the many woes of dewey dell
Dewey Dell’s story is, in many ways, the most tragic of the Bundren clan. She’s simultaneously burdened with the responsibility of taking care of the family and continuously denied agency. Her narrative also has, perhaps, the bleakest outlook: she has a singular goal throughout the family’s journey, and is lied to, taken advantage of. Worst of all, it’s useless: it’s clear from the outset that Dewey Dell hardly knows what she’s asking for, speaking in vague terms of things Lafe told her. As the reader, it’s clear as soon as Dewey Dell is pregnant that she either isn’t going to get an abortion or she’s going to get some kind of terrible, unsafe procedure. While the rest of the family seems to be seeking something that’s at least vaguely achievable, even if it’s hard or dangerous, Dewey Dell’s goal is fundamentally futile, and yet she pursues it with the same determination and hope as Anse pursues his teeth.
Her role within the family also displays this tragedy. Addie’s death impacts her in uniquely awful ways: she’s deemed the new caregiver of the family, a chronically underappreciated and devalued role. She’s also left without information and without a guide. More than any other character, Dewey Dell is forced to stumble blindly through her journey. And the mere existence of her body seems to spark rage in Darl in a way that comes across to both the reader and Dewey Dell as deeply uncomfortable. Again, there’s nowhere she can turn to for help.
As such, I don’t think her choice to turn Darl in is exactly surprising. Darl has placed her under extreme, continuous, and very creepy scrutiny. Not only that, she’s just been abused by her last hope at getting an abortion. Her prospects are dim: the best case scenario is Lafe, who she probably doesn’t love, agrees to marry her, and she winds up trapped and disrespected, like her mother before her. But far more likely is that he abandons, mistreats, or otherwise harms her. And that’s saying nothing of the response from Anse and the rest of the family, which we can’t quite predict exactly but will probably suck.
Her prospects are, basically, pretty damn bleak, and thus, her actions at the end of the book are the result of a young girl being pushed to the absolute breaking point. By turning in Darl, she’s finally able to eliminate one of her tormentors and earn some tiny semblance of justice for her many struggles. The ending of her story is far from uplifting and, honestly, things will probably get worse- but I, at least, took some solace in her getting that much.
Great post! Nowhere in the book does it say that Addie and Dewey Dell were close (and from Addie's chapter it doesn't seem like she would've even wanted to be close to her only daughter), but still. Going through something as terrifying as an unplanned pregnancy without a mother or even a female role model sounds absolutely awful. She has no support from her family or Lafe (his $10 contribution means nothing compared to the journey she has undergone and the potential possibility of raising a child at the young age of 17 on her own), and it breaks my heart to see her taken advantage of and hurt over and over again. She has no power over the events in her life.
ReplyDeleteHowever, with Daryl she's finally given the opportunity to have a say in what happens in her life--at least a small part. She takes control of her situation, and I admire of that. She deserves that, at the very least.
Nice post! I totally agree that turning Darl in enables Dewey Dell to have some semblance of control over her life and I appreciate that she's able to have that. I'll add that after Dewey Dell is raped and realizes that she will have to have the child, the last chapter she narrates is just a dialogue between her and Anse in which she tries to persuade him not to take her money and he takes it anyway. This really emphasizes the futility of her actions, especially since dialogue removes actions from the narration.
ReplyDeleteI also think that Dewey Dell's out-lash against Darl was a long time coming. I don't necessarily think that it was only out of anger directed solely at Darl, but instead an outpouring of pent up emotions: fear, stress, anger, frustration. As you mention, she's taken so much crap throughout this story (not to mention everything she must have gone through before the story started), and honestly it's amazing it's taken her so long to crack. However, I do think that Darl was the perfect target for her frustrations, and his tormenting her is a fresh and open wound. I'm not sure that her betrayal of him is the best example of family loyalty, but it's not like the family has been that supportive of one another up to this point anyways.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I definitely saw Dewey Dell's decision to turn in Darl as some small act of defiance on her part. I think that her being turned into the family's caregiver (especially of Vardaman) is interesting when you consider the fact that Anse marries again at the end. Will Dewey Dell be able to confide in her new stepmother, or will she still be left without anybody to turn to?
ReplyDelete