Before I get into the vocabulary for these three chapters, I want to spend a little time looking at the tragedy of Wash Jones, a poor white who lives in an old fishing camp on the sprawling Sutpen property.
Chapter 6 deals primarily with Thomas Sutpen’s end through the exposure of his “design,” and that which drives him. We can extrapolate Sutpen’s whole raison d’etre to the logic or morality or societal underpinnings of the South, and in one reading, I find there’s a lot of dark humor in what might be considered the plainest view of such realities.
From the perspective of Wash Jones, however, the tragedy is heartbreaking. Over the last several pages of Chapter 6, we see Wash lose faith in all of humanity as he sees Thomas Sutpen for who he truly is, an amoral monster, a demon, a natural force blind and idiotic. And in seeing this, Wash sees how Sutpen is the whole of the South, the whole of humanity. That the truth beneath all he has come to believe about the virtue of men is bankrupt and artificial. I read these pages three times on the train earlier today, and I suppose I shouldn’t spoil too much of what’s actually happened, but I do want to share a section. For clarity (ha), this is Quentin telling what his father told him:1
And Father said he must have realized then that it would not be much after dark when it would happen; that he must have sat there and sensed, felt them gathering with the horses and dogs and guns—the curious and the vengeful—men of Sutpen’s own kind, who used to eat at his table with him back when he (Wash) had yet to approach nearer the house than the scuppernong arbor—men who had led the way, shown the other and lesser ones how to fight in battles, who might also possess signed papers from the genrals saying that they were among the first and foremost of the brave—who had galloped also in the old days arrogant and proud on the fine horses about the fine plantations—symbol also of admiration and hope, instruments too of despair and grief; these it was whom he was expected to run from and it seeming to him probably that he had no less to run from than he had to run to; that if he ran he would be fleeing merely one set of bragging and evil shadows for another, since they (men) were all of a kind throughout all of earth which he knew, and he old, too old to run far even if he were to run who could never escape them, no matter how much or how far he ran; a man past sixty could not expect to run that far, far enough to escape beyond the boundaries of earth where such men lived, set the order and the rule of living: and Father said that maybe for the first time in his life he began to comprehend how it had been possible for Yankees or any other army to have whipped them—the gallant, the proud, the brave; the acknowledged and chosen best among them all to bear the courage and honor and pride.
The sound of Faulkner is a major joy of reading him,2 and even where that section is tough to parse (e.g. “these it was whom he was expected to run from and it seeming to him probably that he had no less to run from than he had to run to,”) it can be sonically beautiful and emotive. Of course, I had a ton of context here that I’m not affording you, and there’s way too much of this section to quote to really do it justice, but I found this so sad and moving. Wash Jones is not a good person. At best he’s just an ignorant hillbilly living in a shack. He’s a drunk and a racist. In humanizing characters like Wash though, Faulkner addresses broad and profound human concepts,3 and there’s something all the more universal if a reader can feel complex emotions for a character like him. In this moment, Wash realizes it was all bullshit, and this is the end. And that’s both really sad and really important.
In any case, on to the words, a few of which, I would like to egotistically note, I know the meaning of, but just like:
Ratiocinate
To reason methodically and logically.
Carcassonnes
A fortified city in France 50 miles east of Toulouse.
Viands
Provisions, usually food.
Raiment
Clothing
Ducal house
A royal order emanating from a duke.
Prolixity
Tediousness, wordiness
Opprobrium
Disgrace arising from exceedingly shameful conduct; ignominy.
Coign
(Variant of quoin):
1. a. An exterior angle of a wall or other piece of masonry.
b. Any of the stones used in forming such an angle, often being of large size and dressed or arranged so as to form a decorative contrast with the adjoining walls.
c. A piece of wood or other material used as trim on the corner of a building in imitation of such a stone.
2. A keystone.
3. Printing A wedge-shaped block used to lock type in a chase.
4. A wedge used to raise the level of a gun. An exterior angle of a wall or other piece of masonry. A keystone
Bill of lading
A legal document issued by a carrier to a shipper that details the type, quantity, and destination of the goods being carried.
Expiation
The act of expiating; atonement.
Traduce
1. To make false or malicious statements about (someone) in order to cause humiliation or disgrace. Malign.
2. To fail to uphold; disregard or violate
Picayune
adj. 1. Of little value or importance; paltry, trivial.
2. Petty; small-minded:
n. 1. A Spanish-American half-real piece formerly used in parts of the southern United States.
2. A five-cent piece.
3. Something of very little value; a trifle: not worth a picayune.
Last, I want to note that more regular posts will return soon. I promise. I’ve been doing a lot of my reading and writing in the background for the last couple months, but I’ll be wrapping up these vocab posts with one final look at chapters 7-9, then I’ll be on to new things. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!
I know I’ve noted this before, but this is a theme in the book. Nothing is really firsthand, so you never really know what happened, and that’s the point. It doesn’t really matter what happened because the the truths we tell overpower the reality of “real” life.
And for the record, that’s one sentence.
In the ubiquity, brevity, and comparative silence of Blacks and women, I’d argue he says even more, but that’s a whole other thing.