A Rose for Emily

            There are many underlying themes in A Rose for Emily. Among them are; loneliness, control, lack of understanding, and lack of respect. All characters in this story exhibit at least one of these themes throughout the story. .
             Emily's father exhibits a great deal of control early in this story, which does a great deal of emotional damage to Emily later on. When suitors come to see Emily, her father stands in the doorway with a horse whip, which drives them away. At this point in Emily's life, she most likely would not have turned out the way she did if her father had not been so controlling. Her father does not think about what his actions may have done to Emily in the long run, nor do I feel that he was the best father he could have been to Emily.
             The townspeople exhibit a great lack of understanding and respect for Emily. They see her simply as a troubled old woman who has lost her mind. They take no interest in trying to understand her past, or what happened to her. When they begin to smell a foul odor, their only request is to cover the smell up, to mask their own lack of respect for her.
             Emily, for obvious reasons, is the focal point of the story. She exhibits a great deal of loneliness, and control throughout this story. In the beginning of the story, Emily is under a great deal of control by her father. She is struggling to find her own sense of character and individualism at this point, and her father is ultimately denying her that. By not being allowed to have male friends, Emily is being set up for disaster, which comes later in her life. Once her father dies, she is unsure what to do, and is not sure how to deal with this tragedy. She deals with it in a very common way: by denying it. When the townspeople try to take her fathers body out of the house, she does not allow them to do this, she simply denies the fact that her father is dead. This carries on for a period of time.