Mental Illness In A Rose For Emily

A woman from an aristocratic family loses her father as well as the man who many thought she would marry. Losing a loved one affects people differently, and in many different ways such as anger, depression, acting out, and feelings of emptiness, but the effect on Emily Grierson from “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner was much different. Emily experienced delusions and lack of motivation, among other symptoms. While reading this short story, one begins to realize early on that there are some psychological inconsistencies with Emily, some of which can be seen in how she reacts to losing her loved ones. Faulkner displays Emily’s psychological inconsistencies in her relationships, interactions with townspeople, and her perceptions of reality.

According to the American Psychiatric Association in the article “What is Schizophrenia” by William Carpenter Jr., M.D. and Ranna Parekh, M.D., M.P.H., some of the main symptoms of schizophrenia include delusions, a lack of expressing emotions and speaking, difficulty thinking, and “exaggerated . . . beliefs and behaviors,” (Carpenter and Parekh). It is apparent from the start that Emily displayed some symptoms of schizophrenia. One of the symptoms she displayed early on was the fact that she was living in denial. She refused to believe that her father was dead, and she still thought that Colonel Sartoris was the mayor and would never charge her taxes (364, 365). When Emily was told by the townspeople that she owed taxes, she argued with them, saying “I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me. Perhaps one of you can gain access to the city records and satisfy yourselves” (364). She continued to repeat the phrase ¨I owe no taxes in Jefferson,” to the city authorities, and it can be inferred that it was then when they realized she had no clue Colonel Sartoris had been dead for ten years. This is a clear demonstration of the denial shown in schizophrenia, as well as her psychological inconsistencies in her interactions with the townspeople.

In a display of strange behavior, she went to the pharmacy and requested the best poison they had. She was acting somewhat paranoid by the way she had been staring at the pharmacist for a period of time and not stating why she wanted to buy the poison (366). This suggests that she went there on a mission. She needed that poison, but she was not about to let anyone know why. When Emily lost her father, her psychological inconsistencies began to arise. When she and Homer began their relationship, she probably began to feel happy again, but eventually she probably realized that she never wanted him to leave her. She could not bare the thought of being left all alone again, and this is when she decided that she needed to buy the poison. One could infer Emily was thinking that by buying the poison and then giving some to Homer she could keep him there with her. By killing him and keeping him in her house, he could never leave her. In her state of mind, this was the only way that she could keep him from leaving her. relate back to