This line also implies that the townspeople were not very supportive. Emily was the subject of gossip and interest by the townspeople. The people thought her and her family held themselves much higher than what they really were, but yet they also felt sorry for Emily at the same time. They accepted her seclusion and they only became interested in her again after her death. Another clue that leads towards Emily's mental illness is her reaction to her father's death. "After her father's death she went out very littlepeople hardly saw her at allshe told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body," (Faulkner 130-131). In other words, Emily was in denial that her father had passed away, and when she did come to terms with it, she was said to have had a breakdown. We feel pity knowing that her father was the only family she had left, but although it might seem absurd it is understood why she wanted to keep his body for a number of days, and her loneliness begins to set in. .
One aspect that leads to her loneliness was not only the absence of her mother and the new unexpected death of her father, but also the fact that she had no chance at love because her father pushed away any young men that came over trying to have a courtship with his daughter before the time of his passing. Also whether it was because of her own pain and sorrow that caused her to push people away, or because the townspeople were not very supportive, Emily does not have any friends. Again, the townspeople seem "glad" that these tragic events happened to Emily. They feel this way because they feel like she is humanized now and that they can truly pity her. It soon is not a shock that when Homer comes into town she becomes attached and does not get rid of his body after his death either.