Although As I
Lay Dying doesn’t seem to have one specific hero, it does fit many aspects
of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth. One such aspect that appears in the book is the
talisman, a special object that pops up throughout the story and helps the hero
on their quest (e.g. the ring in The Hobbit).
In As I Lay Dying, it takes the form
of Addie’s coffin, the object around which the story revolves. Unlike the
talismans in other hero narratives, however, the coffin never helps anyone in
the Bundren family; rather, it is the cause of a lot of the drama in the book, and
is a constant reminder of the purpose of their journey.
The
coffin comes into play at the very beginning of the book, and already the “Chuck.
Chuck. Chuck.” of Cash’s adze cutting the wood seems to follow Darl home. He mentions
that Cash is a good carpenter, and indeed we soon see that building a high
quality coffin “on the bevel” is the only thing on Cash’s mind. In fact, Cash’s
devotion and determination to finish it foreshadows the Bundrens’ journey to
Jefferson quite strongly, since just as the Bundren family will not rest until
they get to Jefferson and bury the coffin, Cash seems to be unable to stop
until he finishes, working through the night in the pouring rain.
Once
Addie’s coffin is finally built, the Bundrens’ odyssey begins, and they take it
with them to Jefferson. Along the way, though, complications with crossing the
river and Darl setting the Gillespie barn on fire lead them to lose the coffin
multiple times, and each time we see someone in the Bundren family take a major
risk to retrieve it. When the barn catches fire, for example, Jewel runs in to
save the animals, which is understandable, but then risks his life again to
save the coffin and ends up burning his back. In hindsight, it seems like this was
a completely unnecessary risk – although the purpose of their entire trip was
to bury the coffin, it wasn’t worth Jewel’s life to save it.
Finally,
by the time they reach Jefferson, the homemade, foul-smelling coffin is almost
part of the family, and it symbolizes the way people in the city see them. People
make fun of them, and it’s clear that they don’t belong. Similarly, when people
smell the coffin and Addie’s rotting body inside, they want the Bundrens to
remove it from the city. Although this is a reasonable request – the coffin
gives off a horrible stench for hundreds of yards – they become extremely defensive,
and Jewel is ready to punch the person who asked.
Clearly,
over the course of their journey, the Bundrens become very attached to the
coffin, risking their lives for it and defending it. If we take the Bundren
family to be the heroes of the story, then the coffin fulfills many of the
properties of Campbell’s idea of a talisman.
The only counterargument is that when it comes to actually burying Addie, there's very little emotion attached. If the coffin has these emotional connotations, then I'm confused as to why they would give it up so easily. Additionally, there's that incident with Vardaman where he actually punches holes in it and destroys it. Plus, shouldn't a talisman bring good luck? It seems like nothing goes right for the Bundrens as soon as the coffin gets involved. It's only when it's gone that things get better (i.e. Anse gets his teeth and a new wife). I think the coffin has a special role in the novel but I wouldn't go as far as talisman.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say they're "giving it up" so much as they're doing what they intended to do with it - burying it in Jackson, as they worked so hard to do. Borrowing Anshul's example, Frodo doesn't fail when the ring is finally destroyed, because that's what needed to happen. I agree that the coffin hardly seems to bring good luck, but when considering the objects which have struck us as talisman-like in the past (e.g. Smithy's bike), they were not necessarily a good-luck charm, but rather a symbol of the hero's journey and struggles.
DeleteI really like the idea of the broken, home-made, smelly coffin embodying the idea of the Bundrens coming into town. One question I have, is what does this make Darl? I mean, the monomyth examples of the talisman include the ring, which is really important to the protagonist. And in As I Lay Dying, Darl wants to destroy/burn/lose the coffin multiple times to put Addie to rest. By doing so he would end the Hero's Journey. Jewel does save the coffin from the fire, which could make him the protagonist. I think need evidence would need to be there to say the whole family are the hero's of the story. Really cool post!
ReplyDeleteThis view of the coffin as talisman makes a lot of sense, in particular in the context of some of the discussions that posit Cash as the primary "heroic" figure in the narrative. Its "talisman" qualities have a lot to do with the fact that it isn't a store-bought coffin but a handmade piece of carpentry (made in a more time-consuming but ultimately effective way, "on the bevel") that is lovingly constructed within view (and earshot) of Addie herself. When Cash quietly wipes away the mud that Jewel's horse kicks up onto the coffin, we see something of the personal pride that makes this talismanic--it's not just *a* coffin, it's a coffin made (in the rain, overnight, in a nonstop burst of labor) by a son for a mother, and it's heavily invested with personal meaning from the start.
ReplyDelete