DOCSLIB.ORG

Unrecognized Pasts and Unforeseen Futures: Architecture and Postcolonialism in William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! and the Soun

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Unrecognized Pasts and Unforeseen Futures: Architecture and Postcolonialism in William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! and the Soun Unrecognized Pasts and Unforeseen Futures: Architecture and Postcolonialism in William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! and The Sound and the Fury by Danielle Haugk A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL August 2017 Copyright by Danielle Haugk 2017 ii Acknowledgements My sincerest appreciation extends to all who have aided in the construction of this thesis. First, I am eternally indebted to my Thesis Advisor and mentor, Dr. Taylor Hagood, who introduced me to literary theory years ago and has continued to encourage and instruct me. Also, I would like to acknowledge Dr. Andrew Furman and Dr. Adam Bradford for their constructive criticism and continuous support. Finally, my deepest gratitude is extended to my family for keeping me grounded and providing comic relief during moments of utter chaos. iv Abstract Author: Danielle Haugk Title: Unrecognized Pasts and Unforeseen Futures: Absalom, Absalom! and The Sound and the Fury Institution: Florida Atlantic University Thesis Advisor: Dr. Taylor Hagood Degree: Master of Arts Year: 2017 This thesis examines the genesis, maintenance, and failure of rigid and exclusionary societal models present in William Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County. Yi- Fu Tuan's analysis of the concepts space and place serves as the foundational theoretical framework by which human spatiality may be interpreted. Combining Tuan's observations and architectural analysis with Edouard Glissant's concepts of atavistic and composite societal models allows for a much broader consideration of various political ideologies present in the South. Following this, it becomes necessary to apply a postcolonial lens to areas of Faulkner's literature to examine how these societal models are upheld and the effects they have on characters in both Reconstruction and post- Reconstruction eras. Within Absalom, Absalom! and The Sound and the Fury, Faulkner showcases an aspect of southern history that allowed this societal model to flourish, how this model affected those trapped within it, and its ultimate failure for future generations. v Dedication This thesis is dedicated to all who are burdened by past legacies. Unrecognized Pasts and Unforeseen Futures: Architecture and Postcolonialism in William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! and The Sound and the Fury Preface..................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter One: The Design.................................................................................................. 15 Chapter Two: Oppressors and the Oppressed ................................................................... 26 Chapter Three: The Burden of Legacy ............................................................................. 38 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 47 Notes ................................................................................................................................. 51 References ......................................................................................................................... 52 viii Preface This thesis is the capstone of my interest in both William Faulkner and his writing. After studying his biography and much of his writing during my years as an undergraduate student, this interest only grew when I entered the graduate program at Florida Atlantic University. The vast body of criticism devoted to Faulkner is comprehensive, yet still leaves room for myself and others to enter the scholarly conversation. In particular, this thesis examines Faulkner's descriptions of architecture in Absalom, Absalom! and analyzes of The Sound and the Fury through a postcolonial lens. These two novels have always captivated me due to their complexity, in terms of Faulkner's writing style, and the multitude of voices narrating various storylines. The structure of this thesis may appear as unorthodox as I do not analyze Faulkner's work chronologically, by publication dates, but rather the structure flows to incorporate the shift from antebellum South to Reconstruction/post-Reconstruction South and ends with a discussion of this shift in terms of one of Faulkner's most famous characters, Quentin Compson. In the Introduction, I set my theoretical and critical groundwork. I discuss various critical approaches in understanding the significance of Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County as well as explain the importance of the forms of architecture that are produced through an author's writing. Once this is established, I highlight certain societal models present in the antebellum South and how they can be seen and maintained through this 1 very architecture. Following this, I discuss the basic tenets of postcolonial theory and provide reasoning as to why this theory can be applicable to Faulkner's South. Chapter One of this thesis focuses on Thomas Sutpen, from Absalom, Absalom!, the construction of his estate, and the various policing agents present in the architecture of his plantation. This analysis aims to illustrate Faulkner's intention to provide southerner's with a version of their history that showcases how various societal ideologies were created and maintained. Chapter Two focuses on characters from both Absalom, Absalom! and The Sound and the Fury to show how these ideologies spread from the antebellum South, into the Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction eras, and how these ideologies survived in a space where they were no longer logically feasible or fruitful. Finally, Chapter Three focuses on Quentin Compson's struggle with these societal ideologies in both novels before he commits suicide. With this thesis I hope to make a contribution to the arena of Faulkner scholarship in terms of general southern studies and applications of postcolonial theory. 