William Faulkner: The Making of a Modernist

by Daniel Joseph Singal

Overview

Amid all that has been published about William Faulkner, one subject—the nature of his thought—remains largely unexplored. But, as Daniel Singal's new intellectual biography reveals, we can learn much about Faulkner's art by relating it to the cultural and intellectual discourse of his era, and much about that era by coming to terms with his art. Through detailed analyses of individual texts, from the earliest poetry through Go Down, Moses, Singal traces Faulkner's attempt to liberate himself from the repressive Victorian culture in which he was raised by embracing the Modernist culture of the artistic avant-garde. To accommodate the conflicting demands of these two cultures, Singal shows, Faulkner created a complex and fluid structure of selfhood based on a set of dual identities—one, that of a Modernist author writing on the most daring and subversive issues of his day, and the other, that of a southern country gentleman loyal to the conservative mores of his community. Indeed, it is in the clash between these two selves, Singal argues, that one finds the key to making sense of Faulkner.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807848319
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	09/23/1999
Series:	Fred W. Morrison Series in Southern Studies
Edition description:	1
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	1590L (what's this?)

About the Author

Daniel J. Singal, author of The War Within: From Victorian to Modernist Thought in the South, is professor of history at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Progenitor: The First William Falkner
2. Poplars and Peacocks, Nymphs and Fauns
3. Fierce, Small, and Impregnably Virginal
4. Discovering Yoknapatawpha
5. All Things Become Shadowy Paradoxical
6. Into the Void
7. The Making of a Modernist Identity: Light in August
8. The Dark House of Southern History
9. Ruthless and Unbearable Honesty
10. Diminished Powers: The Writing of Go Down, Moses
Coda
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Illustrations
Statue of Colonel William C. Falkner in Ripley, Mississippi
Estelle Oldham as an adolescent in 1913
William Faulkner as "Count No-Count" in the early 1920s
William Faulkner the emerging novelist in New Orleans in the mid-1920s
The county courthouse and monument of the Confederate soldier in Oxford, Mississippi
William Faulkner the Modernist author at work in his study
William Faulkner the gentleman bohemian in the mid-1930s
William Faulkner the Virginia squire in his riding attire during the late 1950s

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

A work of literary criticism that is so compact, sensible, and reassuring.—American Literature



One of the most engaging one-volume studies of Faulkner to have appeared.—American Historical Review



(Singal's) work is a significant step forward in Faulkner criticism because of its clarity and good sense."Georgia Historical Quarterly



Singal's brilliant analyses work because his theoretical approach only heightens his reading of the individual novels. Instead of standing in the way, his understanding of the cultural forces that competed within Faulkner help to unlock the novels.—Magill's Literary Annual



This excellent book . . . convincingly demonstrates [that] Faulkner's best writing conveyed such a powerful sense of tension and complexity precisely because, even as a Modernist literary giant, he never abandoned 'the self he had evolved to live in the world of rural Mississippi.'—Journal of Southern History



[Singal's] explications are both seamlessly written and stingingly original. It is abundantly clear that he has devoted a lifetime to thinking about Faulkner's work, and the study he has produced can lay claim to being one of the most engaging one-volume studies of Faulkner to have appeared.—American Historical Review



The book's effectiveness resides in Singal's sensitive gift for literary analysis. . . . William Faulkner: The Making of a Modernist will have a permanent impact on Faulkner studies. . . . Singal's commentary will last a long time, maybe a very long time, as well.—Journal of American History



Demonstrates an impressive amount of reading about and understanding of Faulkner's works. . . . I recommend it for both the general reader and the Faulkner scholar.—Faulkner Newsletter and Yoknapatawpha Review



A useful and insightful addition to Faulkner criticism. . . . Written in an approachable style without sacrifice of the rigor of thorough research.—Choice



Singal provides a striking perspective on Faulkner, offering a welcome exploration of the structure and nature of his thought.—Charles Reagan Wilson, Washington Times

Editorial Reviews

"Singal s . . . . understanding of the cultural forces that competed within Faulkner help to unlock the novels.

