As I Lay Dying Literary Analysis

William Faulkner, a well-known writer who lived most of his life in Mississippi wrote various short stories and novels. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1950, which is what made him famous as a writer. As I Lay Dying, a novel written in 1930 by Faulkner, captures the Bundren family’s journey to Jefferson just after the death of Addie Bundren, the mother. Motherhood and fertility are two major themes present in the novel. Indeed, the female characters in As I Lay Dying are having a hard time meeting the social expectations of being motherly figures. Through Addie’s obligation of being a mother, the unconventional relationship she shares with her children, and Dewey Dell’s refusal of the maternal role, the author expresses motherhood and fertility in an

Indeed, just after giving birth to Darl, her second born, Addie expresses her unhappiness by mentioning her death to which Anse replies that “[him] and [her] aint nigh done chapping yet, with just two”(Faulkner 173). His remark shows how Addie did not have a choice in the matter. She is forced into being a mother again and again by her husband since it is her duty as a woman. At that time, women could not be independent if they were married; they had to be good wives by cleaning the house and caring for the children. Addie Bundren is not pleased to be in such a situation and is incapable of being a perfect mother figure. Addie’s inaptitude in being a great mother can even be seen by people outside of her family, like Cora, who designate Addie as unfit for the role. Being a mother is a burden to Addie and it does not make her happy in any way. Surrounded by her unhappiness, she slowly dies inside as time passes. At one point, the woman even compares herself with the land saying that “[she] would lie by [Anse] in the dark, hearing the land that was now of [her] blood and flesh, and [she] would think: Anse” (Faulkner 173). Faulkner utilizes the metaphor between the land and Addie to demonstrate her