The Power of Redemption

Throughout William Faulkner’s stories and family sagas, he presents a variety of characters who embody the different aspects of not only traditional Southern society but of the tragedies and mistakes embedded in America’s roots. It is through these portrayals that the reader can understand Faulkner’s view on life and the way he believes it is supposed to be lived. No matter how misunderstood or cruel one character can be, there is always at least one moment of clarity in which the character breaks down his or her walls of bigotry or anger and catches a glimpse of how things could be different. Instead of a linear, preconceived storyline, Faulkner writes in a less-calculated, stream of consciousness manner. Faulkner’s treatment of time in his novels mirrors how life is really lived; our lives are a mingling of the past and present, our own thoughts, imagination, and interactions with others. The past never truly leaves us, instead it is a part of who we are. Faulkner’s characters all struggle with making peace with their pasts; they drag their pasts around with them or they recede from truly being present in the here and now so they can remain in a more idyllic time in the past. And yet, reading Faulkner’s work is important because Faulkner presents a hopeful view of humanity. Despite the significant flaws in Faulkner’s characters, it is clear that Faulkner believes in the power of redemption and that humanity is ultimately good.

Faulkner brings an unbiased perspective to his body of work; he purposely makes his viewpoint on race and gender unknown, and his characters almost always are, in one way or another, deeply flawed. Faulkner presents a compassionate, nuanced view of even the most despicable characters. There is not one character who is completely morally absolved of sin. Yet, he also presents these characters with a sensitivity that implies that these characters can be redeemed if they so choose. He shows these characters with all of their flaws, petty angers, and suffering alongside the choices they made (or didn’t make) to emphasize how each character contributed to his or her present circumstances. In Faulkner’s collection of stories Go Down Moses, he describes the life of Issac McCaslin (Ike) who, despite coming from a wealthy and “honorable” Southern family, rejects the inheritance of his family’s plantation, and, in turn, his family’s legacy. Ike is one of Faulkner’s only characters to have come to the realization that endurance is just a state of suffering and joylessness that needs to be overcome and that his choice matters. Instead of submitting to powerlessness and just passively waiting for life to get better, Ike has chosen to take things into his own hands and depart from his family’s legacy. Ike’s father bestows upon Ike the valuable lesson that changes the course of Ike’s life, “Because after all you don't have to continue to bear what you believe is suffering; you can always choose to stop that, put an end to that.” (Go Down Moses, 177) Once Ike becomes aware of his own power to change his story, he rejects his family’s inheritance in order to atone for his family’s sins and start his life anew. This act of agency is what sets him free from the “curse” of his family to find peace. On the other hand, Jason Compson in The Sound in the Fury is presented as a man haunted by his family’s legacy and the various ways in which he feels his family has wronged him. He is a hateful, angry, bigoted man who lashes out at everyone because he is frustrated with the fact that he is stuck in his miserable circumstances. He never takes responsibility for his own role in his life’s trajectory, and so he can never move on or change things. Jason is convinced of the immutability of his own destiny, “He could see the opposed forces of his destiny and his will drawing swiftly together now, toward a junction that would be irrevocable.” (The Sound and the Fury, 307) Yet, Faulkner’s decision to set each of the chapters around Easter hints at the redemption he believes these characters still can achieve. In Christianity, Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus and the hope and redemption of humanity from sin. By framing the Compson story around Easter Sunday, Faulkner hints that despite the Compson family’s disintegration and “death,” there is still hope for them.

