Essay: a Rose for Emily
Mental Diagnosis for Emily
In the short story “A Rose for Emily”, the reader can conclude that Emily appears to have had schizophrenia by way she interacts in the town. Emily’s mental problems start to come to light to the reader when she begins having hallucinations. The reader gains further background and further sees mental instability in Emily right after her father dies. The town people also begin to see that there are mental issues with Emily, yet do not want to make it known to keep the integrity of the town. Emily’s inability to form age appropriate coping skills furthers the point of schizophrenia.
The schizophrenia diagnosis begins to come to the surface to the reader when men come collecting tax from her house. Emily tells the men, “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson” when Colonel Sartoris had been dead almost ten years (Faulkner, 2012, p. 85). The hallucination of the Colonel as she argues about the taxes is the beginning signs of a schizophrenic state.
After the death of Emily’s father, the reader starts seeing how she cannot go through the stages of grief. Emily starts out with not showing grief over the death of her father. Then the reader sees Emily is unable to except that her father is dead. When the town people come to console Emily, “She told them her father was not dead. She did that for three days…Just as they were about to resort to law and force, she broke down, and they buried her father quickly” (Faulkner, 2012, p. 86). The reader can see Emily’s coping skills are not age appropriate or situational appropriate.
The reader sees how Emily stops taking care of her own personal needs as well. Emily stops all personal hygiene and grooming needs, this made her appear old and fat. Emily’s transformation from a beautiful young lady in to a fat, old, unclean woman further adds to mental instability. The reader adds this as more evidence of Emily’s gradual growth in to schizophrenia. The reader sees the characters in the
In the short story “A Rose for Emily”, the reader can conclude that Emily appears to have had schizophrenia by way she interacts in the town. Emily’s mental problems start to come to light to the reader when she begins having hallucinations. The reader gains further background and further sees mental instability in Emily right after her father dies. The town people also begin to see that there are mental issues with Emily, yet do not want to make it known to keep the integrity of the town. Emily’s inability to form age appropriate coping skills furthers the point of schizophrenia.
The schizophrenia diagnosis begins to come to the surface to the reader when men come collecting tax from her house. Emily tells the men, “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson” when Colonel Sartoris had been dead almost ten years (Faulkner, 2012, p. 85). The hallucination of the Colonel as she argues about the taxes is the beginning signs of a schizophrenic state.
After the death of Emily’s father, the reader starts seeing how she cannot go through the stages of grief. Emily starts out with not showing grief over the death of her father. Then the reader sees Emily is unable to except that her father is dead. When the town people come to console Emily, “She told them her father was not dead. She did that for three days…Just as they were about to resort to law and force, she broke down, and they buried her father quickly” (Faulkner, 2012, p. 86). The reader can see Emily’s coping skills are not age appropriate or situational appropriate.
The reader sees how Emily stops taking care of her own personal needs as well. Emily stops all personal hygiene and grooming needs, this made her appear old and fat. Emily’s transformation from a beautiful young lady in to a fat, old, unclean woman further adds to mental instability. The reader adds this as more evidence of Emily’s gradual growth in to schizophrenia. The reader sees the characters in the
References: Faulkner, W. (2012). A Rose for Emily. In M. Meyer (Ed.), The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature (9th ed., pp. 84-90). New York: Bedford/ St. Martin’s.