Is Mrs Compson a Failed Mother? Relocating Faulkner's Mrs Compson in a Social Context

Abstract

The traditional Southern society insisted that women, the upper-class white women in particular, should be the guardian of a family, managing the domestic concerns efficiently and giving devotional care for the family. In other words, it was demanded of them to play the perfect mother role. The upper-class Southern women, therefore, were valued as long as they played the socially-imposed roles. Given the value system as such, it is no wonder that Caroline Compson, the plantation mistress Faulkner presents in The Sound and the Fury, has been assessed as a failed mother by critics and by the narrators of the novel as well. The Compson brothers all condemn their mother through their narratives. Likewise, critics with one voice have railed against Mrs. Compson, arguing that the tragedy of the Compson family is caused by her failure as a mother. According to them, she is emotionally cruel, snobbery, and unable as a mother. Yet, the social condition, explained above, makes it possible to think that the root of Mrs. Compson's failure lies in her society. This means that the society insistently repressed women's desires and required them to follow the model of the perfect mother necessary to support its patriarchy. In the course of her life, Mrs. Compson experiences pain over her helplessness in following the model, which possibly deforms her character. From this viewpoint, the cause of Mrs. Compson's unmaternal behaviors is found in the society. Southern society is, to a great extent, responsible for what is called Mrs. Compson's failure as a mother. In this way, reading the representation of Mrs. Compson against the social background of her day provides a new interpretation of her character.