As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
"As I Lay Dying" is a novel by William Faulkner that delves into the tumultuous journey of the Bundren family as they fulfill the dying wish of Addie Bundren to be buried in her hometown of Jefferson. The story begins with Addie's death and the family's efforts to transport her body amid various challenges, including a severe rainstorm that complicates their journey. Each family member grapples with their grief and individual struggles, revealing a complex web of relationships and conflicting emotions.
The narrative unfolds through multiple perspectives, highlighting the internal thoughts and motivations of characters such as Addie's devoted son Cash, who meticulously builds her coffin, and her troubled daughter Dewey Dell, who seeks an abortion following an unwanted pregnancy. As the family encounters obstacles, including a broken wagon and Cash's injury, their dynamics are tested. The novel also addresses themes of isolation, desperation, and the burdens of familial duty, ultimately culminating in both a physical and emotional journey that challenges their bonds.
Faulkner’s work is notable for its stream-of-consciousness style, rich symbolism, and deep exploration of Southern culture and identity, inviting readers to reflect on the nature of existence and the complexities of human relationships.
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
First published: 1930
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Psychological realism
Time of plot: Early twentieth century
Locale: Mississippi
Principal characters
Addie Bundren , a dying old womanAnse Bundren , her husbandCash , ,Darl , ,Jewel , andVardaman , their sonsDewey Dell , their daughter
The Story
Addie Bundren is dying. She lies in a bed in the Bundren farmhouse, looking out the window at her son Cash as he builds the coffin in which she is to be buried. Obsessed with perfection in carpentry, Cash holds up each board for her approval before nailing it in place. Dewey Dell, Addie’s daughter, stands beside the bed, fanning her mother. In another room, Addie’s husband, Anse, and two sons, Darl and Jewel, discuss the boys’ plans to make a trip to sell a wagonload of lumber. Addie wishes to be buried in Jefferson, the town where her relatives lie, and Anse is afraid that the boys might not get back in time to carry her body to the Jefferson graveyard. He finally approves the trip, however, and the boys set out.
Addie dies while the two brothers are gone and before Cash can finish the coffin. When it is obvious that she is dying, Dr. Peabody is summoned, but he comes too late to help the sick woman. Vardaman, the youngest boy, arrives home with a fish he caught, and his mother’s death somehow becomes entangled in his mind with the death of the fish. Because Peabody is there when she dies, Vardaman thinks the doctor killed her.
Meanwhile, a great rainstorm arises. Jewel and Darl are delayed on the road by a broken wagon wheel. Cash works through the rain to finish the coffin. At last it is complete, and Addie is placed in it, but the crazed Vardaman, who once almost smothered in his crib, tries to let his mother out by boring holes through the top of the coffin.
After Jewel and Darl return, neighbors gather at the Bundren house for a funeral service conducted by Whitfield, the minister. Whitfield was once Addie’s lover and fathered Jewel, the son she seemed to favor.
Following the service, the family starts out for Jefferson, but the rainstorm so swells the river that the bridge is damaged and it cannot be crossed by wagon. After trying another bridge, which is also washed out, they drive to an old ford near the first bridge. Anse, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman get across the river on the ruins of the bridge. Darl and Cash then attempt to drive the wagon across at the ford, with Jewel leading the way on his spotted horse, his one great possession. When the wagon is nearly across, a floating log upsets it. Cash breaks his leg and nearly dies, and the mules drown; the coffin falls out and has to be dragged to the bank.
Anse refuses to borrow mules, insisting that he must own the team that carries Addie to the grave. He makes a trade in which he offers, without Jewel’s consent, to give the spotted horse as part payment. When Jewel learns what his father did, he rides off, apparently abandoning the group. Later, they discover that he put the spotted horse in the barn of Snopes, who is dickering with Anse. The family thus gets new mules, and the trip continues.
By the time they arrive in Mottson, a town on the way to Jefferson, Addie has been dead for so long that buzzards are following the wagon. They stop to buy cement to strengthen Cash’s broken leg, but the locals insist that the wagon move on. The Bundrens, however, buy the cement and treat Cash’s leg before they move forward. While they are in the town, Dewey Dell goes to a drugstore to buy medicine that will abort the child she is carrying (she became pregnant by a man with whom she worked on the farm). The druggist refuses to sell her the medicine.
Addie has been dead for nine days and still is not buried. The family spends the last night before their arrival in Jefferson at the house of Mr. Gillespie, who allows them to put the malodorous coffin in his barn. During the night, Darl sets fire to the barn. Jewel rescues the coffin by carrying it out on his back. Anse later turns Darl over to the authorities, who send him to the asylum in Jackson.
Lacking a spade and shovel to dig Addie’s grave, Anse stops at a house in Jefferson and borrows the tools. The burial finally takes place. Afterward, Dewey Dell again tries to buy her medicine at a drugstore. One of the clerks pretends to be a doctor, gives her some innocuous fluid, and tells her to come back that night for further treatment. The further treatment takes the form of a seduction in the basement of the drugstore.
Cash’s broken leg, encased in cement, becomes so infected that Peabody says Cash might not walk for a year. Before starting on the trip home, Anse buys himself a set of false teeth that he has long needed. He then returns the borrowed tools. When he gets back to the wagon, he has acquired not only the new teeth but also a new Mrs. Bundren, the woman who lent him the tools.
Bibliography
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