Emily Grierson

Dr. Isaac Winchester’s Analysis
Potential Patient: Emily Grierson


This analysis is for the case of Emily Grierson, who is up for discussion of whether she should be admitted to a mental institute. After reading her file, I have been able to draw my conclusions of whether she needs to be institutionalized. My professional opinion on the matter of Miss Grierson is that she should be accepted into an institution.

Emily shows many signs that she has succumbed to insanity. The first sign that she has spent most of her life alone. Her father never allowed her to marry and she was kept away from the public in her house. Then, when it was believed that her suitor Homer Barron had left her, she spent the rest of her life in solitude. In my experience with patients, being in solitude for a long period of time can cause people to develop mental illnesses. Emily spent decades locked away in her house by herself. It is very likely that she could have developed mental issues for this alone.

Emily has also shown signs of being delusional. When her father died, she tried to convince the people of her town that her father was still alive. While she did eventually admit that her father was deceased, she may have at the time started losing her grasp on reality. There is also the issue with paying her taxes. Whenever the government attempted to collect any taxes from her, she would say that she was exempt from her duties and to ask Colonel Sartoris about it. However, Colonel Sartoris had already been dead for a long time when said that. Emily’s delusions with death further lead me to question her mental condition.

My final point that Emily is insane is her involvement with the death of Homer Barron. It is believed that she poisoned Homer. On top of that, she kept his corpse in her home for decades and slept in bed with it. Only an insane person would do such a thing. Emily is either a serious necrophiliac or in a state of delusion where she thinks the man is still alive.

In conclusion, Emily has shown enough signs to make me believe that her mental health is in a very poor state. She has most likely gone insane from her life of solitude and her being delusional and murdering Homer only prove it. Emily Grierson should most definitely be admitted to a mental institute.