“A sort of madman with poetic gifts”: Darl Bundren and Henri Bergson
“A sort of madman with poetic gifts”: Darl Bundren and Henri Bergson

Summary/Abstract: William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying contrasts differing forms of time- representation to uncover new epistemological processes within its storyworld. Darl Bundren, the principal narrator of the fragmented narrative, utilises a Bergsonian schema of duration to see the world, as opposed to his family, who rely on spatial signifiers to comprehend their surroundings. Faulkner was heavily influenced by the work of T.S. Eliot throughout his formative literary years. The Mississippian came into close contact with the philosophy of Henri Bergson through Eliot’s early poetry, particularly Prufrock and Other Observations, despite not reading the French philosopher directly. This essay explores the character of Darl Bundren under the aegis of this influence, foregrounding Eliot’s effect on Faulkner’s writing before elucidating the Bergsonian elements present in the 1930 novel. Throughout this work, the effect of duration and Bergson’s philosophy on Darl is examined, interweaving issues of form and content present in Faulkner’s novel.

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