eventually emerge. The mystery surrounding Emily’s character and the story’s memorable imagery creates a haunting tale that lingers with the reader.
As time went on pieces from Emily started to drift away and also the home that she confined herself to. The town grew a great deal of sympathy towards Emily, although she never hears it. She was slightly aware of the faint whispers that began when her presence was near. Gossip and whispers may have been the cause of her hideous behavior. The town couldn’t wait to pity Ms. Emily because of the way she looked down on people because she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and she never thought she would be alone the way her father left her.
William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” displays themes of alienation and isolation. Emily Grierson’s own father is found to be the root of many of her problems. Faulkner writes Emily’s character as one who is isolated from the people of her town. Her isolation from society and alienation from love is what ultimately drives her to madness.
In “A Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner, Emily Geierson is a woman that faces many difficulties throughout her lifetime. Emily Geierson was once a cheerful and bright lady who turned mysterious and dark through a serious of tragic events. The lost of the two men, whom she loved, left Emily devastated and in denial. Faulkner used these difficulties to define Emily’s fascinating character that is revealed throughout the short story. William Faulkner uses characterization in “A Rose for Emily”, to illustrate Miss Emily as a stubborn, overly attached, and introverted woman.
The main character Emily Grierson, is odd. Over the course of the story, her unpredictable behavior becomes weird. The townspeople as well as the reader is left trying to explain how Emily was able to sleep next to the corpse of Homer Barron. It is reasonable to think that Emily developed a mental illness as a response to the demanding conditions as a Southern Woman from a dignified family. While growing up, she obviously did not develop normal coping and defensive mechanisms.
From her psychological issues, any sane person could establish that Miss Emily had a mental illness. She refused to bury her father, refused to explain her need for poison, and refused to let her lover leave. Miss Emily first expressed signs of mental illness after her father’s death; she was emotionally unstable and refused to accept that her father was dead. The story states: “The day after his death all the ladies prepared to call at the house and offer condolence and aid, as is our custom.
In William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily,” the character of Miss Emily quickly catches the attention of the reader. The audience slowly obtains a grasp as to whom Emily is throughout the story, eventually letting them know that Emily is a murderer, who is still mourning the loss of her father. After losing the only person that she has left, Emily’s character experiences a drastic shift in development, leading to events that suggest a change in the character on a deeper, psychological level. However, the question is raised as to whether she was simply shaken into an unstable state due to her father’s death, or if Emily had possibly been suffering from a mental illness all along. It becomes obvious to the reader that Emily’s father
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.