Emily has known nothing but her father's rigid values ​​and the heavy responsibility of the Grierson name to live up to. People in town remembered, “How old Mrs. Wyatt, his great aunt, had finally gone completely mad, she thought the Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were” (Faulkner 2). The great aunt is in many ways the same as Emily and this proves to be true due to the climactic murder of her lover Homer. However, the reader is unable to draw any conclusions regarding the resolution of the relationship until Emily purchases the poison labeled "rats." The narrator goes on to demonstrate that Emily did not supply the poison for a proper need, but sold it illegally. The story sums up with the entire town learning of Homer's murder and finding Emily's gray hair next to him. This leads to the symbolic ending of the story by showing that Emily had slept with the corpse until her endless sleep. More importantly, the hair was strategically placed at the end of the story, giving the reader the ability to manipulate Emily's character. Although several reasons for committing the murder may emerge, it can still be deduced that his poor mental state was the quintessential factor shown by all the foreshadowing and symbolism that led to that murder.