The female stereotypical characters in Faulkner's 'The Sound and the Fury'

William Faulkner's views of the world and of women's roles are directly a result of the Southern culture of his time. In his novel, The Sound and the Fury, Faulkner characterizes four women who are stereotypes of the roles women occupied in the South, products of the era and unique to Southern society. This study examines the background of William Faulkner and his women and the nature of his characterization of each and relates the information to the period in which the novel is set. Explored are Mrs. Compson, as a faded southern matron, Caddy and her daughter, Quentin, as products of the new mores within the society, and Dilsey, the loyal, empathetic, "Mammy" character. The stereotypes and their fate is shown as directly related to the defeated region in which they live.