A Response To That Necrophilic Woman William Faulkner Introduced Me To

The following is a response to "A Rose for Emily," written by William Faulkner. 

In addition to evading taxes, purchasing deadly amounts of arsenic, and having a necrophilic relationship with her sweetheart Homer Barron, I don't think author William Faulkner could have better portrayed the slow decay in the mental health of a young auspicious girl as he did Miss Emily. She had lost her wit, yes, goodbye marbles, but the question still remains, why did she kill her beloved Homer Barron? 

Evidently, I am here to answer that question. 

Emily is a peculiar character, but she is the product of a complex past (as are most insane people). Because of her father, a captain during the Civil War, Emily had spent all her life beneath the lime light, raised in a wealthy southern home where her family played a critical role in the local community and economy. 

The father carefully watched and protected her, the narrator notes after his: "We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will." It is this quote which foreshadows the death of her lover Homer Barron. Unable to cope, alone, without the attention and affection from her father, Emily needed a way to fill the gap. Homer was perfect, but unpredictable--he was not "a marrying man." 

Faced with the questions. Will he leave? Will I be alone forever? Emily couldn't let a second man leave her. And, refusing to let him go, she poisons him with arsenic, so that they may forever be lovers. Her murder was premeditated, yet, she performed it out of love, however selfish it may be. Touching.
I think the story of Emily resembles the difficulty of change we all face at some point. For healthy growth, we need to learn from the past, otherwise, we will only make similar mistakes in the future.