JohnLennard

ReadingWilliamFaulknerGo Down, Moses & Big Woods

HEB ☼  Humanities-Ebooks

Literature InsightsGeneralEditor:CharlesMoseley

Reading William Faulkner

Go Down, Moses & Big Woods

John Lennard

HEB ☼  Humanities-Ebooks

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Copyright

©JohnLennard,2012

TheAuthorhasassertedhisrighttobeidentifiedastheauthorofthisWorkinaccordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.

FirstpublishedbyHumanities-Ebooks, LLP, TirrilHall,Tirril,PenrithCA102JE

ISBN 978-1-84760-198-8 PdfISBN 978-1-84760-199-5 Kindle

Contents

Preface1. William Faulkner, 1897–1962

1.1 The weight of inheritance1.2 Youth and war, 1897–1927 1.3 Authorship and Hollywood, 1927–501.4 The Nobel Prize and after, 1950–62

2. Yoknapatawpha County

2.1. Geography, history, and real-world reference2.2. Sartorises, Benbows, Compsons, Sutpens, and McCaslins2.3. Snopeses2.4. ‘Whites, 6298; Negroes, 9313’

3. Faulkner’s ‘difficult style’

3.1. Prolixity, repetition, and hyperextension3.2. Missing and unexpected punctuation3.3. Orality, dialects, and intersecting stories3.4. The complex canon

4. Go Down, Moses (1942)

4.1. ‘Was’4.2. ‘The Fire and the Hearth’4.3. ‘Pantaloon in Black’4.4. ‘The Old People’4.5. ‘The Bear’4.6. ‘Delta Autumn’4.7. ‘Go Down, Moses’

6 ReadingWilliamFaulkner

5. Big Woods (1955)

5.1. ‘The Bear’ and ‘The Old People’ recontextualised5.2. ‘A Bear Hunt’5.3. ‘Race at Morning’5.4. The prologue, interchapters, and epilogue

6. Bibliography

6.1. Prose Works by Faulkner6.2. Selected criticism of Faulkner6.3. Websites

Go Down, MosesandBig Woods 7

Preface

LiteratureInsightsaredeterminedlyshort,andingeneralseektopro-videanswers (andprovokequestions) rather thanassumingknow-ledge.Typicallytheydealonlybrieflywithanauthor’slifeandformostoftheirlengthconcentrateonasinglebook—butwithFaulknerthatapproachcreatesanumberofproblems,andthisInsightadoptsaratherdifferentstrategy.The problem lies partly in the interconnectedness of so many

of Faulkner’s works—stories and novels set in the same fictionalcounty,withsharedcasts,thatintersectandentangle—andpartlyinhischaracteristicandchallengingprose,asmuchasanyofthechar-actersanactivepresence inallhisfiction.Bothfeaturesareat theheartofFaulkner’sgreatnessasanartist,buttheyalsomeanthatthereadernewtoFaulknerhasanenormousamountofbackstorytotrytoassimilate,despitehisstyle,andthatwhereverareadermaybegin,thesameorientationisrequired.ThefirsthalfofthisInsightthereforeprovidessuchanorientation,

inchaptersdevotedtoFaulkner’slife;tohisprincipalfictionalworld,YoknapatawphaCountyinMississippi,andthesprawlingfamilieshepeopleditwith;andtothatchallengingprosestyle.AswithJoyce,it is Faulkner’s prose that is primarily responsible for his reputa-tionasa‘difficult’writertostudy,andnoscholarlyexplanationorcriticalguidecanmakeitanymoregrammaticalorconventionallypunctuated than it is.Faulknerwas a full-blown,majorModernistwhopushedtheboundariesofsyntaxandform,sohisstylemustbeacknowledged,inallitsgloryandwildness.Butreadersfindinghimatfirsthardgoing(asmanydo)shouldbeneitheralarmednordis-heartened,foronceoneunderstandsinoverviewwhatFaulknerwasaboutthereismuchmethodinhisseemingmadness.Inthesecondhalf,chapters4–5turndirectlytoGo Down, Moses

andBig Woods,dealingwiththecomponentstoriesofeachindetail.Experienced readers of Faulkner should proceed as theywill; theinexperienced are strongly recommended to read in chapter order,buildingup the framework thatwill enable them to appreciate theplaceeachofhisfictionshasinamassivelygreaterwhole.

