The psychology of Emily Grierson has been analyzed countless times, with many people concluding that she was mentally ill, and from that point, the reasons why. Though many different diagnoses have been made, the most common can be summarized as follows by Nicole Smith in her psychological analysis of the character: “It is reasonable to propose that Miss Emily developed schizophrenia as a response to the demanding conditions in which she was living as a Southern woman from an aristocratic family.”

Tuncay Tezcan in his analysis of the story states, “It represents the numerous conflicts in the main character’s life, illustrating the effect of social change on the individual.” Jack Sherting believes Emily suffers from an Oedipus complex. He claims that Emily and her father had an incestuous relationship and she was never able to move past it. Sherting believes Emily used Homer as a replacement for her father and never truly loved him, only used him for her own benefit.