Full Draft #1
The Effects of Isolation on the Human Mind
Loneliness can drive the human mind insane, to the very point of dissociation and
depersonalization. You’re left all alone with a sense of self-loss yearning for the feeling that
comes with having someone who truly cares about you. No one to share your life with, and
no one to be by your side. You sit alone and watch both your mental and physical health
deteriorate as the years slowly and painfully go by. It’s a sad but very familiar truth for
millions of people on this Earth. The short story, A Rose for Emily written in April of 1930
by William Faulkner implies that the main character Emily acted upon a wishful impulse and
suggests that it is viewed as unethical and humanistically wrong in the eyes of society. By
supplying the reader with information about Emily being rejected by Homer whom she loved
and wanted to marry, Faulkner builds his claim about how she channeled that heartbreak she
felt in an unhealthy manner. Faulkner’s purpose is to forewarn readers about the
consequences of holding on to something they must let go of in order to move on and prevent
unhealthy habits from forming. Because of the author’s sympathetic tone, it seems as if he
writes for individuals from the south and an audience that may not be able to let go of their
hurt and past to focus on their future.
Due to being intensely socially isolated for many years, Emily felt strongly about
marrying a person she loved such as Homer. As a result of her father’s overbearing and
overprotective style of parenting, she had trouble finding a partner. She held on to the
feelings for Homer even if they were not reciprocated. Her mental state, and what Freud
would call a wishful impulse pushed her to kill Homer. A wishful impulse is a Freudian
concept described to be “a sharp contrast to the subject’s other wishes and which proved
incompatible with the ethical and aesthetic standards of his personality.”(Freud 2212)
However, her actions can be interpreted as desperation that came from a place of love and
fear as opposed to threatening. It can be inferred that the cause of Emily’s wishful impulse
stems from her loneliness.
Paragraphs nine and ten within the short story portray how hard it was for Emily to
deal with the death of her father. Emily’s relationship with her father can be viewed as
abnormal and concerning. Her father has always driven potential partners for Emily away
since he felt as though none of them were good enough for his daughter. (Faulkner 3) Her
father was all she had growing up, so when he passed away she struggled to comprehend
what had actually happened in denial of his death entirely. (Faulkner 3) The one person in her
life that was consistent showed her what we assume is innocent love was gone, which
probably traumatized her.
Emily’s loss caused her to cling on to any other man that shows her interest including
Homer. We know after Emily’s death she kept Homer’s body which is recognized as a
medical condition called Necrophilia; when an individual is sexually attracted to a dead body.
It’s clear that Emily has some sort of mental illness, and fails to comprehend the line she has
crossed. Now if we visualize this story in the form of a dream, the latent content that Freud
defines to be the underlying hidden meaning of the dream can be perceived to be that Emily
can’t move on from Homer and not because she is so deeply infatuated with him, but because
it’s her first potential shot at marriage. She refuses to let it go so instead of repressing her
unstable and erratic impulses she acts upon them.
In the last paragraph of “A Rose For Emily” Faulkner states that “we noticed that in
the second pillow was the indentation of a head”, and “we saw a long strand of iron-gray
hair”.(Faulkner 6) This paragraph showcases how Emily would lay down next to Homer’s
dead body, and show him affection by holding him. This further proves my very point that
Emily did not know how to move on with her life and how she clung to Homer even after his
death.
Emily’s father pushed her into an isolated reality that caused her to slowly develop
unhealthy and unacceptable habits throughout her life. In my eyes, it looks as though her dad
has also pushed her to the brink of possibly a nervous disorder that manifests itself into
something much darker. This short story includes many Freudian concepts and can even be
viewed in the perspective of a dream. Emily’s wishful impulse to murder Homer, and the
hidden meaning or latent content can be agreed to be her denial to move on from loss and
rejection. Every single one of Emily’s actions, her childhood, her relationship with her father,
and how she was raised can be described as the Freudian concept of condensation which
many ideas are represented by one symbol and in Emily’s case, this symbol is necrophilia.
Full Draft #2
The Effect of Isolation on the Human Mind
Loneliness can drive the human mind insane to the very point of dissociation and depersonalization. You’re left with a sense of self-loss yearning for the feeling that comes with having someone who truly cares about you. You sit alone and watch both your mental and wellbeing deteriorate as the years slowly and painfully go by. It’s a sad but very familiar truth for millions of people on this Earth. The short story, “ A Rose for Emily”, written in April of 1930 by William Faulkner , implies that the main character, Emily, acted upon a wishful impulse that is viewed as unethical and humanistically wrong in the eyes of contemporary society.