8 ReadingWilliamFaulkner

Given the need for somuchfictional and critical background, Ihavepresumed that readersare familiarwithsomebasichistoricalfacts,ofchattelslaveryintheAmericanSouth,andoftheCivilWarof1861–5withthe‘JimCrow’politicsthatfollowedit;andfurtherpresumed,inchapters4–5,thatreadershavealreadyreadGo Down, MosesandBig Woods—partlybecauseonlylimitedquotationispos-sible (both remain in copyright until 1 January 2033), and partlybecauseevenveryfullquotationcannotwellconveytheexperienceofreadingFaulkner’sextraordinaryprose.AllreferencestoFaulkner’snovelsaretothefive-volumeLibrary

ofAmericaedition.

Go Down, MosesandBig Woods 9

William FaulknerPhotographed in December 1954 by Carl van Vechten

1. William Faulkner, 1897–1962

Theplaceofbiographyincriticismisaminefieldofpotentialerrors,andnowheremoreso than inFaulknerstudies.AsFaulknerwasaSouthernerwhowroteoftheSouth,amanwhowroteofmasculin-ity,afarmerandhunterwhowroteoffarmershunting,apilotwhowrote of flying, and an alcoholic whowrote of drinking, tempta-tions to readFaulkner’s life intohisfictionsare rife—and todenyitsrelevancewouldbefoolish.Butatthesametimeitisfatallyeasy,in exploringfictions biographically, to become reductive, ignoringcomplications—thetransformationstowhichFaulknersubjectedallhismaterial,andhis fertileprofundityof imagination.Bothknow-ledgeof‘thefacts’andsubtlerconsiderationsoftheparticularhistorythroughwhichFaulknerlivedareilluminating,andthischapterpro-videsthem—butreadersarealsowarned,loudly,thatforeverythinginhisfictionsthatseeminglycorrespondstoabiographicalreality,atleasttwootherthingsdon’t.Itissometimestakentobeself-evidentthat‘writerswritebestabout

whattheyknow’,implyingthatautobiographicallysourcedfictionsareintrinsicallypreferable.Butwhatawriterknowsisnotlimitedtopersonal experience—which includes reading, fantasizing, lying—andtheshapingofstories(includingbiographies)isalwaysinparttheprovinceof imagination. Just how far fromsensebiographicalcriticismcanstrayhasbeensuperblydemonstratedbyJamesShapiroinContested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? (2010), and it shouldalwaysbefiercelyrememberedthatOthelloisnotaninterestingplaybecauseShakespearewasblack,norbecausehemurderedhiswife,norevenbecausehewantedtomurderhiswife,butbecauseinitheimaginedcertainpersonalitiesandpassions,orderinghisimaginingsintoadrama thatwascompellingat the timeandhas remainedsolongaftertheworldhelivedinandwroteforpassedintohistory.

Go Down, MosesandBig Woods 11

1.1 The weight of inheritance

ThedominantunitinmostofFaulkner’sfictionsisnottheindividualbut thefamily.Whether in termsofdailyreality—thepresence(orabsence)andpersonalitiesofgrand/parents,siblingsandcousins—orinthelesstangibleandreliabletermsofanimposedinheritancethatconfersidentity,socialstatus,andexpectationsregardlessofpersonalqualities,familyshapeseveryone.It ismostobviousinwealthyorprivilegedelites,which inFaulkner’sMississippi,as inhisfiction,meant the familieswhohaduntil theCivilWar been planters andbigslaveholders,mansion-dwellersfallenonhardtimesasmodernityboredown,butitisequallytrueofthemiddle-classandpoorwhitefamilieswhoasvoterspoliticallyreplacedtheplanter-class.Blood,afterall,isthickerthanwater—andbloodasathemespeakstobothfamilyandrace,whoseintersectionconsistentlyfascinatedFaulkner.Hisown family—spelled ‘Falkner’untilheunilaterallychanged

