I, as I think most everyone did when reading the first part of As I Lay Dying, thought Addie was a stereotypically hard working, good, caring mother, who was stuck with a dysfunctional husband and ended up doing all the work for the family to keep it functional. When we read Addie's narration in the book, it is obvious that this is simply not true. She absolutely hates raising her children, seems to hate Anse, and doesn't really care for any of her children, except Jewel, whose father isn't even Anse. This brings up a lot of questions in my mind regarding the nature of the family before Addie dies. How did it even function?
I think that Cash must deserve a lot of credit. He had to have helped the family run immensely. During the book, we do see that Cash's mind is always on the task at hand or what he needs to do in the future. He never doddles or wanders or complains. He seems to be the father that Anse never was. I get the feeling that he did most of the grunt work for the family and probably got the other children motivated to help, namely Darl, because Jewel seems completely disinterested most of the time and Vardaman seems too young to be of much use.
Dewey Dell probably also helped quite a bit. We don't know how much Addie did help around the house (presumably preparing dinner, cleaning, standard farm-wive stuff, etc), but it was clear during her chapter that she did not enjoy it and there is a good chance she did not care to do a quality job. I seem to faintly remember Dewey Dell preparing a meal without much trouble at the beginning of the book when her mother is sick, so I doubt she was a stranger to taking over at home.
The fact that Addie loved Jewel so much more than her other children, despite his seemingly lack of interest in her, even when she was dying, shows that she really really really hated Anse, enough to go so far as to be cold to the children that he made with her, despite their loving actions towards her. Faulkner does a great job depicting how Anse's children feel about Addie, with Dewey Dell fanning her, Darl wanting to say goodbye to her, Cash proudly making her casket. Yet she still seems to just not appreciate anything they do. Does she really think they are just destined to be like Anse? Although Anse is dysfunctional, it's not like he's abusive or anything, and from what we see, he does love Addie and does unintentionally create sympathy (or maybe just pathy - he's pathetic) for himself.
I think to really know the full extent of Addie's relationship with the rest of the Bundren's, as well as Jewel, we have to know more about Whitfield, the man that Addie has an affair with. Addie must think highly of him to some degree, considering the way she idolizes her child that she had with him. As the book comes to a close, I hope we get more insight into Whitfield and his relationship with Addie and possibly Jewel.
Yeah, Addie does come across as a bit cold. Your point about how exactly the farm functions (considering how their journey is going, it's a wonder how they were able to sustain themselves before) is good -- Cash is obviously the best worker of the group, which makes me wonder how much that accident where he broke his leg affected the family.
ReplyDeleteThe reason Addie idolizes Jewel is because he is the product of a real relationship and one of true love. I don't think it's idolizing as much as it is that this is the first time she has actually cared about one of her children. All of the others are basically nothing more than just pawns to play a game with Anse. We see this when she is thinking to herself about how all of the children even out. When Addie tells Cora that she idolizes Jewel I honestly think that was more of her just pissing Cora off for kicks.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely what Jackson said. Addie didn't so much idolize Jewel, but more so actually cares about him. The rest of the kids that she had are just a cover-up so that Anse would not question her loyalty. Although I'm wondering if Anse already knew and just went along with their marriage because it would be too cumbersome to end it and find a new wife.
ReplyDeleteAddie seems cold, but it's not clear how much this is her fault--if you don't feel, you don't feel, and it's not like we'd admire her more for faking it better. The scenes with Whitfield are strangely poignant: it is the one passionate moment in her life, and it's fleeting, and illicit, and she knows it has to come to an end, and it's not up to her when it ends. She's more than willing to drop everything and be with him, but they need to keep it secret for *his* reputation. So she might seem like a hypocrite, hiding the affair and never telling Jewel who his father is, but it's clear that she does this for Whitfield, and she protects their secret to the death (though she can't quite hide the associated disdain for Anse). If it was up to her, she'd tell Anse in a heartbeat, and kiss these Bundrens goodbye.
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