Sartoris by William Faulkner
"Sartoris," the third novel by William Faulkner, is notable for establishing the fictional setting of Yoknapatawpha County, a key backdrop in many of Faulkner's subsequent works. Originally titled "Flags in the Dust," the narrative centers around the Sartoris family, particularly Bayard Sartoris, who grapples with the legacy of his Civil War hero grandfather and the family’s diminished status in the modern South. The novel explores themes of memory, loss, and the struggle to reconcile past glories with present realities, as seen through the experiences of Bayard's grandson, who returns from World War I emotionally scarred and guilt-ridden.
As he confronts his family's history, the younger Bayard engages in reckless behavior, leading to a tragic end that underscores the broader commentary on the South's resistance to change and the impact of history on personal identity. "Sartoris" introduces many of Faulkner's recurring themes, including family dynamics, the burden of the past, and the complexities of time, while also laying the groundwork for characters and stories that would reappear in his later works. Overall, this novel marks a pivotal point in Faulkner's literary development, reflecting the tensions between tradition and modernity in the American South.
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Subject Terms
Sartoris by William Faulkner
Identification: Novel about the decline of an aristocratic southern family and the return of World War I veterans to Mississippi
Author: William Faulkner
Date: 1929
William Faulkner’s third novel, Sartoris, is significant for its introduction of the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, a recurring setting for many of Faulkner’s later works. The novel also launched many of Faulkner’s stock characters and storylines. Critics see Sartoris as marking Faulkner’s transition into the mature style and themes that would define his later writing.
Sartoris, originally titled Flags in the Dust, was the first William Faulkner novel set in fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi. It tells the story of a once proud and important southern family attempting to come to terms with its circumstances in the twentieth century, haunted by memories of the family’s glorious past.
Bayard Sartoris, the son of a Civil War hero, runs the local bank in the town of Jefferson and disparages modern ways while glorifying the past through frequent retellings of his grandfather’s Civil War exploits. His grandson, the younger Bayard, has just returned from World War I after having lost his twin brother and fellow pilot in the war.
Emotionally scarred and racked with guilt for having survived the war when his brother did not, young Bayard is unable to find peace at home and continually engages in risky, self-destructive behavior. He eventually marries Narcissa Benbow, who also appeared in Faulkner’s 1921 novel Sanctuary, and she becomes pregnant. After his grandfather’s death, caused by young Bayard driving recklessly off the road, young Bayard flees Jefferson and is eventually killed after crashing a poorly built test airplane. He dies on the day of his son’s birth.
Impact
Critics have pointed out that Faulkner wrote Sartoris as a commentary on the South’s struggle to enter the modern world, and that just as the book’s characters have difficulty separating themselves from their past, the South seemed to resist breaking with its traditions and customs in order to join modern times. Additionally, many of Faulkner’s great themes, such as family, the weight of history, time as a means of narration, and the decline of status, are all introduced in Sartoris, as are numerous recurrent characters. A history of the Sartoris family, for instance, is chronicled in The Unvanquished (1938), and the amoral Snopes family, whose members also appear in Sartoris, is the subject of Faulkner’s trilogy The Hamlet (1940), The Town (1957), and The Mansion (1959).
Bibliography
Brooks, Cleanth. William Faulkner: The Yoknapatawpha Country. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2002.
Kinney, Arthur F, ed. Critical Essays on William Faulkner: The Sartoris Family. Boston: G. K. Hall Press, 1985.
Towner, Theresa M. The Cambridge Introduction to William Faulkner. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.