The Civil War and Southern Civilities in Faulkner's The Unvanquished

Peter Kuryla, Belmont University

Location

Beaman A&B

Presentation Type

Presentation

Start Date

24-9-2012 2:00 PM

Description

William Faulkner’s The Unvanquished, because of its historical setting in the Civil War and Reconstruction South, offers a unique opportunity to explore how different Southerners might have changed or adapted their preexisting senses of morality and manners to fit a situation where the rule of law and civil society was almost entirely absent. The aristocratic pretensions of some Southern antebellum elite meant a society characterized by a heightened, almost parodic attention to civility and honor, which invariably came loaded with a peculiar set of assumptions about race, gender, class, and the proper uses of violence. The Civil War and Reconstruction tested these assumptions. Faulkner mines this chaotic historical terrain with telling tragicomic effect, representing the South in a way that enriches the historical record.

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Convo: AL

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Sep 24th, 2:00 PM

The Civil War and Southern Civilities in Faulkner's The Unvanquished

Beaman A&B

William Faulkner’s The Unvanquished, because of its historical setting in the Civil War and Reconstruction South, offers a unique opportunity to explore how different Southerners might have changed or adapted their preexisting senses of morality and manners to fit a situation where the rule of law and civil society was almost entirely absent. The aristocratic pretensions of some Southern antebellum elite meant a society characterized by a heightened, almost parodic attention to civility and honor, which invariably came loaded with a peculiar set of assumptions about race, gender, class, and the proper uses of violence. The Civil War and Reconstruction tested these assumptions. Faulkner mines this chaotic historical terrain with telling tragicomic effect, representing the South in a way that enriches the historical record.