Emily Grierson Victims

When everything seems to be going against you, it’s hard to remain hopeful or even, in some cases, to stay sane. Miss Emily Grierson has trouble keeping that sanity and hopefulness as well as following certain standards of living that the south dictates she must follow. Emily draws much attention this way. From there, it just goes much worse for her as she succumbs to her family’s insanity. Emily does not seek help, either, so she stays in her home making herself more and more helpless for any kind of recovery. Throughout the story, and especially at the end, Emily’s town sees her as a predator to societal customs. She isn’t doing this on purpose, however. Emily falls victim to herself, her family, and her town.

Emily’s early life is spent

in her father’s shadow. Her father is very heavy handed, showing that with the horse whip he is always seen with. Up until her father dies, Emily hides behind hides him timidly. This shadow that her father casts upon her keeps her from doing what she may like as she stays in the house alone. After he dies, Emily begins to exhibit her family’s mental illness. She denies her father’s to many people as he just lies there at the table decomposing. This relationship between the two seems to continue to be the same, even though one is no longer present. Emily carries on and still is shy and timid because she stays in the house. Perhaps if she seeks help and steps out of the now dust collecting house, she can have some sort of last minute recovery. Emily, to her own demise, does not follow through with this and she sends her mind down a never-ending spiral of madness.
Outside of the home is another tale of its own.

Emily continuously defies the social expectations of the south. Her fellow townspeople also find her peculiar before they even know what she does to people. Some of the women in town say horrible things about Emily because of certain things she does, like buying poison. The women say she is a disgrace and a bad example for young people. This statement proves whether she is aware of it, or not, that she is also a victim to her town, as well as a victim to her corrupt mind, and a victim of slander from her town’s members. It isn’t just townspeople expecting more of her, however. Her family judges her for who she chooses as a potential husband. Emily loves Homer but everyone else sees him and says “Poor Emily,” showing how she is victimized by many people.

In the film adaptation, the movie manages to fit the complicated plot of the story into a clear string of events. Emily, in both versions of the story, is shy and reclusive. In the text version, however, more sympathy is given to Emily. The townspeople are always saying “Poor Emily” when she is out of her house doing peculiar things. Where she is still being victimized, they offer some kind of sympathy. In the film, you see a person’s reaction to Emily’s action but not in the way where it is sympathetic, but in the way where it’s more surprise to why she would do the

action.
If you are a victim, then someone or something is a predator. Emily is described as a victim throughout the story, but whether she is a predator or not isn’t totally out of the question. Emily buys poison, gives it to her significant other, and lays in the bed he lies dead in. This behavior seems predatory, but no sane person does this type of thing. Emily is a victim to her insanity, making her believe that these acts are not a normal thing to do. If she is not affected by her family’s illness, Emily isn’t the victim nor is she the predator because she wouldn’t be doing strange things. Since she is affected by the illness, her misguided actions are excused as her being under her family’s mental curse, one of the many factors of her being the story’s victim.
Emily, in her whole life, lives as the victim in many situations. She stays in her father’s shadow, never venturing out because she isn’t allowed to. After her father’s death, Emily descends into her family’s illness, causing her to do things an average minded person does not do. With everything and everyone against her, Emily stays inside her home being as reclusive as ever which the townspeople judge her for. Her family, her town, and her illness manufactures Emily’s unfortunate situation as a target to be a victim, much to the expense of herself.