2 Introduction Exploring various architectural practices through the medium of literature brings to focus different representations of societal performances that might otherwise be overlooked. In examining forms of architecture present in literary works, writers display aspects of race, class, gender, and larger cultural components through the very structures that house these ideologies. By analyzing these structures as representative of certain societal models, what may be gained is an understanding of a larger cultural practice as embodied by those who build and dwell within a specific region. In regards to United States southern spaces, it is crucial to delve into the writing of William Faulkner and the performance of those individuals residing in his fictional Yoknapatawpha County. Faulknerian scholars have often examined the function of Yoknapatawpha County in relation to the United States South. In his preface to The Portable Faulkner, Malcolm Cowley asserts that "Faulkner performed a labor of imagination that has not been equaled in our time, and a double labor: first, to invent a Mississippi county that was like a mythical kingdom [...] second, to make his story of Yoknapatawpha county stand as a parable or legend of the Deep South" (viii). If one accepts Cowley's assessment, it becomes clear that Yoknapatawpha represents more than a physical place within the South, as is suggested by critics who interpret it as a fictionalized version of Lafayette County, and more an embodiment of a complete culture, or as Joseph Urgo posits, "a mode of consciousness" (639). However, drawing from their various political modes, not all scholars have reached this same consensus. As culture and politics have shifted over 3 the decades, so too has the critical analysis of Faulkner's South. This discussion has evolved from considering the South as a single, quantifiable entity to a more pluralized representation encompassing globalized perspectives, and these perspectives "might be considered not so much as fixed constructs but rather as strategies of performance" (Hagood 9). In her essay "Topographical Topics: Faulknerian Space," Hortense J. Spillers analyzes Faulkner's created space in terms of its "demonstration of topoi as 1) physical location, 2) material ground of identification, and 3) the site of creative intervention" and argues that Faulkner's work then "'speaks' place through character and character through place" (536-7). Such approaches suggest that Yoknapatawpha County is more fruitfully examined as a site of the performance of individuals within a specific societal model at work within the South, thereby lending a deeper meaning to southern history than what is to be gained from the reading of a history book. This thesis examines the various ways in which architecture enforces certain societal models at work within William Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County, thereby contributing to an ongoing discussion regarding the relevance of Faulkner's fictive county in United States southern studies. My aim in this thesis is to examine a southern societal model and its inevitable failure through the lens of architecture and spatial dynamics at work in various locations, specifically within the plantation system and the post- Reconstruction household. Following this, I will analyze the behaviors and actions of these characters through a postcolonial lens, thereby
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Blind Man, the Idiot, and the Prig: Faulkner's Disdain for the Reader
    THE BLIND MAN, THE IDIOT,AND THE PRIG: FAULKNER’S DISDAIN FOR THE READER1 GENE C. FANT, JR. William Faulkner’s disdain for the reader surfaces in his narrative approach in three novels: Sanctuary, The Sound and the Fury, and Absalom, Absalom! Frustrated with the failure of contemporary critics and general readers to wrestle with his style, he asserts authorial power over his audience. Three particular characters come to symbolize, in part, the general reader. In Sanctuary, Faulkner undermines the senses, leading the reader to identify with the blind-deaf-mute, Pap Goodwin. In The Sound and the Fury, the reader’s demands for narrative order find a parallel in the idiot Benjy Compson. In Absalom, Absalom!, Faulkner depicts the overactive reader in the priggish Shreve McCannon, who reshapes the story. Each character pro- vides insight into the total dependence of the audience upon the narrator and the overall epistemological ramifications of narrative itself. By 1928, William Faulkner was an experienced novelist, with Soldier’s Pay and Mosquitoes published and a third completed manuscript (which became Sartoris), under his authorial belt. His experiences as a novelist, however, frus- trated him as his sales lagged and his critical reception proved underwhelming. He felt underappreciated and misunderstood, as his own recollections give evidence.2 When Faulkner wrote The Sound and the Fury and Sanctuary, the two major works of 1928–29, he made a step in his approach to writing that ele- vated his prose: he stopped writing for the “ideal” reader, regardless of the con- sequences. Up until that time, Faulkner had taken a fairly traditional approach to relating a story with fairly ordered plots and narrative points of view.
