A Rose For Emily Mental Illness Analysis
e are defined by our past experiences, individuals are ever-changing based on our beliefs and experiences throughout our lives. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” depicts the transformation of Emily. A young women who was originally a young and vibrant women, gradually transitions into a secluded and sympathized character. This is a symbol of her family’s history of mental illness, which she in turn inherited and ultimately affects her as her life progresses. Homer Barron’s close resemblance to Emily’s father, an unwillingness to let people go, and her isolation from the world which resulted in subsequent loneliness all point towards the argument that Emily’s mental illness is what lead to her killing Homer Barron. Mental illness
…show more content…
Emily’s issues of abandonment and loneliness lead to her feeling as though she had no choice but to kill Homer so that she could not leave him. The reader knows that Emily is lonely in page two when the townsperson states that she had potential suitors who she clearly cared for left her. Following her father’s death the only way people knew she was alive was because her servant Tobe had been seen at the market. When Emily meets Homer her loneliness doubled with her mental instability told her that the only way she would not lose him would be if she were to kill him. Every person that Emily had ever loved left her at some point, including Homer when he briefly returned to New York. This made Emily feel helpless and Homer returning to New York was the straw that broke the camels back as she began to be overwhelmed with the fear that he would do that again, so overwhelmed that she purchased arson. Abandonment and this concept of an unwillingness to let people go was evident when her father died, it took her 3 days for doctors to convince her to let them take her father’s dead body after he died. This signifies her unwillingness to let go of people that she cared about, which is what fuelled her to kill Homer Barron. With all of the hardship that Emily endured through her life with every man she
Emily’s issues of abandonment and loneliness lead to her feeling as though she had no choice but to kill Homer so that she could not leave him. The reader knows that Emily is lonely in page two when the townsperson states that she had potential suitors who she clearly cared for left her. Following her father’s death the only way people knew she was alive was because her servant Tobe had been seen at the market. When Emily meets Homer her loneliness doubled with her mental instability told her that the only way she would not lose him would be if she were to kill him. Every person that Emily had ever loved left her at some point, including Homer when he briefly returned to New York. This made Emily feel helpless and Homer returning to New York was the straw that broke the camels back as she began to be overwhelmed with the fear that he would do that again, so overwhelmed that she purchased arson. Abandonment and this concept of an unwillingness to let people go was evident when her father died, it took her 3 days for doctors to convince her to let them take her father’s dead body after he died. This signifies her unwillingness to let go of people that she cared about, which is what fuelled her to kill Homer Barron. With all of the hardship that Emily endured through her life with every man she