『내가 죽어 누워 있을 때』에 나타난 차별적 모성

Discriminative Mothering Environment in As I Lay Dying

This paper is to assess the significance of the mothering environment in William Faulkner's novel, As I Lay dying, with special attention of the effects of Addie's Bundren's mothering environments on the formation of the children's identity and sociality, and on their growing up into a mature personality manifesting his or her "true self". With the aim of offering a new and more deepened insight into Faulkner's characters in mind, this paper attempts to identify and classify mothering archetype in As I Lay dying, and to analyze the mothering effect, drawing on the theories of such psycho-analysts as Carl Jung, Jacques Lacan and Donald Winnicott. Although it appears as if Addie plays her actual mothering role anyway, she has fallen down into conflict with her inner nihilism and finally comes to give a great weight on action rather than word. She fails to find out her "true self" as a mother, which in turn cause an impediment to her children's growth.