    [Show full text]
  • In the Sound and the Fury, Benjy Compson Most Likely Suffers from Autism
    1 In The Sound and the Fury, Benjy Compson Most Likely Suffers from Autism Patrick Samway, S.J. Gentry Silver Stating that Benjy Compson most likely suffers from autism in The Sound and the Fury introduces methodological concerns never before seen in Faulkner criticism, insofar as ongoing information concerning an actual neurological disorder is used to diagnose a completely fictional character. To a great extent, the possibility of such a diagnosis supposes Benjy to be a genuine candidate for a neurological/psychological case study, a supposition that, admittedly, needs to remain speculative, but which nevertheless has value in identifying more exactly why he acts as he does. As in any neurological/psychological case study, a review of earlier opinions by literary critics can bring to light how Benjy has been perceived to date, which, when linked with precise textual evidence from the novel and recent neurological theories, will allow for a more coherent explanation of his condition. Given His Physical Condition and Mental Limitations, Should Benjy Be Called an “Idiot” or Would “Autistic” Be More Appropriate? Due in large part to the “idiotic” or “lunatic” ways in which Benjy perceives and relates the world around him, literary critics and Faulkner himself have preferred to call Benjy an idiot, though they often discuss the nature of his idiocy in different ways (see, for example, The Most Splendid Failure, 67, 71, 88, 178- 9; “The Ordeal of Consciousness,” 175; “Nihilists and Their Relations,” 93; “Faulkner, Childhood, and the Making of The Sound and the Fury,” 381; “Idiocy and Idealism,”101; “‘Where you want to go now’,” 4; Faulkner’s Inexhaustible Voice, 171; “Searching for Jason Richmond Compson,”185 ; The Fool: Character as Technique in the Novels of William Faulkner, 51; “‘Trying to Say’,” 40; “A propos de ‘Le Bruit et la Fureur’,”1058).
    [Show full text]
  • A Modern Tragedy
    “WONDER. GO ON AND WONDER”: QUENTIN’S TRAGEDY FROM THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE by Huang Min 黄 敏 A Dissertation Presented to The Graduate School of Language, Communication, and Culture Kwansei Gakuin University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy March 2013 Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation “Wonder. Go on and wonder”: Quentin’s Tragedy from the Sociological Perspective by Huang Min Members of Evaluation Committee Major Advisor: Associate Advisor: Associate Advisor: Associate Advisor: i ABSTRACT “Wonder. Go on and wonder”: Quentin’s Tragedy from the Sociological Perspective by Huang Min A major hero in the works of William Faulkner, Quentin Compson used to be one of the most frequently commented characters. Regarding his death, there are a variety of critical opinions. Yet very few critical works have devoted to a thorough study of Quentin’s tragedy. The result is that voices on this issue are presented within the different concerns of critics and tend to overstress one aspect of the problem. The diversified opinions contribute much to the unsettled argument and the complexity of Quentin’s death itself. For want of a better argument, the critical world has paid considerably less attention to Quentin’s suicide over the last 30 years. My dissertation has tried to approach Quentin’s tragedy in a more systematic and consistent way by the adaptation of a sociological perspective, which has seen the accumulation of well-defined studies on ii the problem of suicide since Sociologist Durkheim’s monumental book Suicides published well over a century ago. It is from this discipline of social science that the present paper gains a theoretical framework for laying down the fundamental questions regarding Quentin’s death, in an attempt to objectively define and examine the development of his character and suicidal mentality.
