In today's world we see many children that grow up in homes where they are not loved or isolated. These conditions can affect a person for the rest of their life. Two examples of this are the characters Emily Grierson from "A Rose for Emily" and Nora Helmer from A Doll's House. Both of these women lived a very altered adult life due to the way they were raised. As a little girl Emily was extremely sheltered by her father. She wasn't allowed to date men or experiment with what life had to offer. Her father meant the world to her. When he passed, she lost the ability to cling onto someone for comfort. This damaged Emily for the rest of her life. She isolated herself from her community and began to decay physically and mentally. Nora's childhood was very similar to Emily's. Her father also sheltered her and treated her as if she was his "doll". This even carried over into her married life. Her husband Helmer treated her as if she was a toy and held her back from experiencing life through her own eyes. Nora eventually came to the realization that she did not know anything about the world and needed to leave her husband to strike out on her own. Due to their upbringing both of these women had trouble leading normal adult lives and keeping healthy relationships.
Emily Grierson grew up in an upper class family that was well respected in the community. Her father kept a close watch over her. She grew so attached to him that everything else in life was secondary. By the time Emily was a grown women she did not have many accomplishments to talk about. She never experienced anything other then what her father had instilled in her. The defining moment in her life was the passing of her father. This affected her mentally and physically. In her father's passing she lost the only person that she had for emotional and moral support. She was so attached to him that she wouldn't even admit to anyone that he had died.