As I Lay Dying Motherhood Analysis

The Disillusionment of Motherhood in As I Lay Dying “Mother” is the goal of women life that many women want to achieve as if it is the duty that women should do. Many people portray motherhood as a beautiful picture; a mother devotes herself for children, take care of them and love them without any condition. That is sound really good, right? However, in fact, being a mother is not beautiful and overwhelming as “the people” always says. There is another side that they didn’t tell you that being a mother is suffering. No one tells that is a trap which is the society sets up, but William Faulkner chooses to reveal the disillusionment of motherhood in his novel “As I Lay Dying” Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying” is a reflection of Southern women suffering in 1920s. There was a social expectation and women were encouraged to follow it. Women were expected to get married, maintain household roles and nurture children. Likewise, women can be only nurse, teacher and housewife. All these ideas are presented through female character, Addie Bundren who is rebellious …show more content…
“Addie challenges the ideology of the sexless mother by continuing to experience and express desire after the birth of her children.” (Bergman, 1996). She expresses her sexual desire “like the cries of the geese” (Faulkner, 174) by having an affair with Reverend Whitfield, the minister, and has kid, Jewel with him. Whitfield is represented Christianity which is “the source of prototypical sexless mother” (Bergman, 1996). For Christianity, masturbation and expressing sexual desire is sin. She uses belief and social restriction to go against the women role which the society forces her into. Faulkner empowers Addie to have right in her body fully; using her body and gender position to undermine the symbolic order. He makes a woman to have her own voice to speak out through her