Mammy In The Sound And The Fury

As she takes care of her master’s children, the black surrogate mother does not desire to be anywhere else. In the eyes of her white family, the female black servant can assume the role of caretaker, or “mammy.” Serving as a second mother, the mammy is maternal, faithful, and devoted to her white family. Money can never compensate her work like her love for the family does. Although the mammies seemingly enjoy the role, one must ask, does she really? Did mammies, like Dilsey in The Sound and The Fury, exist? Created and obtaining popularity in post-Civil War Southern literature, the stereotypical characterization of female, black housemaids was a lie used to ignore the brutal realities of slavery in America (the black mammy 185). Similarly

Besides being faithful to the family, the mammy is portrayed as the face of humanity and morality within the family. This belief develops from the mammy’s ability to survive within societal codes and her lack of sexuality. Since the characters view the mammy as selfless and devoted to their strict, racial expectations, the family inevitably views the mammy as righteous, respectable, and moralistic. In The Sound and The Fury, Dilsey never strays from the Compson’s expectations of her role. Dilsey may speak out against the family members, but only when they go against the family’s moral values, furthering her moralistic presence. This constantly virtuous woman even seeps into Jason’s daydreams. As he ponders blaming Benji of stealing his tire pump, he imagines Dilsey chastising his accusation (Faulkner 243). Similarly, Quentin’s mind wonders to Dilsey when thinking about “two six-pound flat-irons” that would assist in his death. When pondering suicide, Quentin imagines Dilsey saying, “what a sinful waste,” (Faulkner 90). When experimenting with the sinful acts, the Compson children, perhaps subconsciously, relate their experiences to Dilsey’s moral