Transgressive Women

We've discussed before how Faulkner tends to write very transgressive female characters, and the characters of Judith and Clytemnestra in Absalom, Absalom! are no exception. The title of the book itself refers back to the Biblical story of Absalom, the traitorous third son of King David. Even though Absalom rebelled against his father and caused great harm to the Israelites, King David was stricken with grief when his son was killed for his betrayal. This allusion sets the tone for the rest of the characters of the novel, all of whom reach a very classical level of tragedy; as Todd pointed out in his post, Absalom, Absalom! is the most Greek of all the Faulkner books we've read so far.

In the Bible, Judith was a beautiful, rich, respected Jewish widow who saved her people from the Assyrians. According to the story, Judith ventured into the enemy camp with only her handmaiden at her side, and charmed her way into the tent of Holofernes, the commanding general of the Assyrians. She beheads him after he gets drunk and passes out, and carries his head back to the camp of the Israelites. Judith's assumption of the traditionally male role of warrior easily identifies her as a role model for the character of Sutpen's daughter Judith in the novel. Judith, unlike her older brother Henry, can not only stomach the sight of her father fighting with his slaves, but seems to actually relish it.

Analogous to the biblical Judith's handmaid, yet carrying a context all her own is the slave and constant companion to Judith, Clytemnestra. In Greek mythology, Clytemnestra, along with her lover, murdered her husband Agamemnon on his return from the Trojan War. Thus Faulkner uses her name to marry her, in a way, to her father Thomas Sutpen (who could be none other than mighty King Agamemnon) and continues his motif of incestual relationships. Clytemnestra sets fire to and destroys Sutpen's Hundred in the end, making her the "heir" to her father's dynasty when she assumes such control over it and decides its fate. This is ironic considering that all Sutpen wanted was a white male to carry on his legacy, which is ultimately destroyed by a half-black female.

(P.S.--I started this before class last night, so sorry if parts of it are a bit redundant).