William Faulkner, Richard M. Weaver, and the Crisis of Modernity

Divine Philosophies of Two Southern Gentlemen: William Faulkner, Richard M. Weaver, and the Crisis of Modernity Submitted by Vickie Lynn Caudle A thesis submitted i n partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Northeastern State University December 2015 ii Divine Philoso ph ies of Two Southern Gen tlemen: Will iam Faulkner, Richard M. Weave r, and the Crisis of Moderni ty Vickie Lynn Caudle Th is th esis is approv .for recom mend ation to the Graduate College / / 2 Dean, Graduate College, Date 3 Abstract This thesis is an examination of the response in writing of two Southern writers, William Faulkner and Richard M. Weaver, to the crisis of modernity. In looking at some of the changes brought about in the society as well as problems created, these two Southern sons respond to the same and offer some solutions through Platonic ideas or concepts of the metaphysical as is shown in their narrative and philosophical work. Two of the early works of Faulkner, The Unvanquished and Sanctuary, as well as three of the essays of Weaver, "The Phaedrus and the Nature of Rhetoric," "To Write the Truth," and "The Power of the Word," are considered. Weaver offers a powerful critique of modernity and the problems associated with it. Faulkner's offering is less direct, as his is through the creative response of narrative. Both demonstrate how the evils of modernity can be countered by a combination of dialectic and right rhetoric rooted in a commitment to the ideas of the metaphysical. 4 Acknowledgements I would like to thank everyone who has listened to, encouraged, and supported me throughout this endeavor. Specific gratitude goes to my husband, Richard, good friend, Nancy, and confidant, Jim. I would also like to thank the faculty at NSU in the English department who have stood in their place and increased my life and my learning experience. I would also like to say that I appreciate and thank Dr. Christopher Malone and Dr. Kimberli Lee for their invaluable help throughout this thesis process. It has been a tremendous jou rney. 5 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Faulkner, Weaver, and the Crisis of Modernity ............................................... 1 Chapter 2: Faulkner and Classical Ideas of the Metaphysical ............................................. 15 Chapter 3: Weaver's Critique of Modernity ........................................................................ 24 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 42 Works Consulted ................................................................................................................... 48 1 Chapter 1: Faulkner, Weaver, and the Crisis of Modernity Southern writers of the early and mid-twentieth century felt an uneasiness about life and where civilization was headed after two world wars. Many gave up on the idea that anything was truly knowable and fell to the thoughts or belief that all truth was relative, conditional, and in flux (Rahn 2). Artists struggled to find some meaning in the world in the wake of such chaos. Meaning was achieved by turning their focus inward and by attempting to record the working of consciousness (2). The Southern preoccupation with the crisis of modernity is felt in the work of authors of fiction as well as in the writings of philosophers, as William Faulkner and Richard M. Weaver exemplify. Their fictional and philosophical responses to the crisis of modernity intersect in important ways, despite the differences in mode of discourse, as this study will show. The elements of change in this period for writers were significant. Writers broke with traditional ways of viewing and interacting with the world. They saw the world as declining and alienation of the individual, along with resulting decay, was a deterrent to progress and growth (1). "Experimentation and individualism became virtues, where in the past they were often heartily discouraged" (1). A whole new perspective known as stream of consciousness came into use (2). The psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud had come into acceptance in the mainstream society and had a large influence (2). The work of writers from this period reflected a deliberate and self-conscious view of things, which was a result of the inward focus to which many were adhering. The Modernists no longer cared much for the Romantic worldview of looking at nature, or being, or history. William Faulkner's writing was a response to the crisis of modernity and is seen through a Southern perspective on the metaphysical in the sense of asserting the 2 transcendent power of humanity and the freedom of the individual. The world around him was changing with the influence and aftermath of two world wars. The romantic, historical and traditional views of life were also changing and being displaced by the new. As a Southerner, Faulkner had the advantage of being reared in this tradition of the metaphysical. Thomas Merton saw this trait in Faulkner's writing and had a great affinity for his work recognizing him as one of the European and American "thinkers" who had most influenced him (Labrie 401). He thought Faulkner's writings to be far more prophetic i n the biblical sense than the writings of any theologian writing today (401). Acknowledging Faulkner's insight into the moral history of America, he believed Faulkner to have a holistic view of life and this related to wisdom or the sapiential. To Merton, the ethos behind Faulkner's fiction was a religious view of the universe with an unconventional or broad-mi nded perspective. In an address to a graduating class at Pine Manor College, "Faulkner emphasized the power of the freedom that God had given to human beings, including the freedom to be evil. Faulkner saw this capacity for evil as an invitation from the creator to see the "dark spirit," and seeing it to rebel against it, recognizing evil for what it was so as to then change the world for the good ( Essays 137)" (403-04). This statement helps us u nderstand the metaphysical behind his work. He situates his novel, The Unvanquished, near the end of the American Civil War and continues his pictures of the decline in modern society throughout his later narratives. The after effects of the Civil War on the South had a profound impact on Faulkner's imagination. This is shown in his works through the alienation of the individual who has perhaps given up on life, or the traditional view of life or idea of life that once was. Much of his work was concentrated on life in the State of Mississi ppi and in the old South before and after the 3 American Civil War. His use of stream of consciousness, as well as other inventive experimentations, reveal what Thomas Merton refers to as Faulkner's seeking "one's creaturely identity" (402). Faulkner's holistic understanding ofreality, for Merton, is akin to that which arose in ancient times especially among the Greek dramatists (402). Similarly, Richard M. Weaver's concern with and response to the crisis of modernity is voiced in his philosophical work, Ideas Have Consequences, written immediately following the Second World War. He felt it was a work of philosophy "to the extent that it tries to analyze many features of modern disintegration by referring them to a first cause" (Ideas v). In this work, he defines the problems he sees with the ideas of modern society regarding the decline of belief in standards and values and offers solutions for our recovery toward a life of civility and culture. He views his work to be an "intuition of a situation" in a world that has lost its center. He states the book was intended to challenge forces that threaten our foundations (vi). His essays in The Ethics of Rhetoric reveal the same ethical concerns. Born in Asheville, North Carolina in 1910, Weaver was a Southern academic who was a professor at the University of Chicago for twenty years, returning to the South each summer to work the land and touch base with his agrarian roots. Being distraught with the government and machi nery or technology of the modern era, Weaver addressed his concern in his essays, letters, books, and scholarly articles. Both Weaver and Faulkner draw from classical rhetoric to answer the crisis of modernity. Plato understood the purpose of rhetoric is to aim for the good, to proclaim or arrive at certain truths, to be responsible for what one says and how he says it. For what we say and how we say it affects the polis or community in which we live. Focus on education in this was very important to Plato. In fact, to Plato, the best use of one's time would be time 4 spent as a philosopher. With Plato's high regard for doing things for the good, his ideas show a concern with the decline of society or community of Athens, with an expectant fall, if it didn't change. Ifthe society is in moral decline, it cannot know what the good is or retain the truths or order. Plato's ideas about truth, justice, order, and the good were aimed at the community and government in which he lived. He spoke of the need for the body politic to know and understand what good is so as to be equipped to execute justice in the community. Being able to know what is good then enables one to establish order within the community (Winfield 405-06). Ifa society has lost its center or sense of what is good or what is truth, then order and justice in that society cannot be properly executed. The crisis of modernity experienced by Weaver and Faulkner has something in common with the Platonic anxiety over the loss of center and resulting loss of knowing truth and the good. For Plato as well as for these Southern writers of the 20th century, the society would be in chaos with order and justice being lost.

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