Challeging Darl Bundren’s insanity: a study on trauma

Abstract

Critics have frequently read Darl Bundren from Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying as a mentally insane individual. The aim of this paper is to challenge the label of insane attached to Darl and interpret him as a traumatized subject. Using Contemporary Trauma Theory as a critical tool, we will bring forward those symptoms which account for Darl suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a state triggered by his participation in WWI. Moreover, we will examine those aspects which will allow us to grasp the complexity of his trauma, as the maternal abandonment he has been exposed to. Finally, our argumentation will allow us to dismiss the assumption that Darl is a schizophrenic. We will conclude by emphasizing the relevance trauma theory has in Darl’s characterization and suggesting further research contributing to unveiling the construal of the character’s insanity.