Pittman 1

Conner Pittman
Mrs. Pettay
ENG 112
18 May 2016
A Rose For Emily
Projection is defined as transmitting anger from one situation or interaction and
projecting it on to others. Emily Grierson is a prime example of someone taking out their
personal problems onto others. She is told several times by her father that she isnt allowed to
date other men, and never is allowed out in public unless in the shadow of her father. Much can
be learned by the interactions with the townspeople and the couriers that attempt to enter the
residence after Mr. Griersons passing. William Faulkner was such a talent because he could
incorporate numerous lenses to his works. There is themes of social class, feminism,
psychoanalytic, and others. With the psychoanalytic lens, it is not difficult to put together that
Emily was deeply affected by her fathers mentally abusive behavior. As a benefactor of her
loneliness and oppression from her father, Ms. Emily Grierson took out her frustrations and
mistreatment on other people after her fathers passing.
When the townspeople came to gather her fathers remains from inside the house, Emily
bluntly refuses them and says that he was not dead. This is due to her inability to accept the fact
that her father has passed. The journal Psychodynamic Practice published an entry by Mary
Williamson about the effects that a poor relationship with a father can have for a womans
psyche. She cannot come to the realization that her youth was wasted because of her fathers
reluctance to allow her to see other male suitors, says Williamson (Williamson). When she met

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Homer, Emily found this as a way to redeem for those lost years, even if he wasnt into having a
relationship with her. When he refused the courtship, Emily used drastic measures to keep him
by her side till death. Instead of accepting another man to leave her life, she took matters into her
own hands. By killing Homer and keeping his body in her bed for decades, it opened up many of
the towns previous concerns about her isolation and depravity. When in her youth, the people
always knew she would be courted because of her status. But her fathers stout behavior caused
those years to pass. In turn, it shaped how Emily viewed marriage and the rarity it is to find a
similar attraction.
The brunt nature of her conversations with the people of the town also further reveal
about her inner demons. Every time she answers someone with an abrupt statement, it is because
she has lost her patience with other people. Since she is in the later part of her life, Emily cannot
stand to reason or compromise. She is determined to get exactly what she wants from people
because for the longest time she was ordered around by her father while they lived together. Now
that he is out of the picture, Emily feels a sense of freedom due to her high status in the town.
Even in her conversations with Homer does she present confidence in contrast to his imminent
denials of romance. She feels as if she has been refused by someone who is a lower class
member than her. This further angers her and is a big factor in her decision to kill Homer and
keep him for herself.
In A Rose For Emily, the connection between Emilys brash cold-hearted nature
towards other people and the mistreatment she received by her father is evident. With a more
worldly viewpoint, Emily represents a major sector of people today who have been abused in
some way and who have taken it out on others. It is apparent in everyday interactions with

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friends, co-workers, and even close family members. The fact that this story was written in a
very different time period does not take away from the theme of projection and its negative
consequences.
When the new townspeople decide that Emily should pay her taxes, Emily takes this as a
sign that she is not the aristocratic goddess that she used to be when the town exempted her from
them. An inner struggle develops in Emily as she is torn with the idea that she must conform to
the other specimens roaming the streets. Throughout the story, her bitterness for integrating into
the real world is evident, and she never fully resolves this. One way in which she cant cope with
the rejections and realities of normal life is when Homer denies her request for marriage. People
without such high notoriety and class usually never have to face the pain of rejection. But when
he refuses her for reasons beyond her control, she decides to selfishly take matters into her own
hands and keep him for herself. She would rather satisfy her desire to have him, even if he is
cold and breathless, then not having him and setting him free to be happy on his own with the
people he belongs to.
Mary Arensburg from the Duke University Press articulates that Emily appears to really
love Homer and perhaps her father, if we can judge by the ever-present portrait which she
herself may have done (Arensburg). Arensburg realizes this love, and shows how Emily appears
to treat both men as if they were not dead after they die. Emily cannot let go of men because of
her fear of abandonment and social degradation. Her fear of abandonment stems from her
mothers complete non-existence in the story. Faulkner does not mention Emilys biological
mother once in order to drive the point further that her father was all she had. With the mom out
of the picture, Emily has no other support system to fall back on to deal with her personal
demons. And

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this theme occurs again when her father suddenly passes. When Homer declines her courtship,
she falls back into her old instincts and forces Homer to be with her, even if it means his decay in
her bed every night. Emilys fear of social ridicule is a trait learned by being treated like royalty
her whole life, thus being notorious is all she is accustomed to. No one would want their
reputation taken away if they could help it.
Emily is viewed as a victim throughout the story. Even after they suspect her to be
mentally incapable of functioning on her own, the town gives her a pass by saying its the houses
fault and she just needs a man to fulfill her. After Emily acts like the mayor is still alive, she
defies explanation by upsetting our expectations that she will be victimized and earns our
admiration for her strength, Arensburg explains (Arensburg). The only cause of this is Emily
continues to live in a dream world where even decades after her wealth is compromised, people
still treat her like the monument she once was.
This story uses the interactions with the townspeople, Emilys need for social dominance,
her reluctance to let go of men, and her damaged psyche developed from her fathers
mistreatment as a tool for discovering why Emily ultimately preserves Homers body. Even
decades after the publication, readers are still not convinced there is one way of proving why
Emily commits this foul act. Trying to understand Emilys thought process through her external
and internal interactions requires great attention to detail. Emilys projection onto others mirrors
the projection of research and knowledge it takes to get into the mind of a fictional character and
project it onto the paper.

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Works Cited
Arensberg, Mary, and Sara E. Schyfter. "Hairoglyphics in Faulkner's "A Rose For Emily"/ Read
ing The Primal Trace." Duke University Press 15.1/2 (1986): 123-34. JSTOR
[JSTOR].

Web. 19 May 2016.

Williamson, Mary. "The Importance of Fathers in Relation to Their Daughters' Psychosexual

Development." Psychodynamic Practice (2004): 10-24. Routledge, Ltd. Web. 19
May

2016.