Caddy Compson

Since William Faulkner s The Sound and the Fury was§published, critics and readers have been mesmerized§by Caddy Compson s character. This book is for those§who are already familiar with the novel, it is an§invitation for those who have not read it yet; and,§nevertheless, it is a tribute to Faulkner s§outstanding literary work.§Discussing Caddy s character can be both rewarding§and frustrating: on one hand, you are given a greater§freedom to interpret her actions and the§conversations she carries out; on the other hand, the§reader has too much freedom and no secure points: all§statements can be questioned because Caddy is not§directly present to confirm or to confute any§interpretation. Caddy s story can be told in one way§or the other, but she will always remain behind the§wall of narrations and interpretations. There can be§different approaches to Caddy s character, but the§fact remains that nothing is to be taken for granted:§she is both an absent presence and a present absence,§thus everything written about her becomes another§attempt of telling the untold, of telling the non-telling of Caddy s story. Since William Faulkner s The Sound and the Fury was§published, critics and readers have been mesmerized§by Caddy Compson s character. This book is for those§who are already familiar with the novel, it is an§invitation for those who have not read it yet; and,§nevertheless, it is a tribute to Faulkner s§outstanding literary work.§Discussing Caddy s character can be both rewarding§and frustrating: on one hand, you are given a greater§freedom to interpret her actions and the§conversations she carries out; on the other hand, the§reader has too much freedom and no secure points: all§statements can be questioned because Caddy is not§directly present to confirm or to confute any§interpretation. Caddy s story can be told in one way§or the other, but she will always remain behind the§wall of narrations and interpretations. There can be§different approaches to Caddy s character, but the§fact remains that nothing is to be taken for granted:§she is both an absent presence and a present absence,§thus everything written about her becomes another§attempt of telling the untold, of telling the non-telling of Caddy s story.