The memory about a man she loves brings her into thought of nothing. When she remembers her past life, she feels empty and her heart is broken.
Olenka herself had grown plain and elderly; in summer she sat in the porch, and her soul, as before, was empty and dreary and full of bitterness.
In winter she sat at her window and looked at the snow. When she caught the scent of spring, or heard the chime of the church bells, a sudden rush of
memories from the past came over her, there was a tender ache in her heart, and her eyes brimmed over with tears; but this was only for a
minute, and then came emptiness again and the sense of the futility of life p.184.
The quotation above shows that Olenka is in depression. According to Kalish, person in depression feels that everything is going wrong, that nothing
matters 171. Everything she does in her life depends on someone she loves, so when someone she uses to rely on goes, she cannot form her thought to do new
things in her life. Her behavior also shows that she is in the condition of unhappiness and tension, as what Hurlock defines that someone who experiences
the deprivation of love will be deprived of experiencing the happiness, joy and elation that come from achievement 210-214.
When Olenka thinks of nothing, her behavior shows rigidity as one symptom of non-normal behavior. Kalish states that in rigidity, people have
difficulty in behaving or thinking in new ways and have a tendency to follow rituals in behavior 171. Olenka cannot give her opinion about anything, because
there is emptiness in her brain after her husband passed away. Her behavior also shows overly strict emotional control, in which according to Kalish, people with
overly strict emotional control will not show their emotion, and even when appropriate circumstances occurred 171.
2. Influences on Emily’s Behavior
Emily in A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner is characterized as an old woman who is affectionate, reclusive, but stubborn. Emily experiences the
absence of love because of her father’s death. Her father’s death brings her into the situation which is different than before. The condition gives impacts to
Emily’s behavior as the main character in Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily. The absence of her father makes her needs in life cannot be fulfilled completely. The
needs which cannot be fulfilled completely are the needs of love and belonging. Emily loses person she loves and also loses attention of her father.
According to Maslow, as quoted by Kalish, love and belonging needs include motives such as love and affection. Maslow also believes that
psychological problems may develop, if we do not satisfy the love and belonging needs 44. The changes that are experienced by Emily show that she has
psychological problems after her father’s death which affects her behavior. Harvey defines that, in the context of loss, people often experience a sense
of missing something very important, a sense of incompletion, on a feeling of disappointment 2. Emily’s father is important for her as her parent, so when her
father passed away, she loses a love of her father. She feels that her life is not complete.
The absence of love is one example of emotional deprivation. The death of Emily’s father is able to affect Emily’s behavior. Hurlock defines that deprivation
of any emotion is harmful to the personality but deprivation of love is especially damaging. Hurlock also states that some of the specific effects of emotional
deprivation have been reported to the physical, social, and emotional 211. The absence of love makes Emily alienate from surrounding, live in sorrow, become
unfriendly, do not care about herself, deny the unpleasant reality, and become possessive to a man she loves. Those effects are explained below.
a. Emily’s Alienation from Surrounding
After the death of her father, Emily becomes a person who is not sociable. She rarely comes out from her house. Emily’s neighbors very rarely see her. Her
change is supported by Hurlock definition which defines that the alienated person avoids social relationship outside the home because she has not found them
satisfying in the home and develops a generalized hostility toward people 213. Emily becomes a person who is alienated. She avoids making relationship with
her surrounding. It can be seen as follows: After her father’s death she went out very little, after her sweetheart went
away, people hardly saw her at all. A few of the ladies had the temerity to call, but were not received, and the only sign of life about the place was
the negroman – a young man then- going in and out with a market basket p.308.
Emily’s behavior shows that she becomes a person who hardly to make relationship with their environment. Her behavior is one way to adjust herself
from the unpleasant situation in which she loses person she loves. Here, Emily’s behavior shows regression as one way of adjustment mechanism. Carrol defines
that person who resorts to the mechanism of regression are introverted, non- suggestible and lacking self confidence 231. Emily’s behavior which is not
sociable also shows that she has a pressure caused by the death of her father. Here, Emily’s behavior shows her unhappiness and tension. As stated by Kalish, person
