The Importance of One’s Mental State in As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

One’s mental state and overall perception of the world greatly impacts how they interact and behave in their lives. William Faulkner highlights the importance of one’s mental state, whether that be good or bad, through the use of Darl and his interactions throughout the novel. Faulkner spends a great deal of time highlighting the importance of one’s mentality, in doing this Faulkner creates many gaps in the novel that often make the reader lose track of the intended message. In William Faulkner’s As I lay Dying, William Faulkner leaves much up for interpretation creating gaps and ambiguities through the use of Darl’s intricate personality; overall, altering the way readers view and understand the text. 

William Faulkner constructed the novel in a way that details the experiences surrounding Addie’s death; although the chapters are told from the various character’s perspectives Darl often knows information about events he was not present for. Darl often contributes facts of the story that he otherwise should not have known, for instance, when he details Jewel’s early interactions with the horse. Jewel attempts to hide his actions from the rest of the family while looking out the barn seeing that “the path [was] empty; from [there] he [couldn’t] even hear Cash sawing” (Faulkner 13). Although this is information directly relating to Jewel, and an event that Darl was not witnessing, Darl was the one to recount this event. The idea that Darl knows information that no one else does, suggests that Darl is not a reliable narrator altering the overall perception of the novel. While simultaneously altering the perception of the novel Faulkner creates several gaps through Darl being able to recount and describe events he was not privy to. 

Also, others within the novel perceive Darl differently; but it is a common idea that Darl is not normal, meaning these differing opinions leave room for ambiguities to arise. The other characters within the novel have differing opinions of Darl and his mental state; some believe that Darl is not normal while others think very highly of him. Cora believes that Darl is an incredible man that shows his love for Addie when “he [came] to the door and stood there, looking at his dying mother”, after this Cora describes being able to feel “the bounteous love” Darl adds to the room (Faulkner 24). Cora holds Darl in a different light rather than the common opinion that Darl is queer and not like the typical man represented in this novel. Another character that has an obvious opinion of Darl is Dewey Dell; she finds herself to be pregnant and without telling anyone Darl knows. This secret kept causing tension between the two, going to the extent of Dewey Dell picturing that she “killed Darl” (Faulkner 121). Dewey Dell is not happy with Darl because she believes that he holds power over her, and this information allows the reader to learn that Darl may not be perceived as the favorite by the other characters even though that is what Faulkner is attempting in his writing. The accumulation of differing opinions of Darl contributes to the number of gaps within the novel further complicating the story for the reader because it is difficult to comprehend whether or not Darl is a likable character.

Another aspect of Darl that creates ambiguity in the story is his perceived madness. Many outside sources believe that Darl might have had a mental illness and that contributed to his odd and volatile behavior throughout the novel. Some believe that Darl might have suffered from a form of PTSD from serving in war; although it was never confirmed that Darl served in the army he has described being away from home for long periods of time. Darl describes early on in the novel that he “often [has laid] beneath rain on a strange rood, thinking of home” (Faulkner 81). This statement suggests that Darl has spent a great deal of time away from home and that has led some to believe that he spent that time serving in the army. No this was never confirmed in the novel this would explain some of the actions that Darl took. Darl suffering from a mental illness whether that be PTSD or something alike could explain why he did what he did in the novel. Overall, Darl having a mental illness is a plausible explanation, but since it was never described it opens up the reader to be even more confused when considering what is truly happening in the novel. 

Faulkner’s writing style often times confused the reader when they attempted to analyze and interpret the story. This can be seen quite clearly in the novel As I lay Dying, where Faulkner uses Darl to create many gaps and ambiguities. Darl in himself is a very complex character, and typically that does not deter readers from understanding the novel but his character makes it very difficult to comprehend what is truly occurring in the story.