CRITICAL COMPANION TO William Faulkner A Literary Reference to His Life and Work A. NICHOLAS FARGNOLI MICHAEL GOLAY ROBERT W. HAMBLIN 00i-xii_Faulkner-fm.indd i 6/25/08 2:34:10 PM Critical Companion to William Faulkner: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work Copyright © 2008 by A. Nicholas Fargnoli, Michael Golay, and Robert W. Hamblin All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Facts On File, Inc. An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fargnoli, A. Nicholas. Critical companion to William Faulkner : a literary reference to his life and work / A. Nicholas Fargnoli, Michael Golay, Robert W. Hamblin. p. cm. Rev. ed. of: William Faulkner A to Z. c2002. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8160-6432-8 (acid-free paper) 1. Faulkner, William, 1897–1962 —Encyclopedias. 2. Novelists, American—20th century—Biography—Encyclopedias. 3. Yoknapatawpha County (Imaginary place)—Encyclopedias. 4. Mississippi—In literature —Encyclopedias. I. Golay, Michael, 1951– II. Hamblin, Robert W. III. Fargnoli, A. Nicholas. William Faulkner A to Z. IV. Title. PS3511.A86Z459 2008 813'.52—dc22 [B] 2007032361 Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at http://www.factsonfile.com Text design by Erika K. Arroyo Printed in the United States of America VB Hermitage 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper and contains 30 percent postconsumer recycled content. For Phineas and Jupiter, my Southern grandsons. A. N. F For my father. M. G. For Kaye. R. W. H. 00i-xii_Faulkner-fm.indd iii 6/25/08 2:34:10 PM 00i-xii_Faulkner-fm.indd iv 6/25/08 2:34:10 PM CONTENTS Acknowledgments vii Introduction and Guide to Use ix Part I: Biography 1 Part II: Works A to Z 19 Part III: Related People, Places, and Topics 359 Part IV: Appendixes 459 Chronological Bibliographies of Faulkner’s Works and Adaptations 461 Library Holdings; Bibliographies of Secondary Sources; Web Sites; and Societies, Centers, and Conferences 496 Day-by-Day Chronology of Events in As I Lay Dying 521 Faulkner’s Appendix to The Sound and the Fury 527 Faulkner’s Introduction to Sanctuary 535 Faulkner’s Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech 537 Chronology of William Faulkner’s Life 538 Index 543 00i-xii_Faulkner-fm.indd vi 6/25/08 2:34:11 PM ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ith sincere gratitude, we acknowledge our Special recognition and gratitude must be Wfriends and colleagues who have graciously given to Jeff Soloway, executive editor at Facts helped us in preparing Critical Companion to Wil- On File, whose insights and professionalism are liam Faulkner. Because of their assistance, our task equaled only to his patience. Gratitude is also was all the easier. We add their names here along owed to Anne Savarese, our previous editor, who with the names of those who aided us in the writing facilitated the publication of William Faulkner A of William Faulkner A to Z, this book’s predecessor: to Z; to the Committee for Faculty Scholarship Don Bowden, Matthew J. Bruccoli, J. D. Chapman, and Academic Advancement at Molloy College Wenhui Chen, Cynthia Cox, Joan Crane, Christina for funds to help with photo-reproduction costs; Deane, Larry Donato, Kathleen Duffy, Alessandro and to Southeast Missouri State University for its Fargnoli, Gioia Fargnoli, Giuliana Fargnoli, Harri- support for this project. ett Fargnoli, Sister Elizabeth Gill, O.P., Joel Green- When writing William Faulkner A to Z, we ack- berg, Gregory A. Johnson, Robert Kinpoitner, nowledged Eva Weber of Northampton, Mass., for Mark Lerner, Robert Martin, Trisha O’Neill, Brian having contributed to the entries on 39 Faulkner Quinn, Regina Rush, Norman Weil, and the Refer- short works from the Collected Stories and Uncollected ence Department at the Great Neck Library. Stories; a debt of gratitude is again mentioned. vii 00i-xii_Faulkner-fm.indd viii 6/25/08 2:34:11 PM INTRODUCTION AND GUIDE TO USE ritical Companion to William Faulkner is an reviews. Part III contains entries, in alphabetical Cexpanded and updated version of William order, on people, places, events, and topics related Faulkner A to Z. More than 80,000 words have to Faulkner. Fictional places that appear in sev- been added to the text. Character entries through- eral of Faulkner’s works, such as Yoknapatawpha out the book and Critical Commentary sections County, appear here; a few fictional places that are on Faulkner’s major works have been significantly specific to an individual work appear as subentries expanded, and entirely new sections providing to the main work entry in Part II. Part IV contains excerpts from contemporary reviews have been the appendixes