American Literature

Introduction
William Faulkners 1955 masterpiece A Rose for Emily is actually a story of how a seemingly conservative but extremely judgmental society selfishly deprived a woman the right to live a normal life. The society in which Miss Emily Grierson lived and died has transformed her into a mere lifeless, decaying object robbed of love, life and affection. This explains the reasons for her behavior and her rather unusual actions.

The Characters that Brought About Emilys Insanity
A critical analysis of the characters in the story shows that these characters, which include Miss Emily herself, are in fact the reasons behind here alleged insanity.

The Hypocritical and Judgmental Omniscient Narrators. The narrators in A Rose for Emily are often addressed as we and they seem to know everything that is going on that any normally gossiping or nosy people can observe. These first line speaks of what kind of people actually live in Jefferson When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house (Faulkner). From this line one can clearly see that the whole neighborhood attended Emilys funeral not because they loved her but for selfish reasons. Love and concern are sadly not one of the qualities of this extremely judgmental and hypocritical neighborhood who describes Emily as a small, fat woman who looked bloated (Faulkner) and her house as an eyesore among eyesores amidst stubborn and coquettish decay (Faulkner). These people can see only what his bad and decaying and can never appreciate what is beautiful both in Miss Emily, in her house, and even the town of Jefferson. And perhaps the worst thing these omniscient narrators did when they saw Emily buy arsenic, was say, She will kill herself andit would be the best thing (Faulkner). The neighborhood indeed represented by the omniscient narrator was one of the strongest precipitating factors that drove Miss Emily towards insanity.

Miss Emilys Father. Not much is mentioned in the story about Miss Emilys father except perhaps that he was a spraddled silhouette in the foreground with his back to Miss Emily clutching a horsewhip (Faulkner). A strict, domineering father who has not given her any love is the father Miss Emily has had and the one who drove all the young men away, leaving Emily unmarried and starving for love until death. This father may have eventually turned Miss Emily into an insane woman.

Homer Barron. This man ends up as the victim in the story, the fianc of Miss Emily whom Emily herself allegedly poisons with arsenic and whose corpse she sleeps with until her death. The question remains whether Homer deserves his death Probably so, for the reason that he shouldnt have romantically spent Sunday afternoons with her driving in the yellow-wheeled buggy (Faulkner) when he would just say in the end that he liked men and that he was not a marrying man (Faulkner). Homer Barron may have been the victim in the story but he himself is a perfect example of treachery and dishonesty, the very evils that turn Miss Emily into the insane killer that she is.

Miss Emily Grierson Herself. Miss Emily Grierson plays the role not only of the obedient daughter but of the good citizen. However, the pressure brought upon her by the prying eyes of the meddling neighbors and the harsh treatment from her father starved her of love and affection, causing her to thirst and hunger for love and attention. Towards the end of the story, she has become so attached to Homer that when perhaps she has sensed that he is leaving her, she simply decides not to feel unloved again and therefore kills him and sleeps with his corpse for decades. She is always described by the narrators as Poor Emily (Faulkner), which is in fact a very fitting description for her love-starved heart. This heart of hers is like her front door always remaining closed or occasionally like a window where she would occasionally and figuratively show her feelings. Emily was helpless and somehow helped bring all this insanity upon herself.

The Theme of Insanity
The cruelty of the people around Emily and the fact that they have never given her any true love and that nobody seems to have took her and her feelings seriously finally take a toll on her mind. When Emily somehow learns of Homer Barrons indecision as to her marriage, the narrators see her buy arsenic, which, at the end of the story, was found to be the cause of Homers death. This is Emilys breaking point but her murder of Homer does not help either for during the whole time that Emily was sleeping with Homers corpse, she showed signs of depression and decay. For one, she had grown fat and her hair was turning gray (Faulkner) and she isolated herself behind a closed door until her death. Emily has indeed become insane and her decision to murder Homer was perhaps one of the last attempts at keeping the love that she has always longed to have but have never had. Nevertheless, nothing could save her. Miss Emilys love-starved heart has decayed her to the point of insanity and eventually death.

Conclusion
William Faulkners A Rose for Emily is a testament to how a cruelly indifferent and judgmental society can destroy the very fabric of a persons sanity. Furthermore, the story shows that once decay sets in to consume ones sanity, the chances of escape are very little so that death may be inevitable. A Rose for Emily is also a tragic story of how the absence of love can decay a persons heart and sanity.