Quentinville And Masculinity

Introduction: The Sound and The Fury was written in the early twentieth century by William Faulkner. In the novel, Faulkner defies the status quo of gender roles through two siblings, Quentin and Caddy Compson. He dismantles the constrictions of an individual’s assigned gender by displaying society’s perception of femininity in a male character and masculinity in a female character. At the end of the novel, the audience realizes that if one forces conformity upon his/herself, it can lead to self-destruction, as depicted through the suicide of Quentin. However, if one embraces his/her differences, it promotes love and individuality, as portrayed through Caddy and her lifestyle choices. Faulkner determines that it is better to defy society then

He is haunted by Caddy’s history of sexual endeavors and seeks to alleviate the damage it has done to the Compson family’s stature in society. Caddy’s sexuality becomes a focal point of Quentin’s narrative because he accentuates the importance of virginity to an extreme magnitude. After what appears to be much thought, Quentin irrationally determines that by claiming to have had incestuous relations with Caddy he can fulfill his masculine duties of protecting his sister and rescue her purity. In Quentin’s neurotic mind, keeping it within the Comspson bloodline is better than Caddy having sexual intercourse with other men outside of wedlock. Mr. Compson refused to believe Quentin’s sudden allegations of incest and this deeply distraught Quentin. Quentin’s self-destructive obsession with conformity led him to his ultimate suicidal demise. His multiple failures at redeeming Caddy’s unorthodox behavior emasculated Quentin. Therefore, William Faulkner portrays gender norms of the Old South as having harsh, detrimental effects on an individual’s self-esteem. Quentin was stuck in the overdramatised Compson household, and the only way out was