including, among other things, pri- added. Other new features include further-reading mary and secondary bibliographies, library hold- lists for Faulkner’s major novels and short stories ings, Faulkner’s appendix to The Sound and the and an appendix providing a detailed chronology Fury and his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, and of one of Faulkner’s greatest and most compli- a dateline. cated works, As I Lay Dying. In addition, the text References to works covered in entries in Part II throughout has been revised and augmented in the or to related items covered in entries in Part III are light of the latest scholarship. Joining the authors given in SMALL CAPITAL LETTERS the first time they of the previous edition is Robert W. Hamblin of the appear in any entry. Center for Faulkner Studies at Southeast Missouri Like its predecessor, Critical Companion to Wil- State University. liam Faulkner offers the general reader and non- The organization of the text also differs in this specialist a clear and organized supplement to the new volume. In keeping with Facts On File’s Criti- reading of William Faulkner’s works. Faulkner is cal Companion series, the entries in this book are one of the most important literary figures in Amer- categorically arranged to assist the reader, espe- ican literature and is recognized worldwide as a cially the student reader, in finding information stylistic innovator, but his work can also be bewil- quickly and easily. Part I contains a short biography dering at times because of his complex, sometimes of Faulkner. Part II consists of entries on Faulkner’s convoluted, prose style and narrative techniques. works; most entries contain composition and pub- Understanding his plots, themes, and characters lication information, a synopsis and critical analy- can be difficult for any reader. The primary goal of sis, and descriptions of important characters and this volume is to assist students and general readers some related items. Entries on major works also in their quest to understand, enjoy, and situate in a contain excerpts from selected contemporary larger literary and historical context the works and ix 00i-xii_Faulkner-fm.indd ix 6/25/08 2:34:11 PM x Critical Companion to William Faulkner In 1987, the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative first-class stamp bearing Faulkner’s likeness. (Stamp Design © 1987 U.S. Postal Service. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved.) life of this great American writer and Nobel laure- Faulkner’s works have endured for several rea- ate. It is also our intention to provide those already sons but—to adapt a concept from Aristotle—pri- familiar with Faulkner’s works a convenient one- marily because the highest achievement of art is an volume reference source. expression of the human spirit and of the universal Faulkner’s published writings span a period of element of life. Faulkner catches the imagination more than 40 years and include poems, short sto- and the emotions of his readers, and he can be at ries, novels, essays, speeches, screenplays, and let- once serious and comic as he portrays the struggles ters. His literary works contain well in excess of a of the human heart in conflict with itself. thousand named characters, some of whom appear We are indebted to the many scholars and critics in several different works. Unfortunately for the who, through the insights and ideas in their writ- reader and scholar, there are times when Faulkner is ings, have provided us with valuable historical and inconsistent with either the names of his characters critical information. Like all major writers whose or with their spellings. For instance, the surname works are characterized by complexity and depth McCallum first appeared as MacCallum, and the of purpose and meaning, William Faulkner is an character V. K. Ratliff was first called V. K. Suratt. author one must read in communion with others. The reader might bear in mind that Faulkner him- Faulkner’s mythic Yoknapatawpha County—his self seemed unconcerned about such discrepancies. “little postage stamp of native soil,” as he referred to “What I am trying to say is, the essential truth of it—occupies a permanent place in the world’s liter- these people and their doings is the thing,” he once ary geography and conjures up a world with bound- told an editor. We have attempted to minimize the less interpretative possibilities. If Faulkner drew confusion that may surround a character’s identity much of his inspiration from his native Mississippi, by placing and describing that character after each he also wrote of what he knew best, and he was work in which he or she appears.