An Ordered Ending

The final section of Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury provides closure to the reader after a literary adventure through the lives of the troubled Compson family by alluding to the return of order. Throughout the previous sections—Benjy’s, Quentin’s, and Jason’s—we have seen chaos. Benjy, in his infantile way, had to contend with Caddy’s loss of innocence; Quentin implicitly committed suicide over the agony of a non-existent feminine ideal; and Jason cynically relates his misanthropy and misogyny. Yet, despite this copious pessimism, Dilsey’s character serves as a force that brings the remaining Compson family members back to an ordered equilibrium. Faulkner’s decision to concentrate the narrative perspective on Dilsey emphasizes the her indescribably significant position she fills for all members of the Compson family. Throughout the aforementioned turmoil, she was the one who carried on with the daily tasks of life that kept the Compson machine running, albeit not always very smoothly. This reminder of her important function—the drama of the other characters’ lives can be a bit overshadowing of her at times—suggests that Compson family—Miss Cahline, Jason, and Benjy—will persevere. Dilsey, through her infinite exertion, will once again restore affairs to a status of order. Yet, this reliance Dilsey raises a perplexing question: who will supplant her upon her corporal departure? Unfortunately, Faulkner did not write, among his many post-publication commentaries, an explicit answer to this question that I am aware of; thus, the it is left to a literary critic to derive a textual answer that clearly was intended by Faulkner’s subconscious. (260)