Mental Illness In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

In the short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, there is an issue of mental that is openly ignored due to the view the town has of Emily. The people in the town never seem to confront the apparent mental issues that are going on. They seem to pity her, but go the extra mile to not actually confront the issues. While they are curious about her life and what goes on in the house, they do nothing to help her even to the detriment of other people. The house has not had visitors in years, the text states, “…no one save an old manservant …had seen in at least ten years.” Emily had ostersized herself from people. She is seen as a person they are forced to take care of, “…Miss Emily has been a tradition, a duty and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town…” The towns people have ignored the …show more content…
When Emily’s father died she showed no grief over the situation; she met people at the door and informed them “her father was not dead” she did this for days before she finally broke down allowing his body to be removed. The text states “We did not call her crazy then.” The town was aware of the mental decline they just did not want to state it. The town wanted to protect Emily no matter what the situation was. Emily goes into the store to buy poison that she potentially uses to kill her husband the druggist is aware that something is not right. He asks Emily what the poison is for, but when she just stares at him he lets the situation go. He instead just writes on the box “For Rats “. The next day the town is talking about her killing herself. The druggist is not only aware that the poison is not for rats, but he obviously talked to people about the purchase and discussed his concerns. After her death, they discover her husband’s