So after that narration from Addie's perspective, I can add her to the list of Bundrens that I despise. I honestly find nothing to like about her, other than the fact that she was kind enough to die.
First on the long list of what I find completely messed up with her is how happy she was to punish her students. It's not normal to find pleasure in hurting kids so you literally leave your mark on them. I don't care what you think, there's no way to make that seem okay. You sick, twisted b....
Okay next point. Did she really hate Anse, or would you have hated whoever you married? She said she didn't like how her freedom was taken away from her. But really, she probably would have felt similarly no matter who she married. The second she had a kid she hated it. So really, she can't blame Anse for taking your freedom (I mean, she did so obvious she could, but that's not the point) because I'm pretty sure she would've blamed any guy she married and had at least one kid with.
Also, you cheated on your husband who loved you! To me, there's nothing Addie Bundren could say to excuse this behavior. Really, just because she gave Anse two more kids to balance out Jewel doesn't mean what she did was okay. It's quite ironic because it was shown that Addie taught her children to never be deceitful and now here she is doing exactly what she taught them not to do. Hypocrite.
Speaking of Addie's affair, what the hell, Whitfield? You were that focused on telling Anse the truth but took it as a sign from God that you didn't need to because she was dead? THAT'S NOT OKAY. IN FACT THAT WAS PROBABLY A SIGN THAT IF YOU DON'T TELL THE TRUTH YOU WILL BE STRUCK DOWN. I can't believe this! How stupid can you get?!
Now, after reading Addie's narration, I'm convinced she was mentally insane. Just the way her thoughts work doesn't seem even remotely normal to me. Maybe I'm just trying to find things wrong with her because I hate her. Maybe it's because she really is mentally ill. Either way, I still despise her and am glad she's dead, even though her being dead has nearly killed the rest of her family.
I think Addie deserves a little more pity. She is a bit of a square peg in a round hole, being so independent and willing to be on her own in a time when that was not acceptable. She couldn't take having her space (mental and physical) invaded, but she had very few choices. I'm not surprised that she hated having children; it was a very intimate invasion of her body, and one that she had no control over. And Anse gave very few signs that he loved her. How could she get any comfort from him? Anse barely shows any emotion, let alone love, and couldn't even bring himself to get close to her deathbed. She was not mentally insane--she was trapped.
ReplyDeleteHa, well I wouldn't go as far as to say I want Addie dead but I definitely agree with your dislike for her -- I wrote a similar post. However, we both have to remember what Mary said about Addie's tough situation. I'm starting to think that she's more depressed than mentally insane, and that she just didn't learn how to handle it well.
ReplyDeleteYour last two blog posts have been about how you hate the characters :) I think Addie is human. I think that no matter what she did, Addie would not have been happy. If she had still lived with her parents or lived by herself for the rest of her life, she would have been unhappy. I also think that if she married Anse she would have been unsatisfied no matter what. I think she just did the best that she could and that she was destined to fail.
ReplyDeleteAh, finally a blog post against Addie. I agree with you on this topic completely. I wouldn't as far as to say that Anse loved her (I think the feeling of despising each other was mutual), but Addie definetly made a big BIG mistake by allowing herself to be seduced by the likes of Peabody. She lost, in my mind, all her respect as soon as I came to know of that.
ReplyDeleteP.S. On your note that Addie is insane, maybe that's where Darl gets it from ;)
I don't know if I'd say Addie made a big mistake with her affair with Peabody. Wasn't it more Peabody's mistake than hers? Addie was lonely and depressed and Peabody pretty much took advantage of that. Didn't we see with Dewey Dell that exploitation of that sort wasn't hard at all? Sure, Addie was actually aware of what she was doing, and she didn't have to go out and meet Peabody in the woods. We don't get very much detail about what actually happened between them. But in the passage she seemed to be building her affair up as some reason for living, or just daydreaming about it as something more because she just didn't care enough to search for a real reason for living.
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