Surrogate fathers in selected works of William Faulkner

As an artist, William Faulkner explored surrogate father relationships in several of his works. This study examines three of those relationships and their main characters.

While many critics through the years have written about William Faulkner, and some have even explored Faulkner as a father, none have closely examined his surrogate fathers, or the fact that Faulkner himself was a surrogate father. An invaluable aid to research were the articles in William Faulkner: Four Dacades of Criticism (East Lansing: Michigan State UP, 1973), plus numerous other scholarly articles written about Faulkner. These articles explored various aspects of Faulkner's life and his writing and helped give insight into the complex man, artist, father, and surrogate father who was William Faulkner. Although Faulkner's works are not exactly parallel with his life, Faulkner's own experiences and observations may have given him the insight to portray relationships in a way that is lifelike and very plausible.