    [Show full text]
  • A Study of Faulkner's Religious Critical Thought Based on the Image of Black Women
    2019 5th International Conference on Economics, Management and Humanities Science (ECOMHS 2019) A Study of Faulkner's Religious Critical Thought Based on the Image of Black Women Shi Qin Shanghai Open University Chongming Branch, Shanghai, China Keywords: Faulkner; religion outlook; black female; image-building; Southern Renaissance Abstract: In the 20th century, the famous American writer William Faulkner grew up in the "Bible Belt" of the southern United States. Due to the influence of religious and cultural environment, Faulkner infiltrated a strong religious color into his works, reflecting his complex diversity of religious thoughts. As a representative of the southern Renaissance, Faulkner created numerous black female images in different periods. Through attention and characterization of the black women at the bottom of the southern society under the white rule, he reveals the fact that the southern religion and the decayed and evil old southern cultural tradition are mutually integrated and accelerate the collapse of the old south. This paper studies and interprets the artistic depiction of the special group of black women, which is the artistic expression of Faulkner's critical thoughts of southern religion and his humanitarian spirit in the southern Renaissance. 1. Introduction William Faulkner was a famous American writer in the 20th century and an outstanding representative of southern literature. In 1950, he won the Nobel Prize for literature for his "powerful and unique artistic contribution to the American novel". Faulkner, who grew up in the southern United States with a strong religious culture, integrated the ubiquitous religious elements in his series of novels of Yoknapatawpha, the representative of his highest artistic achievement.
    [Show full text]
  • Bad Blood: the Southern Family in the Work of William Faulkner
    University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 2011 Bad Blood: The outheS rn Family in the Work of William Faulkner Neil T. Phillips University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Phillips, Neil T., "Bad Blood: The outheS rn Family in the Work of William Faulkner" (2011). Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014. 706. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/706 This thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BAD BLOOD: THE SOUTHERN FAMILY IN THE WORK OF WILLIAM FAULKNER A Thesis Presented by NEIL T. PHILLIPS Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts September 2011 Department of English BAD BLOOD: THE SOUTHERN FAMILY IN THE WORK OF WILLIAM FAULKNER A Thesis Presented By NEIL T. PHILLIPS Approved as to style and content by: ________________________________________________ Arthur Kinney, Chair ________________________________________________ Randall Knoper, Member ________________________________________________ Nicholas Bromell, Member ___________________________________________________ Joseph Bartolomeo, Department Head English Department DEDICATION INTERVIEWER: Some people say they can’t understand your writing, even after they read it two or three times. What approach would you suggest to them? FAULKNER: Read it four times. -William Faulkner with Jean Stein The Paris Review, Spring, 1956. ABSTRACT BAD BLOOD: THE SOUTHERN FAMILY IN THE WORK OF WILLIAM FAULKNER SEPTEMBER 2011 NEIL T.
    [Show full text]
  • My Life with Faulkner and Brodsky
    A Tribute to L. D. Brodsky: Excerpts from My Life with Faulkner and Brodsky Robert W. Hamblin On a Saturday morning in March 1978, I drove down a hallway to a conference room where we took to Farmington, Missouri, a little more than an hour’s seats at a long table. We talked for a while about our drive northwest of Cape Girardeau, to meet with Louis mutual interest in Faulkner; then he excused himself and Daniel Brodsky. L. D. had instructed me to meet him in left the room. When he returned he held a large safe- the lobby of the Mercantile Bank on the town square. I deposit box. He placed it on the table, opened it, reached arrived a little early and took a seat that offered a good inside, and lifted an object delicately wrapped in soft, view of the front door. I wondered what this Faulkner white tissue paper. I was quite impressed when he collector would look like, how old he was, whether I removed the wrapping and laid the book before me on could guess his identity when he entered the bank. the table. It was a first edition of The Sound and the I didn’t have to wait long, and I knew it was he Fury. L. D. opened the book to the title page, on which I as soon as he stepped inside the door. He was of medium saw, in small, meticulous handwriting, Faulkner’s height, muscularly built, with alert, friendly eyes and personal signature. I had never seen a first edition of long, curly brown hair.
    [Show full text]
  • William Faulker's Use of Memory and Imagination
    “NOT GONE OR VANISHED EITHER:” WILLIAM FAULKNER’S USE OF MEMEORY AND IMAGINATION By Kevin Daniel Gleason A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of English The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee May 2011 ii Copyright © 2011 By Kevin Daniel Gleason All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT This thesis examines the role that memory and imagination play in three of William Faulkner’s novels: The Sound and the Fury, Absalom, Absalom! and The Unvanquished. While most scholars perceive Faulkner’s characters as burdened, debilitated, and destroyed by the past, I argue that Faulkner presents a wide spectrum of engagement with the past which includes the potential for memory to serve as a tool of redemption and power. Henri Bergson’s notion of the fluidity of all time past, present, and future forms the center of Faulkner’s understanding of time, and in this paradigm, Faulkner’s characters are capable of creating and re-creating their pasts through memory and projecting their futures through imagination. In emphasizing Dilsey’s role as a rememberer in The Sound and the Fury, Shreve’s role as an imaginer in Absalom, Absalom!, and Bayard Sartoris’s role as defeater of his cultural and familial past in The Unvanquished, I demonstrate that while Faulkner does present memory and imagination as harmful forces, he also illustrates their potential for preservation and redemption. iv DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this thesis to my wife, Kathleen Gleason, who supported and encouraged me through every step of the process.
