As I Lay Dying Women Essay

Throughout history, writers published only two illustrations of women: submissive or oversexualized temptresses. The predominantly male-dominated culture muffled their struggles, and over time women submitted. However, in the early 1930s, William Faulkner sought to accurately depict the restrictive social challenges faced by women in his novel As I Lay Dying. Through his exploration of complex themes such as gender, femininity, maternal influence, and power dynamics, Faulkner illustrates how women, especially those from the American South, are perceived and treated in society. Faulkner’s portrayal of these themes through the experience of the female characters in the novel provides insight into the enduring struggles and challenges faced by women in the past. Faulkner depicts the oppressive societal norms concerning bodily autonomy and power dynamics that confine women through the

She emotionally isolates herself from her family, particularly from her brothers, with whom she finds difficulty expressing herself due to tense societal expectations and discomfort (Hall, “A Historical Contextualization of Reproduction Rights and Autonomy in Faulkner’s ‘As I Lay Dying’”). As a result, she turns elsewhere to obtain the emotional comfort she seeks, specifically from Doctor Peabody. She claims that Doctor Peabody “could do so much for [her], and then [she] would not be alone,” in this traumatic time, however, she has no real courage to ask him for help nor to express her troubles with any man for that matter. The only potential comforting presence for Dewey Dell would have been her brother Darl, whose introspective nature and rumored queerness aligned him as an outcast in their society as well (Hewson, “‘My Children Were of Me Alone’: Maternal Influence in Faulkner’s As I Lay