itinhislateteens—wasofsomedistinction,butmoreinthewayofquitebigfishinfairlysmallpondsthantheromanticized,genuinelywealthyplantocracyofGone with the Wind.1WilliamClarkFalkner(1825–89), thewriter’s great-grandfather, came fromTennessee toRipleyinnorthernMississippiinthe1840s.Hemarriedwell,claim-inghighrespectability,butalsohadastrongstreakofviolentself-indulgence.Asayoungmanhe servedas a soldier, and lost threefingersinabrawl;in1849hekilledamaninwhatwasadjudgedself-defence;andatthebeginningoftheCivilWar(1861–5)heraisedavolunteercompanyoftheConfederateStatesArmy,ofwhichhewaselectedColonelandwhichfoughtatBullRun(orFirstManassas)inJuly1861.Buthoweverdashingafigurehecut,theColonel’sreck-lessnesswithothers’livesaswellashisownwasunwelcomebothtohismenandhissuperiors,andhismilitarycareerdidnotinrealitylastlong,thoughitpassedintoimposinglocallegend.Afterthewarthe ‘oldColonel’ became an entrepreneur, principally in railroads,layingthefoundationsofamodestfamilyfortune,andalsoawriter,withonesignificantsuccess,The White Rose of Memphis(1880).His1   For the biographical facts in this chapter I draw on both Joseph Blotner’s Faulkner:

A Biography (2 vols, 1974) and Jay Parini’s more recent One Matchless Time: A Life of William Faulkner (2004).

12 ReadingWilliamFaulkner

recklessnesseventuallycaughtupwithhim in1889,whenhewasshottodeathbyabusinesspartner.Inthewayofsomecommunities,JohnWesleyThompsonFalkner

(1848–1922),theColonel’seldestsonandFaulkner’spaternalgrand-father, inherited his father’s rank, and being known as the ‘youngColonel’imposedanidentityhebothembracedandrejected.Ononehandheenjoyedthelocalimportanceofbeinghisfather’sson,butontheotherwantedamoresociallyrespectableandpeacefullife,andasayoungadultmoved40milessouth-westtoOxford,thecountyseatandfrom1848thehomeof‘OleMiss’,theUniversityofMississippi.HemarriedSallieMcAlpineMurry(1850–1906),ofScottishdescentandstrongMethodistaswellasConfederatebelief—apotentpres-ence inFaulkner’searlychildhood.Asabusinessmanwithfingersinmanypies the‘youngColonel’seemstohavediminishedratherthan increased thewealth he inherited, but built himself a palatialhomeandlivedinsomestyle.InlaterlifehebecamepresidentofhisownbankandservedasaDeputyU.S.Attorney,astatesenator,andatrusteeoftheUniversity,largelybydabblingbothwiththeplanto-cratsandgentry(closertohisideals)and,whenitsuitedhim,withthevirulentlyracistpopulismofstategovernorsJamesK.Vardaman(1861–1930)andTheodoreG.Bilbo(1877–1947).Byallaccountsadifficult andoverbearingmanwhodidhis children (andat leastonegrandchild)considerabledamage,the‘youngColonel’wasalsoadedicateddrinker,andalcoholismranconsistentlyinFalknermen.MurryCuthbertFalkner(1870–1932),Faulkner’sfather,seemsto

havebeenevenlessablethanthe‘youngColonel’tocopewiththeidentityinheritanceimposedonhim.Anunsuccessfulbusinessmanwhodreamedof‘goingWest’butneverdidandlivedlargelyonhisfather’scoat-tails,hewasalsoaheavydrinkerandasayoungmanabrawler,whooncegothimself shot.Perhaps themost rebelliousthingheeverdidwastomarryMaudButler(1871–1960)in1896,eventhoughshewasagraduateofMississippiWomen’sCollege,anddespitethefactthatherfather,theOxfordtownmarshalinthe1870sand1880s,hadscandalouslyabscondedwithseveralthousanddol-lars,abandoninghisfamily.Maudwasiron-willedandreligious,andthe couple ill-matched, living in a tense relationship that favoured

