I recently read Absalom Absalom and it was fantastic. I went in expecting a parable of the Bible story of Absalom but while Sutpen gave me a feeling akin to King Solomon I did not really see any other characters parallel David or Absalom. Were there supposed to be characters that should be considered parallels to other Biblical characters or are the events the main point of the title?Another thing is by the end I started asking why in the world does Shreve and to a lesser extent Quentin care so passionately about this family story. I know that they are in Sound and Fury too and can't shake that part of understanding them and their obsession is in there (which I have not read yet)
>>25281522Sutpen is not remotely like Solomon.If you want to draw parallels, Sutpen is David and Charles is Absalom. But it's only approximate. I think Faulkner was just saying "this book is about tragic contention between fathers and sons". You could say both Charles and Henry are Absalom since they both die somewhat tragically. (Henry's death is almost tragicomic, with the misunderstanding, so maybe that matches Absalom's better. Getting your hair caught in a tree is a little bit funny, it has to be said.) But I think basically Faulkner meant Charles to be Absalom.I think ‘Absalom, Absalom!’ is an awful title (Faulkner is generally very bad on titles) but that's another matter.>why in the world does Shreve and to a lesser extent Quentin care so passionately about this family storyWhat makes you think Shreve cares more than Quentin? Quentin cares passionately about it becausea) Quentin is like thatb) Quentin's ancestor that he sort of has to admire was closely involved with Sutpenand most importantlyc) the story is basically epitomising the nature of the South that Quentin comes from and which he both loves and hates, hence the last line of the book.
>>25281578>What makes you think Shreve cares more than Quentin?I meant I wondered why to a lesser extent with Quentin. He definitely cares and it makes more sense than Shreve for him to care but still a little bit of me was curious how much he (and even more curious why Shreve) get so into it.Are those a and b aspects of his character built more in Sound and Fury? Sutpen is a fair bit like him. Building the temple. His fall being tied to women. The Solomon foreigner women and Sutpen non white mistresses. He also has that huge regal air to him that King Solomon exudes
>>25281593Yeah OK I exaggerated to say Sutpen has NOTHING in common with S. but he's much more like David.In the Bible, it's David who has to do all the fighting and struggling to establish the kingdom, then Solomon inherits it and can be more genteel. Sutpen is the David character who builds everything up.David is basically a ruthless egomaniac fighter with a veneer of gentility. Solomon is more decadent.And the book's title shows specifically it's a tragic father-son battle that's the parallel, which means David-Absalom.Of course in the book Sutpen doesn't establish any lasting dynasty, which David does, but as I said, it's not exact.
>>25281578>both Charles and Henry are AbsalomSo the title is Absalom twiceBRAVO FAULKNER