    [Show full text]
  • The Elusive Mother in William Faulkner's Major
    37? m. THE ELUSIVE MOTHER IN WILLIAM FAULKNER'S MAJOR YOKNAPATAWPHA FAMILIES DISSERTATION Presented to the Graduate Council of the University of North Texas in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Phyllis Ann Bunnell, B.S., M.A. Denton, Texas May, 1995 37? m. THE ELUSIVE MOTHER IN WILLIAM FAULKNER'S MAJOR YOKNAPATAWPHA FAMILIES DISSERTATION Presented to the Graduate Council of the University of North Texas in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Phyllis Ann Bunnell, B.S., M.A. Denton, Texas May, 1995 f* Bunnell, Phyllis Ann, The Elusive Mother in William Faulkner/s Maior Yoknapatawnha Families. Doctor of Philosophy (English), May, 1995, 233 pp., works cited, 60 titles. Families in much of William Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha fiction are built upon traditional patriarchal structure with the father as head and provider and the mother or mother figure in charge of keeping the home and raising the children. Even though the roles appear to be clearly defined and observed, the families decline and disintegrate. Five families illustrate the problem of family disintegration. Older and more firmly established families, the Sartorises and the Compsons, decline and practically die out. In contrast, the Sutpens and the Snopeses rise quickly to wealth and prominence in the novels, but then decline and disintegrate. Even those families who simply subsist, such as the Bundrens, begin to decline. In most cases, the families' disintegration stems more from internal causes than from external pressures. These causes are illuminated by seeing the mothers in the light of Virginia Satir's family sculpting models.
    [Show full text]
  • Faulkner's Treatment of Women a Thesis Submitted To
    FAULKNER'S TREATMENT OF WOMEN IN HIS MAJOR NOVELS A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF ATLANTA UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF ARTS BY BEVERLY G. SHEFTALL DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH ATLANTA, GEORGIA August 1969 \ , i"! PREFACE This paper deals with William Faulkner's treatment of women in his major novels. These major works of his time of genius began in 1929 with the publication of Sartoris, the first indication that he had settled upon both a place---the legendary Yoknapatawpha County--- and a manner for his work. In the same year appeared The Sound and the Fury, one of the most important novels of the century. These two were followed by As I_ Lay Dying (1930) and Sanctuary (1931), both written quickly and as "tours de force." In 1932, Light in August followed and in 1936, Absalom, Absalom! These six novels have been referred to by many critics as the core of Faulkner's major achieve ment. The novels introduce the special world of Yoknapatawpha County and offer an elaborate description of its topography and its people. ^-Unfortunately, the most extensive studies of Faulkner's women up until now, are unpublished theses. In 'William Faulkner: His ' Characterization and Use of Women" (Ohio State University, 1957) the author views his women as four types of symbolic sinfulness.' Nancy McFadden, in "Faulkner's Women in the Structure of the Yoknapatawpha World" (M.A. thesis, University of North Carolina, 1959), classifies women characters as weak, "relief figures," promis cuous, calm and serene, and strong and enduring.