While Faulkner’s novels are largely all set either just prior to or following the Civil War in the American South, the themes and messages he explores are just as applicable to today’s divided political atmosphere. While America is not currently in the midst of a civil war, our nation is starkly ideologically divided, and these divisions are creating deep fractures between our communities. Faulkner explores the reality of politics and status and the toll it takes on a family or person. Instead of sending the reader the message that power and wealth mean happiness and honor, Faulkner sends the message of the value of compassion and redemption and shows us the necessity in trying to understand people rather than just condemn them. In Absalom; Absalom!, Faulkner tells the story of the Sutpen’s, a family of wealthy plantation owners, and their downfall from power due to the Civil War. Even though Thomas Sutpen, the patriarch of the family, to a modern reader, is seen as an inconsolable, egotistical slave owner, he still manages to show the reader a glimpse of realization and humility within his internal dialogue, “I was wrong. I admit it. I believed that there were things which still mattered just because they had mattered once. But I was wrong. Nothing matters but breath, breathing, to know and to be alive.” (Absalom; Absalom!, 168) Sutpen is able, for a moment, to gain insight into the absurdity of his stubbornness, yet he lacks the courage to fully embrace change and new perspectives. It is so easy to become convinced of our own infallibility and close ourselves off to new ideas, yet this mindset only serves to block relationships and create enemies. Thomas Sutpen, Jason, Quentin, Mr. Compson, Mrs. Coldfield, McCaslin, and many of the other characters in Faulkner's novels all seem to be sheltered, literally and mentally, from the public. The characters really only relate to their families or those who work for them, and thus, are not exposed to outside perspectives. Faulkner discourages this self-imposed isolation by presenting the only characters (Ike, Caddy, Miss Quentin) who are able to achieve some sort of happiness as those who leave the insular family unit and discover their own independence. While a major theme of Faulkner’s work is the “tragic” disintegration and downfall of these powerful families, the collapse of these families could also be viewed as a positive, necessary step for these characters if they want to achieve redemption and happiness in the future.

Faulkner’s flexibility with time in his novels encourages us to realize that while we need to examine our pasts, we have to live life forwards, looking to the future. He rarely writes a linear story following one character, but rather, utilizes a mixture of present, past, memory, and thought between multiple perspectives, races, and genders. This enables his characters to be more closely examined, while also reflecting the imperfections and uncontrollable changes life hands us. In The Sound and The Fury, time is used as a device in which Faulkner tells the story of Caddy Compson’s promiscuity and her family’s ultimate downfall. Her brother, Quentin Compson, is a tragic character who is unable to extricate himself from his past, haunted by time and living by the nihilistic adages his father shares with him,“Father said a man is the sum of his misfortunes. One day you’d think misfortune would get tired, but then time is your misfortune.” (The Sound and The Fury, 104) And yet, while we are shaped by our failures and pain, we are also shaped by our victories, happiness, and future. Quentin is unable to recognize this fact, and, unable to bear the pain that Caddy’s loss of virginity and honor bring his family, he decides to take his own life. Despite the opportunities for change and forging a positive future that are presented to him, Quentin remains mired in the past and oblivious to the hope that surrounds him. Even at Harvard, he is stuck in the honeysuckle and rolling rivers of his home in the South, the ghosts of regret and loss surrounding him. Quentin is an example of how the past is a living, breathing entity that one can be forced to bear. When he states, “I am older at twenty than a lot of people who have died,” (Absalom; Absalom!, 301) he is referring to the legacy of pain, brutality, and loss that he, as a Southerner, feels he has to carry with him. He reflects on his family’s shameful legacy and feels that he has inherited the sins they have committed and cannot escape either his past or his destiny. And yet, Faulkner never implies that Quentin is to blame for his family’s downfall. However, Quentin’s view of Southern values and his own responsibility make him believe that he must bear the sins of his fathers, “On the instant when we come to realise tragedy is second-hand.” (The Sound and the Fury, 116) Faulkner’s statement that tragedy is inherited reflects the themes of legacy that run through his novels while also implying that despite the fact that we inherit the sins of our fathers, we also have the agency to change our circumstances and achieve redemption. 

Faulkner trusts the reader in deciphering his hidden messages and allusions within his large range of characters and personalities. He writes as if the reader has missed the majority of the story already, and it is up to them to figure out what breadcrumbs are left and piece them together to create the big picture. It is not often that one has to work in order to understand or read a book, but this device actually perpetuates a sense of accomplishment and the satisfying feeling of comprehension. He leaves many plots to be examined and characters’ lives unfinished and untold so the reader can understand it for themselves and take the hidden messages in their own way. Throughout every storyline, he has assigned a part of each character that hinders their ability to move forward and truly make clear decisions. By doing so, he shows the importance of self-scepticism and the growth of knowledge in one's life. Across his work, there are life lessons and broader themes that often go undiscussed, allowing the reader to derive his/her own meaning from them. In Faulkner’s 1949 Nobel Prize acceptance speech, he reaffirms his belief in the good of humanity and the enduring possibility of hope and redemption, stating that “ I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.” He elaborates on what he perceives the role and purpose of the writer, and thus, himself, to be when he states, “The poet’s, the writer’s, duty is to write about  these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet’s voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.” (1949 Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, William Faulkner) It is precisely this message of profound optimism for humanity which makes William Faulkner’s body of work not only so timeless and compelling but also essential for all to read.