"A rose for Emily" by William Faulkner

In "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner, we see how past events effect the main character Miss Emily, especially her mental state. She seems to live in a sort of fantasy world where death has no real meaning. Miss Emily refuses to accept or even recognize, the death of her father or that of Colonel Satoris. She does not want to acknowledge the fact that the world around her was changing therefore Miss Emily …

…the world in which death was denied at the same time that it was shown to have existed. But her world was conquered by present time. If we transfer a symbolic meaning of the title of the story, it could be as follows: "The Past for Emily". If we speak about the formulation of the theme of the story, it might be as follows: "Complete isolation from the community can lead to madness and murder".