As I Lay Dying - Faulkner: Anse's and Addie's ambiguous concepts of loyalty

Résumé du document

In As I lay Dying, written in 1930, William Faulkner tells about the Bundren family and their journey to Jefferson. The mother, Addie, has passed away so her family drives her to Jefferson where she wanted to be buried. The respect of Addie's last wishes is actually the whole purpose of the story, the reason why her family has to do such a long and perilous journey. If Addie wanted to be buried there with her family it is mostly because she was unhappy with Anse. She did not love him - nor most of their children in fact - and even resented him for the life she had. It was after Darl's birth that she told Anse of her wish to be buried with her own people: "And when Darl was born I asked Anse to promise to take me back to Jefferson when I died" (Addie's section).

Extraits

[...] However, because she is herself the narrator of this section the unreliability of what she says has to be taken into account. In conclusion, there is a clear ambiguity in Anse's motivation to get to Jefferson. The reader may first think that he is just deeply loyal to his dead wife, but it is soon discovered that he has ulterior motives and personal interests in this journey. Finally, the end of the novel does not leave the slightest doubt about Anse's private aspirations. [...]

[...] Actually it seems that he does not care at all It is always the children who sacrifice themselves for the family: Jewel has to sell his horse in order to buy new mules to finish their route to Jefferson, Dewey Dell has to give Anse Lafe' money which was supposed to be spent for her abortion, Cash goes to see a doctor only a long time after he broke his leg, etc. All these facts give the reader hints about Anse's potential ulterior motives. Furthermore, in Anse's sections he often talks about getting new teeth which is later revealed as one of his hidden goals: But now I can get them new teeth. [...]

[...] However, things end up very well for him: he has new teeth, a new wife, a new life has begun for him. Whereas Darl is locked in a mental institution for an unlimited length of time, Carl suffers from his broken leg, Jewel has lost the horse he was so attached to, and Dewey Dell, who is still so young, is condemned to give birth to a child who will have no father. The only ones who have given everything they could to get Addie to Jefferson are not rewarded at all. [...]

[...] As I Lay Dying - Faulkner: Anse's and Addie's ambiguous concepts of loyalty In As I lay Dying, written in 1930, William Faulkner tells about the Bundren family and their journey to Jefferson. The mother, Addie, has passed away so her family drives her to Jefferson where she wanted to be buried. The respect of Addie's last wishes is actually the whole purpose of the story, the reason why her family has to do such a long and perilous journey. [...]

[...] In her section, Addie tells how she met Anse and why she married him. In the description she gives it is clear that she has never loved him: He had a word, too. Love, he called it. ( ) I knew that that word was like the others: just a shape to fill a lack; that when the right time Came, you wouldn't need a word for that (Addie's section). Furthermore, she uses the connector word so many times when talking about him. [...]