    [Show full text]
  • "That Evening Sun": the Dual Structure of the Story of N Ancy and the Theme of the Absence of Fatherhood
    fA ~ JI;£ lR :7;: + ~Jf j'C ~ffil * *29~~ 4 % 2007±¥- 3 ti Rereading "That Evening Sun": The Dual Structure of the Story of N ancy and the Theme of the Absence of Fatherhood Shinsuke Ochi * I. The Controversy over the Fate of N aney William Faulkner's "That Evening Sun" (1931) has been unanimously appreciated by critics, including 1rving Howe, who considers it Faulkner's best short story (53, 193); but the question of the fate of N ancy in "That Evening Sun," namely, whether she is ultimately murdered by her husband Jesus or not, provoked some initial controversy. N ancy, however, reappears in Requiem for a Nun, which Faulkner published in 1951, and Faulkner stated in 1957 that N ancy in "That Evening Sun" and N ancy in Requiem for a Nun are the very same person (Gwynn 79); and thus the critics reached the provisional conclusion that Nancy is not killed by Jesus (Zender 242). Nevertheless, some critics still claim that N ancy is murdered by Jesus; for example, Edmond V olpe argues in his book, published in 2004, that there is "sufficient evidence" for the theory that N ancy is murdered (288). Volpe claims that Jesus' killing Nancy is indicated by the word "tragedy" in a letter Faulkner wrote to H. L. :vIencken concerning Mencken's suggestions for revisions of "That Evening Sun": "I did not delete the section, the dialogue about pregnancy, altogether, because it seems to me that it establishes Judah [Jesus] as a potential factor of the tragedy as soon as possible." Faulkner, however, did not specify what the "tragedy" means, and consequently it does not necessarily indicate Jesus' killing Nancy: it may, rather, indicate Nancy's pathetic fear or * Associate Professor, Hiroshima University of Economics, Hiroshima, Japan.
    [Show full text]
  • Open Romano Thesis Final2 4-13__1 .Pdf
    THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH WILLIAM FAULKNER AND THE FALLEN WOMAN JEFFREY ROMANO SPRING 2016 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for baccalaureate degrees in English and Communication Arts and Sciences with honors in English Reviewed and approved* by the following: Michael Bérubé Edwin Earle Sparks Professor of Literature Thesis Supervisor Xiaoye You Associate Professor of English and Asian Studies Honors Adviser * Signatures are on file in the Schreyer Honors College. i ABSTRACT This thesis examines the prevalent character archetype of the fallen woman in various novels by William Faulkner. These characters, some of the most interesting and vital in Faulkner’s oeuvre, are discussed, along with their implications both for Faulkner’s fictional county of Yoknapatawpha and for the post-Civil War South itself. Literary scholarship as well as historical analysis is cited to present a fuller picture of the Southern cultural context found in Faulkner’s novels, and the place of the fallen woman in the context of Faulkner’s works as a whole. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction……………………………………………………………………….…1 Family Legacy in the South…………………………………………………………3 Disruptive Sexuality and Female Agency…………………………………………..13 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..35 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………..36 1 Introduction In William Faulkner's fiction, many repeating character archetypes occur across different narratives, acting out similar but still distinct stories. One of the most prominent of these figures is that of the “fallen woman,” a young woman who lost her virginity outside of marriage. Disgraced by the community and detested by her family, this character suffers in a society in which sexual purity is a paramount virtue for women and girls.
    [Show full text]
  • THAT EVENING SUN” If It Was Publicly Announced, Particularly If It Was Declared by the Black Woman As the Victim
    Journal of English and Education, Vol. 5 No.1 - Juni 2011 A BLACK WOMAN CHARACTER'S TRAUMA IN miscegenation scandal and also that he had not paid her the sufficient money for the RACIST SOCIETY: A THOROUGH READING ON service. It was not something uncommon for white men in the South to take advantage of black women, yet this deed was not something that anyone could bear FAULKNER'S “THAT EVENING SUN” if it was publicly announced, particularly if it was declared by the black woman as the victim. His anger which was combined by his shame led him to punish Nancy Sri Sumaryani with his stringent and brutal conduct Yogyakarta State University Mr. Stovall knocked her down, but she kept on saying, 'When you going to pay me, white man? It's been three times now since“ until Mr. Stovall kicked her in the mouth with his heel and the marshal caught Mr. Stovall back, and ABSTRACT Nancy lying in the street, laughing. She turned her head and spat out some blood and teeth and said, “It's been three times now since he paid me a cent” This paper discusses a black woman character named Nancy in Faulkner's (Faulkner, 1950: 291). “That Evening Sun” who experiences trauma as the accumulation of her constant fear. The analysis is conducted by using Fanon's theory of Mr. Stovall defeated Nancy savagely to express his emotion and fear since psychological trauma in colonial society. The researcher used descriptive- Mr. Stovall's respectable positions as a cashier in the bank and a deacon in the qualitative method as it is a qualitative research in which data are Baptist church were harmed by Nancy's statement.
    [Show full text]