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Kimberly A. Ray
Dr. Jillanne Michell
English 104
December 5, 2016
Daddy’s Girl: A Review of “Emily Grierson’s Oedipus Complex: Motif, Motive,
And Meaning in Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily’”
In “Emily Grierson’s Oedipus Complex: Motif, Motive, and Meaning in Faulkner’s ‘A
Rose for Emily’,” Jack Scherting analyses the psychological motive of the killing of Homer
“Emily Grierson was possessed by an unresolved Oedipal complex” (Scherting 399). Emily
killed Homer, who had become a surrogate to her father after his death, to keep him around and
live out her Oedipal and necrophiliac ways for the next 42 years, according to Scherting. He goes
on to explain and point out other significant signs that also point out the Oedipus complex that
seems to take over and control Emily’s very disturbing way of life.
Scherting is quick to point out that Faulkner doesn’t just come out and have Emily tell us
what is going on; instead, he uses the “we” point of view, claiming that Faulkner is a “desultory
narrator” basing the story from the residents’ understanding of Emily (397). By limiting the
informational facts, Scherting believes Faulkner forces us into letting our imaginations run deep
and strong to get some answer on why Emily behaves as any psychotic does (397). He also talks
about how Faulkner takes the chronological order of the plot and twists it all about, giving
readers a puzzle to assemble. Figure out the motive and the chronological order, one must dig
and due diligence work.
At the time of the publication of “A Rose for Emily,” Scherting points out that Sigmund
Freud’s theories on sex were known and discussed, letting one believe that Faulkner was aware
and influenced by the new psychological approach (399). With the attention that Faulkner called
to Emily and her father’s relationship, this is our sign to pay close attention and gather all clues
to find our answer. Scherting suggests a concept that Faulkner entertains as well: Emily didn’t
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have the common dreams and aspirations as other little girls of her time; to grow up, get married,
and have a family (399).
Emily was living at home with her father, well into her 30s, preventing her from having
any normal developmental sexual experiences. Scherting suggests that this represses her, and her
sexual urges emerge in a very unhealthy way (400). When Faulkner suggests that her sexual
urges surface in an unhealthy relationship, “somewhere else,” Scherting believes this to be yet
another strong indication of the Oedipus complex (400). Emily’s father dies, and she refuses to
acknowledge his death to the community until she is threatened. This too points to her inability
to cope with his death. He believes that when Faulkner used the phrase “broke down,” he did so
to show that Emily didn’t acknowledge her father’s passing, also to signal her disconnect from
reality (400). Was denying his death a way for Emily to finally control her father? After all those
