The short story "A Rose for Emily" is written about a woman who lives a life of secrets, love, and neglect. Living in selective isolation, her mental health closely resembles that of a 21st Century murderer. Emily has the characteristics of a Behavioral Personality Disorder, or Schizophrenia by choosing self-isolation, premeditating a murder while keeping a trophy.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) can be characterized by severe emotional dysregulation and affective instability [1]. Emily has a void of emotion, she does not outwardly display that she is sad or affected by what other people think. However, she does notice when people start to get suspicious of why she hasn't …show more content…
I think Faulker was trying to convey that everyone has their secrets. Some people hide their true character until death. Men are not the only creatures that can carry out such a heninous acts like murder and deceit. Like many other killers of the 21st Century, Emily's character was very blunt when she was purchasing the rat poison, people just took her as a lady that was left by her love and a daughter mourning her father. Tobe, Emily's servant was her only true companion in her life, even after her father's death; Tobe stayed loyal to Emily and kept her secrets even after she was deceased. When Emily passed Tobe was finally free of her family and was never seen …show more content…
Like a schizophrenic Emily was paranoid about people in the town, which made her more introverted. While this story is fiction, it brings light to the subject that even during the turn of the Century (19-20th) mental health was a concern enough for Faulkner's story to have a huge impact. Even today, murderers come from every walk of life, and often go undiagnosed due to the stigma that is associated with mental health issues and treatments.
Works Cited
Fenske, Sabrina, et al. "Emotion recognition in borderline personality disorder: effects of emotional information on negative bias." Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion, vol. 2, 2015, p. 10. Academic OneFile, link.galegroup.com.db21.linccweb.org/apps/doc/A419329911/AONE?u=lincclin_pjc&sid=AONE&xid=4d4cadfb. Accessed 5 Dec. 2017.
Douglas, J.E., Burgess, A.W. and Ressler, R.K. 1995. Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives. New York: The Free Press.
Jenkins, John Philip. "Jeffrey Dahmer" Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jeffrey-Dahmer. Accessed Dec 5