As I Lay Dying

As I Lay Dying Symbols

Anse

By David Adelsohn, Julianne Newman, Daniela Vargas

Conclusion

Faulkner uses the character Anse as a means of highlighting the hypocrisy in man and to alse defy common male stereotypes. Anse is inarguably the most selfish character in the book. By looking at him through the archetype of the “Grown Child”, it is clear to see that he cares about no other person than himself. He becomes the symbol of hypocrisy as he spends the entire book trying to create a facade of him caring hopelessly for his dead wife. In reality, as seen with the teeth, Anse’s only motivation is himself. His focus on Addie’s burial is the only way he can suppress his guilt for all but killing her himself. Similarly, men are normally the ones in control, they are the leaders of the family. Anse’s character destroys this sentiment, as seen most clearly through his obsession with money. He realizes that he offers nothing to his children and so attempts to fill the role of a typical father through complete management of the finances. In doing this, he only increases the hypocrisy and irony that is already extremely prevalent in his character. Anse ends up stealing from more than one child of his and creates even more chaos in his family.

Faulkner utilizes Anse to make a statement about man. He expresses the ideology that they are filled with hypocrisy and that what may look like good intentions are never clearly so. Likewise, he rejects the idea that men can always be the leader of their family and instead creates an entire new level of chaos through this “Grown Child” character. All three lenses offer a means of exploring Faulkner’s purpose in creating Anse and express his less orthodox views of man.

Archetype

Due to his behavior in the novel, Anse has earned his own archetype. He has earned the title of a "grown child" because despite his age, Anse is not smart, kind, or capable of being anything other than a selfish person. By the end of the novel, it is obvious that Anse cares only about himself. He disregards Jewel’s feelings when taking his horse, Dewey Dell’s feelings when taking her money, and the rest of his family’s feelings when finding a new bride and a brand new set of teeth. He is lazy, idiotic, and extremely selfish.

The Grown Child

Right from the start of the novel, Anse’s personality is unexpected. Based on the Southern setting, it would be easy to assume the father-figure within the novel should be hypermasculine. With Anse, this is not the case. Anse is pathetic throughout the novel; he blames God for situations he has created and is never seen doing anything besides blaming bad luck for his misfortunes. Anse’s masculinity is never truly in question because it is never truly present. This makes him seem weak.

Anse is also a terrible father. He treats his children with disrespect and proves time and time again that he does not know how raise his children. Anse uses his children to do work for him. For example, he did not truly contribute to the making of Addie’s coffin nor did he help save it when it fell into the river. He also did nothing to get it out of the barn when Darl set it on fire. The only contribution Anse made to Addie’s death was causing it. His refusal to pay for the doctor when Addie needed one as well as his refusal to do so for Cash demonstrates his ineptitude as a father, husband, and decent human being.

Anse spends most of the book determined to get Addie to her desired resting place that he does not even let his children take food from others. His dedication is slightly admirable, but confusing as it seemed to not fit well with his character. However, once Addie is in the ground, Cash says, “...pa says, kind of hangdog and proud too, with his teeth and all, even if he wouldn’t look at us. ‘Meet Mrs. Bundren’” (261). This proves that Anse’s dedication was not out love for Addie, but out of guilt as he realized his selfishness throughout her life. Once he can place Addie in the ground, he is able to get “his teeth” and put it all behind him. The teeth present the realization that Anse’s only motivation to bury Addie was himself. He had to feel better about himself and immediately after he gets some validation, he buys himself the teeth he’s wanted since she died. Anse did not bury Addie because she wanted that. He did it so that he could ease his conscious about his selfish and greedy behavior. His teeth show the full circle of events, from Addie’s death to the new wife’s entrance.

Teeth

A very prevalent symbol that represents Anse is teeth. Anse is introduced to the book as his wife lies on her deathbed, yet he cannot seem to express the appropriate emotions that one would expect. The second she dies, he unsuccessfully tries to comfort her body, but instead results in saying, “‘God’s will be done...Now I can get them teeth’” (52). All Anse can think about is what he can gain from the death of his wife, rather than all he had lost. The teeth illustrate Anse’s inability to feel real emotion, as his greed and selfishness overtake any possibility of him feeling love. By mentioning “God” and then his “teeth”, it shows that Anse truly believes that he deserves all. He feels that it was “God’s will” for this to happen, and he can get teeth as the result of that. The teeth are overbearing proof of Anse’s narcissism and selfishness.

Over the course of the book, Anse takes something of value from every member of the family in order to found the journey and burial of Addie in Jefferson. Anse has Cash give up his money for a graphophone, and sells Jewel’s horse. Through the entire book, the only person who sacrifices nothing in order to found their journey is Anse. Not once does he ever pay for or contribute money to the mules, the buggy, or even the family medical bill for Cash who is dying. As a result, money as seen within As I Lay Dying is a symbol of Anse’s control.

Money

Throughout William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, one of the major recurring symbols is money. Money is used most as a way of showing Anse’s constant drive to regain control over his environment. It appears that the only aspect of the family which Anse has any control over is their management of money. In order to bring his wife to Jefferson where she wishes to be buried, Anse chooses to ignore other flows of revenue and chooses to call upon his children in order to found the journey.

For Anse money is the only way he can reclaim any shred of control over the family. The best example of this is with Dewey Dell. Anse sees that Dewey Dell has Cora Tull’s ten dollars from the cakes which were baked at the beginning of the book. While Dewey Dell knows better than to spend the money as seen through the line “Dont you touch it. It’s not mine.” (Faulkner 255), Anse sees the money as an opportunity to not only gain money but to also assert however much dominance over his daughter as possible. He chooses a path of guilt in order to persuade her, expressing that “I have fed you and sheltered you” (Faulkner 256) and implying that his actions as a horrible father entitle him to his daughter’s money. Once he finally discovers the true purpose of the money, her abortion, Anse heartlessly “took the money and went out” (Faulkner 257)