"Magill s Literary Annual"

(Singal s) work is a significant step forward in Faulkner criticism because of its clarity and good sense.

"Georgia Historical Quarterly"

"Singal 's . . . . understanding of the cultural forces that competed within Faulkner help to unlock the novels.

"Magill 's Literary Annual"

(Singal_s) work is a significant step forward in Faulkner criticism because of its clarity and good sense.

"Georgia Historical Quarterly"

"Singal_s . . . . understanding of the cultural forces that competed within Faulkner help to unlock the novels.

"Magill_s Literary Annual"

(Singala[s) work is a significant step forward in Faulkner criticism because of its clarity and good sense.

"Georgia Historical Quarterly"

"Singala[s . . . . understanding of the cultural forces that competed within Faulkner help to unlock the novels.

"Magilla[s Literary Annual"

(Singals) work is a significant step forward in Faulkner criticism because of its clarity and good sense.

"Georgia Historical Quarterly"

"[Singal's] explications are both seamlessly written and stingingly original. . . . one of the most engaging one-volume studies of Faulkner to have appeared.

"American Historical Review"

A work of literary criticism that is so compact, sensible, and reassuring.

"American Literature"

One of the most engaging one-volume studies of Faulkner to have appeared.

"American Historical Review"

"ÝSingal's¨ explications are both seamlessly written and stingingly original. . . . one of the most engaging one-volume studies of Faulkner to have appeared.

"American Historical Review"

(SingalUs) work is a significant step forward in Faulkner criticism because of its clarity and good sense.

"Georgia Historical Quarterly"

"""[Singal's] explications are both seamlessly written and stingingly original. . . . one of the most engaging one-volume studies of Faulkner to have appeared.

"American Historical Review""

"""SingalUs . . . . understanding of the cultural forces that competed within Faulkner help to unlock the novels.

"MagillUs Literary Annual""

"A work of literary criticism that is so compact, sensible, and reassuring.

"American Literature""

From the Publisher

In this persuasive intellectual biography, Singal makes sense of Faulkner's thought by viewing him as caught between the cultures of the Victorian and Modernist eras.

In the centennial year of Faulkner's birth, Singal (History/Hobart and William Smith Colleges), opens with a subject he calls largely unexplored—"the structure and nature" of Faulkner's thought. Singal believes the key to understanding lies in the ongoing "conflict of cultures" in which Faulkner lived—the morally absolutist Victorianism of his rural gentry youth and the more fluid concepts of the Modernism of his adulthood. After examining the persuasive influence of Faulkner's proper Victorian mother and Civil War hero great-grandfather, Col. William C. Falkner, he turns to the novelist's early encounters with Modernism, beginning with Mosquitoes, with which the writer entered "the darkened rooms and houses of southern history." Analyses of other novels follow, including Absalom, Absalom!, Light in August, and The Sound and the Fury, the latter representing Faulkner's "Modernist authorial self" taking hold (though, Singal believes, he never felt entirely at ease with Modernism), notably in the character of Benjy Compson, who repudiates the entire Victorian value system. While the book centers on textual analysis, Singal's forays into Faulkner's life ground the book and reveal the biographer's humanism and restraint. On the fact that Faulkner did not divorce wife Estelle to wed lover Meta Carpenter, Singal indicates an understanding of human connections, observing that "despite mental and sometimes physical warfare, genuine bonds of loyalty and even affection still united the Faulkners, who after all had been tight childhood friends." Singal also chronicles Faulkner's lifelong excessive drinking with a refreshing mix of largesse and scientific fact, admitting the possibility of alcohol's early benefits in liberating Faulkner's artistic inhibitions but detailing the effects of alcohol misuse, giving credence to his claim that alcohol eventually diminished his talents.

Written with calm authority and offering a plausible new thesis, this is a worthwhile introduction to the next century of Faulkner.

Kirkus Reviews