By supplying the reader with information about Emily being rejected by Homer, whom she loved and wanted to marry, Faulkner builds his claim. He portrays how Emily channeled that heartbreak she felt in an unhealthy manner otherwise identified as repression and a wishful impulse. Faulkner’s purpose is to forewarn readers about the consequences of holding on to something they must let go of in order to move on. This notion of refusal to move past represents the Freudian concept of resistance. Because of the author’s sympathetic tone, he writes for individuals from the south and an audience that may not be able to let go of their hurt and past to focus on their future.
Due to being intensely socially isolated for many years, Emily felt strongly about marrying a person she loved such as Homer. Emily’s father sexually repressed her for her entire life. As a result of her father’s overbearing and overprotective style of parenting, she had trouble finding a partner. (Faulkner ) The sexual repression Emily faced resulted in personal psychological deterioration. Freud states within his lecture that “I will relate a single one of my cases, in which the determinants and advantages of repression are sufficiently evident” (Freud 2213). Emily’s mental state, and what Freud would call a wishful impulse pushed her to kill Homer. It can also be inferred that the cause of Emily’s wishful impulse to kill Homer stems from her loneliness and years of sexual repression at the hand of her father. A wishful impulse is a Freudian concept described to be “a sharp contrast to the subject’s other wishes and which proved incompatible with the ethical and aesthetic standards of his personality”(Freud 2212).
Paragraphs nine and ten within the short story portray how hard it was for Emily to deal with the death of her father(Faulkner, par.9). Emily’s relationship with her father can be viewed as abnormal and concerning. Her father has always driven potential partners for Emily away since he felt as though none of them were good enough for his daughter (Faulkner). Emily’s father was all she had growing up, so when he passed away she struggled to comprehend what had actually happened. She was in denial of his death entirely. Emily’s refusal to come to terms with letting go of her father is recognized as the Freudian concept of resistance. Freud states that “It was accordingly plausible to suppose that the greater the resistance against what we were in search of becoming conscious, the greater would be its distortion “( Freud 2217). And in Emily’s case, she resists welcoming the idea that the one man in her life who showed her what we assume is innocent love was gone. Her loss definitely traumatized her and negatively affected her health psychologically. (Faulkner)
Emily’s loss caused her to cling to any other man that showed her interest including Homer (Faulkner). We know after Homer’s death Emily kept his body for about thirty years which is recognized as a medical condition called Necrophilia; when an individual is sexually attracted to a dead body (Faulkner ). In the last paragraph of “A Rose For Emily” Faulkner states that “we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head”, and “we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair”(Faulkner ). This paragraph showcases how Emily would lay down next to Homer’s dead body, and show him affection by holding him. It’s clear that Emily has some sort of mental illness, and fails to comprehend the line she has crossed. This further proves my point that Emily continues to resist any change and move on with her life. Her refusal is clearly shown within the short story seeing as Faulkner mentions that “what was left of him, rotted beneath what was left of the nightshirt, had become inextricable from the bed in which he lay”(Faulkner ). Emily let her resistance grow rapidly to the point where a dead body almost sank into her mattress.
Its quite clear that throughout A Rose for Emily the main character Emily Grierson acted upon her wishful impulse to kill Homer. Emily’s father pushed her into an isolated reality that caused her to slowly develop unhealthy and unacceptable habits throughout her life. In my eyes, it looks as though her dad has also pushed her to the brink of possibly a nervous disorder that has manifested itself into something much darker. Freudian concepts such as wishful impulse, resistance, and repression play into how Emily got to where she was, and why she caused harm to another individual in the first place. Freud says that“ I gave the name of ‘repression’ to this hypothetical process, and I considered that it was proved by the undeniable existence of resistance”(Freud 2212). Everything Emily went through is interconnected. Every single one of Emily’s actions, her childhood, her relationship with her father, and how she was raised caused her to be psychologically unstable.
Works Cited Page
Freud, Sigmund. Five Lectures On Psycho-Analysis. W. W. Norton & Company, 1910.
Faulkner, William. A Rose For Emily. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill, 1970.
