Essay On Sexuality In The Sound And The Fury

The Fence to Adulthood: Sexuality in The Sound and The Fury
Throughout William Faulkner’s The Sound and The Fury, the patriarchal construct of virginity controls women through the creation of fences -- both physical and metaphorical barriers. Traditionally, when a Southern girl reaches adulthood, she is expected to settle down and raise her children, obeying her husband as the family patriarch. These Southern power structures are like fences in that they have traditionally restricted women’s sexual activity; when women challenge such conservative barriers, as do some of the Compson females, they can embrace their own sexuality and find liberation despite being shunned by society. Thus, Caddy’s loss of virginity prior to marriage, overturning the Southern code of honor, destroys her family. Her wayward behavior enables Quentin’s suicide and virgin status, Benjy’s molestation of a young girl, and Miss Quentin’s promiscuous escapades. …show more content…
Although typical Southern mores took power away from women by allowing a man to control a woman’s sexuality, and therefore her future, Caddy and her daughter Miss Quentin are able to break free from these barriers. Virginity is proven to be a social construct that separates men from women because while a man is encouraged to control his own sexuality and have intercourse often, this same behavior is vilified for women. Caddy’s actions as she takes control over her own sexuality prove how a woman is more than just an attractive possession. Although a Southern woman’s sexuality is repressed and her life is dominated by such barriers, when she is finally able to escape and control her own fate, the power that she is given is enormous as it has the ability to overturn the Southern patriarchal