Miss Emily Grierson's Insanity
Miss Emily Grierson, the main character in A Rose For Emily, was so obviously insane that the main question is not if she is insane, but how. Of all the factors that should be taken into account and all the various manifestations of insanity she could have presented, there are some particular aspects of her behavior hold more certainty than others. The fact that nearly all of her life was lived privately, unviewed by anyone who could speak of it, the only knowledge of her behavior comes from her rare interactions with the townspeople of Jefferson. Having lived with only a corpse for company for more than forty years, almost all of her behaviors that were seen by the public were erratic, at the least. With insanity exhibited by her great aunt
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After the death of her father, a dispensation had been made for her by Colonel Sartoris, a leading figure in the town, allowing her to live without paying taxes, “from the death of her father on into perpetuity.” This dispensation was reviewed by the next generation of town officials, and the decision reversed. Action was taken to collect taxes from Miss Emily, and after some time and several notices sent by mail, all returned with no official notice taken of them, the town officials decided to visit Miss Emily personally about the issue. Her only response was, “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.” She said this, knowing that, “Colonel Sartoris had been dead almost ten years,” the officials had already seen the city records, and that they had deliberately reversed the earlier decision. This behavior is a clear indication that she was living a delusional existence that she was unwilling to let go of, as well as an obsession with the past. Her acute agoraphobia was also a factor in her behavior, as she was unwilling to go outside to deal with the issue, communicating reluctantly and slowly only by mail, and refusing to let the tax collectors into her house making them, “stand in the
After the death of her father, a dispensation had been made for her by Colonel Sartoris, a leading figure in the town, allowing her to live without paying taxes, “from the death of her father on into perpetuity.” This dispensation was reviewed by the next generation of town officials, and the decision reversed. Action was taken to collect taxes from Miss Emily, and after some time and several notices sent by mail, all returned with no official notice taken of them, the town officials decided to visit Miss Emily personally about the issue. Her only response was, “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.” She said this, knowing that, “Colonel Sartoris had been dead almost ten years,” the officials had already seen the city records, and that they had deliberately reversed the earlier decision. This behavior is a clear indication that she was living a delusional existence that she was unwilling to let go of, as well as an obsession with the past. Her acute agoraphobia was also a factor in her behavior, as she was unwilling to go outside to deal with the issue, communicating reluctantly and slowly only by mail, and refusing to let the tax collectors into her house making them, “stand in the