"Tragedy of Displacement in William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!

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A number of critics have ever addressed Faulkner’s South from varied perspectives.　It seems, however, that they have not fully explicated his South in terms of　its complex, dynamic formation. As the recent studies of place suggest, place is　something much more intricate than we may assume: it　nsists of diverse dimensions　such as temporality, spatiality, materiality, and human subjectivity. In　Absalom, Absalom!, Faulkner explores how to tell a true Southern story with the　South’s spatiality in mind. He does so by foregrounding the main arrators’ ardent　attempts to search for the rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen as well as by setting　multiple places such as New England, West Virginia, the Deep South, and the　West Indies. By paying attention to Thomas Sutpen’s traumatized career and the　tortured life of Charles Etienne de St. Valery Bon in terms of spatial politics, this　paper brings to light what might be called “tragedy of displacement” in Absalom,　Absalom!. While pointing out how Faulkner situates the US South within the New　World’s colonial history, this paper discusses at length the characters’ predicaments　caused by spatial movements, especially Charles Etienne’s existential tragedyof displacement.

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  • 人文研紀要

    人文研紀要 76 297-314, 2013-10-10

    中央大学人文科学研究所

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