In the story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner the protagonist Miss Emily, a so-called monument among the people of the town, lives a rather particular life. He comes from a highly respected family and remains the last living member of the noble lineage. A woman whose life is limited to love due to her father's harsh ways. She has never been able to experience the company of anyone other than that of her father. The silhouette of his father holding a riding crop hung on the wall, as one should enter the house (31). This represents that her father still hovers over her after his death; almost controlling what he does. Emily doesn't listen to her father's words of wisdom and seems to fall in love with a man of smaller stature. With the rarity of the relationship along with numerous other events; it's clear that Miss Emily is up to something. That said, the central theme of Faulkner's story is madness and insanity and with the evidence to support the story I will be able to prove my point. The first instance to demonstrate the theme is when his father dies. Obviously he strongly denies his father's death: “The day after his death all the women prepared to come to the house to offer condolences and help, as is our custom. Miss Emily met them at the door, dressed as usual and without a trace of pain on her face. He told them that his father was not dead” (31). Understandable Emily doesn't want to let go of the one person who cares for her and shows her love. In this case the body of the deceased is preserved three days after death; that's when we have serious problems. Who knows how long Emily is preparing to hold onto this body because it took threats from the law to hand the body over to the ministers (31). When he cuts his hair to look young again, it's clear he didn't want to change. This is not the topic of my article, but it makes sense that she is not willing to learn or do new things. From paying taxes to living his life without his father's restrictions; not necessarily a good thing but he didn't want it to change.