A Rose for Emily Section II
Many people in society tend to suffer from illnesses that may or may not be explained. Some of these illnesses can be treated, while others may become lifelong illnesses since they are inherited. In William Faulkner’s short story, Miss Emily is seen to be suffering from some form of psychological disorder from the actions she undertakes within her home. The reason why people view it this way is that ordinary people have a particular way of expressing themselves, yet Emily’s is extreme and can be sickness after all. It is thus clear that Miss Emily has a psychological disorder since it runs in her bloodline, as seen from her great-aunt.
One of the reasons that reveal Miss Emily to be psychologically ill is she tends to treat deceased individuals to be alive. For instance, she believes that her father is still alive, even when he is dead. Miss Emily had been living with her father for the better part of her life, and after his passing, it became difficult for her to imagine that she would be all alone in their massive family home. She went into keeping his body to avoid its disposal since she believed her father to be alive. In many cases, when individuals lose their loved one, it may become difficult to accept reality, yet it is quite open to the public that the individual is no more. Ordinary people tend to heal after some days, but this comes after accepting that what is lost cannot be regained. Consequently, mentally disturbed individuals may become dramatic due to their imaginations that keep showing them that everyone is wrong and they are right. From a psychological perspective, the human senses may become unreliable, especially in traumatic experiences. They let you see and imagine the unreal happenings while in reality, things are quite the opposite. Miss Emily was traumatized by her father’s passing since she would be lonely for the rest of her life, considering that all suitors that sought her hand in marriage were driven away. She agreed to bury her father after the authorities threatened to use violent means. Besides, the instance where Emily mentioned on the tax issue about Colonel Sartoris evidenced the presence of mental instability. This is because the colonel had been dead for almost ten years, yet Miss Emily mentions that she had sorted the issue with him.
From the short story, Miss Emily killed Homer, and his body is found after the death of Miss Emily. Since Homer and Emily had become very close and the whole town had seen their romance, they expected them to be courting and eventually marry. However, the one time that Homer entered the Grierson home, and it was the last time that people saw him. For a fact, the townspeople thought that he was avoiding Emily’s relatives as he was preparing for their nuptials. The day Emily died is when people heard of all the hidden secrets. She must have been obsessive considering that she had lived with her father until his death which was detrimental for her psychological health. Obsessive individuals would never agree to be abandoned, especially Emily since she saw her father’s death as abandonment. Their senses appeal to killing than have the individuals leave their lives because this action will allow them to remain their lives for a long time. It is quite unfortunate that the townspeople had first dismissed of her insanity since they thought she was grieving her father. Homer would have been saved from death if the people had not assumed of Emily’s sickness. He must have been poisoned considering that Miss Emily had bought arsenic from the druggist. Mentally stable people would let go despite the situation that they had grown from since they understand reality. This is not the case for psychologically disturbed individuals since they lack the sense that enables them to think of the consequences of their actions. They often enjoy undertaking these killings since their senses show them that they have adequate authority to prevent or control their lives and people around them.
Additionally, Miss Emily is mentally unstable since it is an inherited condition that her great-aunt suffered from before her death. Medical conditions that are found in the bloodlines of individuals tend to affect at least a single member of the family. There is a high possibility for an individual to develop a condition that other members of the family may have suffered from. In this case, Miss Emily developed mental instability since its genes exist in the family bloodline. This is the reason why her father failed to give her hand in marriage since none of the men would handle her. As a parent, one can understand their children more than anyone else and would seek to shelter them from the outside world. He saw that none of the men that came around as good for Emily since she could be obsessive and obstinate, characteristics that many men would find difficulty handling. Her father may have been looking to shelter her from exposure to the townspeople, who would eventually find the hard hidden truth of Miss Emily. Therefore, her illness was inherited from the family blood shared by her great-aunt.
In conclusion, Emily’s illness is illustrated in the actions she undertakes as well as that of her father’s. According to the story, she is delusional and believes that her father is not dead, a character played by mentally disturbed individuals. Besides, the fact that she killed Homer, who was to be her spouse, reveals that she is obsessive and controlling of the people around her. These are some of the characteristics of psychopaths who can use force to tame people in their vicinity. Finally, the fact that her great-aunt suffered insanity before her death is evidence that Emily may have developed the condition owing to the sharing of a bloodline.