Go Down, MosesandBig Woods 13

mutual blame and lacked both realism and communication. From1901Maud’smother,LeliaSwiftButler, livedwithherdaughter’sfamily,andherdeathin1907,whenFaulknerwasnine,is(withtheslightly earlier death of SallieMurry Falkner) the earliest distincteventinhisemotionallifetoberecognisablyrefractedinhisfiction.Fromthisgenetic,historic,andbehaviouralstew,Faulknerinher-

itedatleastthreethingsthatmattered.Thegreatestwasalegacyofenthralment to anoverblown legendof personal valourwith (sup-posed)historicimport,the‘oldColonel’s’militaryswaggerandvain-gloryentwiningwiththedefeatedaspirationsandromanticizedinhu-manityof theConfederatedream.With itcameachronicfinancialanxietyborninpost-wardepressionofmixedsocio-politicalrespon-sibilities(inthewayofConfederategentlemen)andsocio-religiousaspirations(inthewayofConfederateladies).AndwithbothcameapredispositiontoalcoholismthatFaulknerembracedfromhisteenstothedayhedied,apureloveofwhiskey,takenaloneorincompany,inquantitiesthatastonishedallwhowitnessedit.Betweenthemthethree were responsible for much misery and erratic behaviour inFaulkner’slife,aswellashisearlydeath,buttheyalsoconstitutedacrucialmatrixfortheastonishingfictionsheproduced.

1.2 Youth and war, 1897–1927

WilliamCuthbertFaulknerwasborninSeptember1897,theeldestofMurry’sandMaud’sfourchildren;brothersMurryCharles(‘Jack’),JohnWesleyThompson,III(‘Johncy’),andDeanSwiftwerebornin1898,1901,and1907.AstheeldestsonFaulknerfeltasenseofobli-gationtohissiblings,andlatertookfinancialresponsibilitybothforJohncyand,afterDean’sdeathinanaircrashin1935,forhiswidowandposthumousdaughter.Jackwasmoresuccessful,beingwoundedanddecorated inWorldWarOneandenjoyinga longcareerasanFBISpecialAgent—soadegreeofsiblingrivalrymustbeconsid-ered.Sotooshouldtheabsenceofasister—anessentialingredientofSouthern romance—and the consequent positions ofFaulkner’sgrandmotherandmotherinahouseholdwithaweakfatherbutdomi-nateduntil1922bytheproximityandverypublicpatriarchyofthe

14 ReadingWilliamFaulkner

‘youngColonel’.Therewasalsofrom1901ablacknanny,‘MammyCallie’,atre-

mendous, tiny woman whose death aged 100 in 1940 promptedFaulkner’sremarkablededicationofGo Down, Moses‘To MAMMY / CAROLINE BARR / Mississippi / [1840–1940] / Who was born in slavery and who gave to my family a fidelity without stint or calcula-tion or recompense and to my childhood an immeasurable devotion and love’.Asecondandsurrogatemother,aconstantblackpresencein the innermost household, at once intimate, personally reserved,andsociallyotheredbyrace,MammyCallie informsmanyfiguresin Faulkner’s fiction, including Mollie Beauchamp in Go Down, Moses—but in her diminutive stature, personal dignity, and hard-workingoldagechallengesthestereotypeofthe‘blackmama’defined(almostasFaulknerwrote)bytheperformanceofHattieMcDaniel(1895–1952)inthe1939filmofGone with the Wind.Faulknerattendedlocalelementaryandhighschools,andevent-

