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English 1023 April 2008A Mental Illness for Emily: A Psychoanalytic Glimpse into the Character of Emily GriersonThere is something very curious about Miss Emily Grierson, the main character in William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily.” In the story she exiles herself from society and becomes a total recluse, refuses to progress with the passing of time, and murders her lover, but continues to sleep with his corpse until her dying day. The aforementioned behaviors are a few various mannerisms that are often present in individuals suffering from some type of mental illness. Through the course of the story, Emily’s mental instability becomes increasingly apparent. With the help of psychoanalytic dissection, the troubled mind of Emily Grierson can be unlocked, studied, diagnosed, and understood.The symptoms that Emily exhibits are most commonly associated with that of a psychotic disorder. There are numerous types of psychotic disorders, each with its own diagnostic categories and varying degrees of severity. The most commonly known psychotic disorder is schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is marked by a loss of contact with reality, also known as psychosis. In the case of Emily Grierson there was no single event that caused her to develop schizophrenia, but rather an interacting combination of genetics, environment, parental influence, and possible neglect. From a Freudian perspective, it would be plausible to say that Emily’s upbringing was a major contributor to her schizophrenic state. Faulkner writes that the townspeople remember “all the young men her father had driven away” (Faulkner 559). This depiction of Emily’s father illustrates for the reader what kind of environment she grew up in; Emily was raised by a controlling and overbearing man who refused to give her anything that even resembled freewill. In the absence of her mother and under the cruel reign of her father, Emily was unable to develop healthy cognitive processes. An individual’s inability to...