The Untraditional Life of William Faulkner

The Untraditional Life of William Faulkner

The South is tradition, in every aspect of the word: family, profession, and lifestyle. The staple to each tradition in the south, and ultimately masculinity, is to be a southern gentleman. William Faulkner, a man with the most southern of blood running through his veins, was everything but a southern gentleman.

A southern gentleman is to support his family, to be the sole provider. To support something such as a family is a great responsibility, and it is expected of a southern gentleman to be able to handle that responsibility. Faulkner did not have a secure job or income. He wrote poetry and attempted novels, but had not found success as a writer. He did not aspire to find a different occupation that could bring stability to his financial situation.

Though it was not certain that William could support a family, he did have a child with his wife and supported the daughter from his wife’s first marriage. It was not a happy family, as most southern families have been portrayed. Faulkner drank and continued to internalize himself from the rest of the family, as he had always internalized himself from society. The drinking was not and everyday thing, but his family said that it would happen for long periods at a time. He would drink for a few weeks until he wanted to sober himself up. A southern gentleman is to be the father figure in his family, to teach his children right from wrong, but William seemed to be concerned with only himself. When he drank, he was not there for his family. When his daughter asked him not to start drinking because her birthday was coming up, Faulkner said to her “no one remembers Shakespeare’s daughter.” Tradition in the southern family did encompass “tough love”, but a southern gentleman is to be an example to his children, with characteristics embodying responsibility and honor. William Faulkner was neither responsible nor honorable.

As WWI began, William, who had always been interested in flying, was eager to volunteer in the Royal Canadian Air Force. To protect and defend one’s country is a duty of a southern gentleman, one of the most masculine aspects of the south. Though he did not see any battle first hand, he came back to Mississippi, walking with a limp caused by a supposed metal plate in his head, and elaborate stories of plane crashes and battle.