“Living, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a worry; a sort of hereditary obligation for the city” (30). The town fathers refused to confront her about the smell coming from her house. Instead, they put lime to treat the smell. The pharmacist gave Miss Emily arsenic even though she refused to give him a valid reason for its use. The community cared for Emily, but it was out of a sense of duty and not out of concern for her well-being. “We all said, ‘She’s going to kill herself’; and we said that would be the best thing” (33). Many people felt the need to protect her and some felt they had to watch her every move. Emily's excessive need for privacy only increased the townspeople's curiosity about her life. Due to Emily's behavior, after her death, locals broke into her house to satisfy their curiosity. They violated Emily's home and privacy to discover Homer's body inside her.