ually‘OleMiss’,butgraduatedfromneitherandseemstohavebeena lazy, indifferent student. He did, however, read voraciously, inFrench aswell as English—Balzacwas an importantmodel—andfromhisteens,aftermeetingPhilStone,alocalgraduateofOleMissand Yale, he began exploring Modernist literature, including thepoetryofYeats,Eliot,andPound,andtheproseofLawrence,Woolf,andJoyce.Oxford,MS,was,despiteitsuniversity,asmallprovincialtown,but through itsmoneyedelite therewerewidercontactsandhorizons,includingavant garde literaryones;thatsaid,itisclearalsothatamajorpartofFaulkner’seducationwasgroundednotinbooksbutinexperience.Boththe‘youngColonel’andMurryFalknerhuntedasanannual

ritual and Faulknerwas from 1904,when hewas seven, taken tohuntingandfishingcampsintheriverbottoms—malepreserveshedescribed in ‘TheBear’,withwhisky passing, stories byfirelight,andtheriteof‘blooding’asatangiblesignofmaturity.Healsospenttimearoundthemenwhohungoutattheliverystableshisfatherranforthefirstdecadeofthecentury,beforethecomingofthemotor-car,whenhorseswerestillaseriousbusiness—anotherfountofrealand tall tales, encompassingbackwoodsbootleggersandMemphis

Go Down, MosesandBig Woods 15

gangstersaswellashuntingstories.Windingthroughallthetales,asthroughtheactivitiesofSallieMurryFalkner(avocalmemberoftheUnitedDaughtersoftheConfederacy),wastheCivilWar,the‘OldColonel’ridinggloriouslythroughtherefractedrealitiesandtalesofblood.Althoughthatwarandthesecessionist,ever-slaveholdingdream

overwhichitwasfoughthadended32yearsbeforeFaulkner’sbirthandfiveyearsbeforehis father’s, it hadbeena formative teenageexperienceforhisgrandparents,bothasideologicalintoxicationandincreasinglybitterreality—soitwasendlesslyrefoughtinthedec-adesofdefeat.ThesackofOxfordin1864broughthomethedeclineoftheplantocracy,andsuchwar-damage,withruthlessexploitationofthedepressedpost-warSouthbynorthern‘carpet-baggers’duringReconstruction,drovetheriseofpopulistracistslikeVardamanandBilbo.ThroughoutFaulkner’slifetimethelegaciesofthewarremainedprofounddailyrealitiesinthe‘JimCrow’Southitspawned,andwiththeemergenceafter1945oftheCivilRightscampaignbecamemat-tersofurgentnationalaswellasregionalconcern.OneshouldalsorememberthattheCivilWarmarkedamajormilitarydevelopmentin industrialisation; it remains the deadliestwar inUS history, itsc.620,000militarydeathsrepresenting10%ofNorthernmalesaged20–45and30%ofSouthernmales aged18–40—an inconceivablescaleoflosswithverylong-lastingeffects.Afterleavingschoolin1916Faulknerwassettoworkinhisgrand-

father’sbank,andsheerboredomisenoughtoexplainhisdesiretoenlistaftertheUSenteredWorldWarOnein1917.Healsosuffereda romantic crisis when his childhood sweetheart, Estelle Oldham(1896–1972), married Cornell Franklin, whom her family foundmoresuitable.TheaerialdogfightsoverFrancehadseizedFaulkner’simaginationas soonas theybegan tobe reported, andwhen shortstaturedisbarredhimfromarmyservice(forwhichbrotherJackvol-unteeredin1917)hehatchedaplantojointheCanadiansquadronoftheBritishRoyalAirForce,pretendingBritishnationality.Theplanactuallyworked,toapoint,andfromJuly–November1918Faulknerdidtrain—andwasdischargedwiththanksbutno‘wings’immedi-atelyaftertheArmistice.Formanyyearsheexaggeratedthisexpe-

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The book is yours to keep - and a copy is stored on your bookshelf in case you lose it.

We also sell:Kindle editions from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

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