I found my sources by consulting JSTOR (my usual go-to source), Google Scholar (one I have not used before but decided to finally check out after hearing it discussed in our library session), and the Hunter College Libraries databases. I searched for the terms “consciousness” and “existence” in association with “William Faulkner” or “As I Lay Dying”.

• Hemenway, Robert. “ENIGMAS OF BEING IN ‘AS I LAY DYING.’” Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 16, no. 2, 1970, pp. 133–146. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26279063. Accessed 23 Apr. 2021.
• Rossky, William. “AS I LAY DYING: THE INSANE WORLD.” Texas Studies in Literature and Language, vol. 4, no. 1, 1962, pp. 87–95. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40753582. Accessed 23 Apr. 2021.
• Pettey, Homer B. “Perception and the Destruction of Being in ‘As I Lay Dying.’” Faulkner Journal, vol. 19, no. 1, 2003, pp. 27–46. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26156972. Accessed 23 Apr. 2021.
• Urgo, Joseph R. “William Faulkner and the Drama of Meaning: The Discovery of the Figurative in as ‘I Lay Dying.’” South Atlantic Review, vol. 53, no. 2, 1988, pp. 11–23. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3199910. Accessed 23 Apr. 2021.
• Delville, Michel. “Alienating Language and Darl’s Narrative Consciousness in Faulkner’s ‘As I Lay Dying.’” The Southern Literary Journal, vol. 27, no. 1, 1994, pp. 61–72. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20078112. Accessed 23 Apr. 2021.
• Ross, Stephen M. “‘Voice’ in Narrative Texts: The Example of As I Lay Dying.” PMLA, vol. 94, no. 2, 1979, pp. 300–310. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/461893. Accessed 23 Apr. 2021.

The idea of existence and purpose affect the behavior and mindsets of characters in William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. The death of Addie Bundren provokes the thoughts of these different characters, leading them to question and analyze the world and people around them. Existence, in these instances, not only occur in the physical world, as with Addie’s death, but in the mind as well. The idea that people and living creatures, although being memories after death, can continue to live on in one’s mind, however others may choose to move on, forget, or suppress them. What are these different perspectives and what does each suggest about what it means to “exist”?

William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying is narrated in the perspective of each character. In such a style, readers are able to see what each character thinks and feels, their beliefs and values included. Through this, we notice some disparities in terms of existential beliefs; some characters are more optimistic or pessimistic than others. In terms of optimism, Cora’s strong faith in God allows her to keep up a positive attitude. Contrasting her positivity is Anse, who does believe in God yet feels as if the world of man acts to spite him.

We first see an example of this when Cora has baked cakes for Miss Lawington, who suddenly decided she no longer wanted them. Instead of reacting in outrage at the hard work and materials put into her dessert, Cora instead shakes it off. She says “I reckon she never had no use for them now…Maybe I can sell them at the bazaar Saturday” (Faulkner 10). Kate, her daughter, chides her after the event transpires, persisting that “she ought to taken those cakes anyway” (10). She sees it as an injustice in terms of their status, complaining that “rich town ladies can change their minds. Poor folks can’t” (10). Cora seems completely unbothered by status, nor is she bothered by the work she has done as she does not believe it has yet gone to waste, she can sell the cakes at a bazaar. She puts faith in God and believes it was his will to change the mind of Miss Lawington, as a result, she believes it is not her place to question his decree. 

In contrast to Cora, Anse Bundren takes on a more negative perspective in life. He appears rather pessimistic, he first blames the road for his bad luck and Addie Bundren’s death. He thinks of the road “A-laying there, right up to my door, where every bad luck that comes and goes is bound to find it. I told Addie it wasn’t any luck living on a road when it come by here” (27). He does not take very well to the idea of a road being laid in front of his house, he prefers to be left alone right where he is with his family but complains “every bad luck prowling can find it and come straight to my door, charging me taxes on top of it” (26). It is evident that Anse is afraid of change, he likes the world as he has always known it. In terms of religion, unlike Cora, who sees every challenge as a will of God, Anse believes that man betrays God: “Did you ever know Him to set a road down by a house?…because it’s always men can’t rest till they gets the house set where everybody that passes in a wagon can spit in the doorway” (26). He could assume that God willed man to place a road by his house but, simply because he does not like change he complains that this act is the insulting fault of man. He views the passage of people before his home to bear the intent they wish to “spit in the doorway”. 

Overall, there is not only a contrast between positivity and negativity, but interpretations on religion. Both characters display their feelings toward people outside of their family. Cora, on the one hand, sees every “challenge” as a will by God, she sees the positive in everything and the refusal of Miss Lawington to accept the cakes is God’s will, and she sees it is not her place to question his decree. Anse, on the other hand, blames acts of man for his struggles. He could see the road as a test or a sign from God, however he molds religion to fit his own emotions, therefore it is an insult by man to Anse and his family.

The concept of “family” is played with in this text. Maisie’s biological parents are practically at war with one another, using their only child as a mule for information and insults between themselves. At times it seems they neglect the impact these actions will have on Maisie or nonetheless “spoil” her ways of thinking. In addition to this, Ida and Beale Farange neglect their duties as parents. They do not nurture Maisie’s growing mind nor do they give her access to formal education. Although at times it seems her parents forget she’s human, conscious of thoughts and observant of the world in which they reflect onto her, James reminds readers that she is capable of her own thoughts and is a very bright child indeed by bringing attention to her inner thoughts and emotions. 

The act of passing the child around every few months does not establish a true “home” in Maisie’s mind. Already as it is, she does not have proper relations with either of her parents, the governesses replace this missing element. In chapter 4, Maisie describes her impression of Mrs. Wix. James writes, “something in her voice at the end of an hour touched the little girl in a spot that had never even yet been reached” (17). This precedes the implications that Mrs. Wix seems better fit to be a mother to Maisie than Ida herself. It follows “she had been…a mother, and that this was something Miss Overmore was not, something (strangely, confusing) that mamma was even less” (17). For the first time Maisie gets a taste for the feeling of true, motherly love, from Mrs. Wix rather than her own birth mother. To feel touched in a spot that had never been reached implies that Mrs. Wix is fulfilling this lack of motherly love in Maisie’s life. Maisie feels this herself, she was beginning to see Mrs. Wix as a mother, her mother. What this scene does is raise questions about the meaning of family. In the literal sense, Ida and Beale Farange are Maisie’s family. However Mrs. Wix fulfills the familial role sufficiently in comparison. Therefore, in a metaphorical lens, Maisie views Mrs. Wix as her mother. 

James’ novel really makes readers wonder what really constitutes a family. In society there is and has always been an emphasis on the importance of “family”. Loving one’s father and mother, especially, is commonplace however in the unfortunate case of Maisie, what familial bonds are being established when she is being passed around? She has no real place to call home and her parents neglect their roles in emotional fulfillment. Although not biologically related, Mrs. Wix establishes the definition of “mother” in Maisie’s mind, she is family.