The first man in Emily's life is her father. He is domineering and insensitive. He won't allow Emily to marry and when he dies, she is left with little money. One of have thought that she would hate her father but that does not seem to be the case. At first, she would not even allow his body to be buried. Thus, there must have been a strong attachment between the two. The second man, Colonel Sartoris, appears to treat her much like a child. In rescinding her taxes, he does not allow her to deal with reality. And when he dies, she is forced to deal with the issue again. The third man, Homer Barron, seems to be the love of Emily's life. However, since she is not good at dealing with reality, she assumes that this gay man will marry her. Her, of course, is unwilling to go along with the ruse, so she kills him. To Emily, this must have seemed a perfect solution, because now, unlike her father and Colonel Sartoris, he would never leave her.