Recording-2025-09-08T14:43:58.004Z

As I Lay Dying – Dewey Dell, Abortion Subplot, and Vardaman's Fish Narrative (Study Notes)

  • Context from transcript fragment

    • Dewey Dell Bundren contemplates abortion after learning she is pregnant.
    • The doctor is imagined as the means to terminate the pregnancy; the implicit text evidence is that if the doctor helps her get rid of the pregnancy, she would be okay and on her own.
    • The speaker identifies this as evidence that the scene is about abortion, via the doctor potentially enabling it.

  • Key quotes and their interpretation

    • Dewey Dell: "then I could be alright alone."
      • Interpreted as female autonomy through abortion; implies desire to avoid dependence on a partner or family after pregnancy.
    • On the next page: Dewey Dell says, "I don't know how to worry. I don't know how to cry. I've tried, but this existential crisis."
      • Signals acute emotional numbness, shock, and a feeling of existential upheaval.

  • The sequence of burdens Dewey Dell is carrying (as described in the transcript)

    • Her mother Addie Bundren has died (mom’s death).
    • Her boyfriend/partner has left her (romantic/sexual relationship affected by pregnancy).
    • She is pregnant (unplanned or unwanted from her perspective in the moment).
    • The father figure (the text uses a pronoun that references the larger family crisis) has just lost Addie, which compounds the family trauma.
    • The speaker notes that these overlapping traumas contribute to her existential crisis and numbness.

  • Vardaman’s fish imagery and its relation to Addie’s death

    • The transcript discusses a scene where a boy (Vardaman) is described with:
    • "a little boy in ovals covered in fish blood and guts" and
    • "the train will keep coming back" as motifs attached to his narration.
    • Vardaman’s logic:
    • He connects killing a fish with his mother’s death: before he killed the fish, his mother (Addie) was alive; after killing the fish, she is dead in his reasoning.
    • He concludes: "there's no way she can be dead" because death is inconceivable within his immediate frame of reference; this is a classic example of the unreliable, childlike logic Faulkner uses to portray grief.
    • The transcript notes that Vardaman’s internal world includes imagery of:
    • Fish blood and guts, and
    • A sense that Addie will not allow Cash to bury her in a coffin ("not gonna let Cash mail her in a box").
    • Interpretive takeaway:
    • The fish-as-mother metaphor and the literal-figurative blend show how different Bundren children process Addie’s death through idiosyncratic logic and hallucination, a central Faulkner motif.

  • Narrative technique: shifting perspectives and rambling narration

    • The transcript highlights a shift away from a single linear perspective to a new character’s perspective (i.e., multi-POV structure).
    • The speaker observes that continuing the rambling, single-voice approach would devolve into nonsense; the shifts to other characters’ perspectives (new POV) provide structure and coherence.
    • There is an implicit critique of narration style: the rambling interior monologue captures authentic emotional chaos, but needs narrative breaks through perspective shifts to remain readable.
    • This aligns with Faulkner’s broader technique of polyphony and stream-of-consciousness to portray memory, trauma, and time.

  • Connections to broader themes and motifs

    • Grief and trauma across a family: death of Addie; the strain on each member (Dewey Dell’s pregnancy and desire for agency; Cash’s responsibility in the coffin; Darl’s possible unraveling).
    • Isolation vs. dependence: Dewey Dell’s desire for independence through abortion contrasts with social and familial obligations.
    • The body as site of conflict: pregnancy, abortion, and physical death (Addie); the body as a locus of control, vulnerability, and social judgment.
    • Imagery and symbolism:
    • Fish imagery linked to memory and mourning (Vardaman’s narration).
    • The train motif ("The train will keep coming back" / "train comes around and around and around") as a persistent, repetitive force in the characters’ lives; could symbolize fate, ongoing burdens, or the relentless progression of time.
    • The coffin/coffin-making (Cash, the carpenter) and burial rituals as concrete acts that structure the family’s journey.

  • Ethical, philosophical, and practical implications in the excerpt

    • Abortion in the early 20th-century rural South:
    • The presence of a doctor who could facilitate abortion raises questions about access, secrecy, stigma, and autonomy.
    • Dewey Dell’s assertion of wanting to be "alright alone" after abortion highlights concerns about independence, social judgment, and the burden of motherhood in a precarious personal and economic situation.
    • Moral ambiguity in the characters’ responses:
    • The doctor’s potential role is depicted as a practical solution rather than a moral endorsement, prompting readers to consider the ethical complexity of abortion decisions in a tightly interwoven family crisis.
    • The interplay of truth and unreliable narration:
    • Vardaman’s misinterpretations reflect the limits of subjective truth in traumatic situations, prompting readers to question what counts as knowledge or reality within Faulkner’s narrative world.

  • Connections to prior lectures and foundational principles (in a course context)

    • Narrative technique: multi-POV and stream-of-consciousness as approaches to portray interiority and memory.
    • The reliability of narrators: how each Bundren child (and other characters) offers a partial or biased view of events.
    • Symbolism and motif development: recurrent images (fish, train, coffin) to unify disparate narrative strands.
    • Real-world relevance: ethical debates around abortion, autonomy, and women’s bodies in historical and literary contexts.

  • Summary of key takeaways from the transcript excerpt

    • Dewey Dell contemplates abortion as a means to regain autonomy amid grief, pregnancy, and a collapsing social network.
    • Dewey Dell’s venting on lack of worry/crying signals numbness and an existential crisis in the wake of multiple traumas.
    • The family’s grief is expressed through vivid