The Role Of Women In Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

In Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying was written around the 1930’s, during the first wave of feminism. During this wave, the inequalities women faced were being brought to light, women were starting to stay single instead of getting married and becoming active in the movement. Faulkner’s novel emphasizes the inequalities faced by women during the time period through his portrayal of the female characters and the interactions between them. The way the women in the novel are treated and cope with this treatment also reveals the roles they are forced to fill in society and the impact of the roles on their character. The roles that the women play in the novel is exclusively childbirth and this theme is connected to the theme of marriage and

Addie feels dead inside and is angered that she has to have the children. She also plans on getting revenge on Anse for this. Dewey Dell is affected because she goes through a lot to get an abortion and is scared and angry at Darl because he knows that she is pregnant. The women in the novel attempt to cope with their situations through religion. Religion is connected to only the female characters in the novel, Cora is the most prominent because she uses religion to judge the other women showing how she is hypocritical. She states that Addie is not a true mother, further reinforcing their roles. She also reinforces their role using religion. “I have tried to live right in the sight of God and man, for the honor and comfort of my Christian husband (23),”which says that she believes that God wants her to be put into this role. Addie is connected with religion because she recognizes her sin when she sleeps with Whitfield and makes it up to “Anse and to God (174)” by having Dewey Dell and Vardaman. Unlike Cora, she does not use religion to cope. Lastly, Dewey Dell says that “God gave women a sign when something has happened bad (58),” so she believes that God will give her a sign and things may work out for her. The women in As I Lay Dying are deeply affected by the patriarchal society because they all react differently to their situations. Faulkner’s portrayal of these women shows the tragic situation of women during the era and creates sympathy in the reader. Despite this, his portrayal is overlooked and depreciated due to the stereotypical and vengeful portrayal of the