Absalom, Absalom

Absalom, Absalom! can be interpreted as a religious allegory due to the presence of recurring biblical themes and motifs throughout the narrative. The novel’s title itself is a reference to the biblical story of Absalom, which follows the rebellious son of King David who raised a revolt against his father. This parallel establishes the connection to themes of betrayal and filial conflict that arise between Thomas Sutpen, the family patriarch, and his son Henry, who abandons his family and his rights as heir to Sutpen’s Hundred.

There are additional, implicit parallels between the biblical story of Absalom and the familial lineage in Faulkner’s novel as well; Tamar is raped by her half brother Amnon (with whom she shares a father in King David). Absalom avenges his sister by ordering the murder of their half brother, to which Faulkner nods with Henry murdering Judith’s fiancé, Charles Bon, who is their half brother through Thomas Sutpen. Like King David, Thomas Sutpen is a complicated, morally ambiguous patriarch who fathers a lineage of children who inherit—and must contend with—certain complexities surrounding their family line.

Faulkner extends this biblical allegory beyond the King David/Absalom history to draw explicit parallels between Thomas Sutpen and Satan, or a fallen angel. Sutpen is continually portrayed as a morally bankrupt and destructive force who disrupts the lives of those around him in his pursuit of power. Sutpen’s insatiable ambition and amoral actions, reminiscent of the biblical narrative of the fall of Lucifer, contribute to this religious allegorical interpretation. Miss Rosa’s characterizations of Sutpen strengthen this biblical parallel, as she describes him in mythic, demonic proportions, which deploy archetypical symbols of the devil: “Out of quiet thunderclap…he would abrupt (man-horse-demon) upon a scene peaceful and decorous as a schoolprize water color, faint sulphur-reek still in hair clothes and beard” (4).

Furthermore, the novel delves into themes of guilt, atonement, and the consequences of sin, which are central to many religious texts and ideologies. The characters in Absalom, Absalom! grapple with the weight of their actions, much like the concept of original sin in Christianity. Their quests for redemption and understanding parallel religious journeys of self-discovery and reconciliation. Additionally, Faulkner’s intricate narrative structure, with multiple voices recounting the story and attempting to make sense of the past, mirrors the way religious texts often have multiple narrators, interpretations, and layers of meaning, challenging readers to decipher deeper spiritual truths. These elements collectively support the interpretation of Absalom, Absalom! as a rich and complex allegory that engages with themes and motifs found in religious literature.

Throughout the novel, the strategic use of repetition and repetition with variation contributes to the novel’s intricate structure and thematic depth. Faulkner employs repetition to emphasize key motifs and themes, reinforcing the weight of the past on the characters and the South. The recurrence of certain phrases and images underscores the cyclical nature of history as characters grapple with the haunting echoes of their ancestors’ choices.

Repetition with variation, an extension of this technique, allows Faulkner to explore the complexities of memory and subjective truth. The variations introduce subtle shifts in meaning, highlighting the malleability of history and the unreliability of individual perspectives. This device mirrors the characters’ attempts to reconstruct the past, each retelling offering a slightly different angle, revealing the intricate layers of interpretation that shape their understanding of events.

The repetitive nature of phrases, words, and characterizations, coupled with nuanced variations and turns of phrases, contributes to the novel’s sense of rhythm and musicality. This interplay of repetition and variation underscores Faulkner’s exploration of the elusive nature of truth and the challenges inherent in capturing the full complexity of the Southern experience. The repetition becomes a literary echo, resonating with the characters’ struggles to reconcile with their history and the perpetual reverberations of the past.