Dewey Dell

Every character of William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying plays an important role in the story. While many of the characters of the story are family members or have some type of relationship with one another all character have proven themselves to be individuals. Dewey Dell especially stands out as the only daughter and now the only woman in the household after her mother Addie dies. Dewey Dell is the more rebellious child. She refuses to live within the societal boundaries of the time and sneaks off and has an affair with Lafe. During the time Faulkner wrote As I Lay Dying, women were expected to find one man who was suitable, marry the man and have children with their husbands. The rest of their life would consist of being the best mother and wife the women could be. Early on in the story Dewey Dell takes a trip with Lafe to the woods. She describes how she was unable to control herself and could not help herself so she and Lafe experienced a sexual encounter witnessed by her brother Darl. Later as time goes on, Dewey Dell contemplates getting an abortion. After realizing she would be keeping her baby, Dewey Dell often refers to the life within her as the guts growing within her own guts. Dewey Dell has almost shunned motherhood and clearly is not fond of the idea of birthing to life the baby she and Lafe created. Faulkner probably creates Dewey Dell to represent the women of the time and the struggle they experience with conforming to society's standards. Motherhood is a theme of the text. What does it actually mean to be a mother and how does one word define the life of women at the time? While expressing the powerlessness words have through the constant struggle with words characters experience, Faulkner addresses how words have bound women to certain roles in life. Dewey Dell represents a woman losing herself as she becomes a mother. Many women were probably afraid to break the mold created for them to fit into. Dewey Dell explains how her baby's guts almost consume hers and have grown within her own guts. The word choice of "guts" used in this context has a negative connotation showing her dissatisfaction with the idea of becoming a mother. Dewey Dell is every young girl and mother who want to express themselves sexually without losing themselves to the life of motherhood. Dewey Dell's character is controversial and in some ways she seems immature. Dewey Dell desires to have sex, but is does not want to take on the responsibilities of that which follows sex. She fans her mother as she lies on her death bed. Dewey Dell is trying to make her mother comfortable but almost out of obligation. A rebel and selfish at times, Dewey Dell is an interesting character with interesting points of views on life and how life should be lived. She is a secret young woman, disengaged with her family and with the world and nature. She stoles away to the barn and the woods in order to be alone. Dewey Dell wants a life she is not supposed to live according to those around her and she wants the nature of life to be different so she can be relieved of the motherly duties ahead of her. Dewey Dell's isolation may be one reason she feels a child is taking from her and not including her into anything. The role Dewey Dell plays in the story and her ideas make the novel more exciting and provides a realistic view point of many women of the time who were unable to clearly state how they felt.