When we talked about the new Mrs. Bundren, the class was almost unanimously against Anse for picking up a new wife so soon. However, after considering it some more, I have come to the decision that Anse's decision is actually not that unreasonable, given his specific circumstances, and it actually does not disrespect Addie's memory as much as people think it does.
First off, we know that Anse rarely visits the town, and as far as we know, there are no women that live close to Anse that he could potentially marry. It also sounded like Anse needed a woman around the house to do stuff like "cut his hair" and take care of the house, especially with Darl gone and Cash injured. Without a new wife, it is unclear whether Anse's house and farm would even be able to function, especially with Anse's dislike of any real work. Thus, it makes perfect sense for Anse to find a new wife in town, especially if the women likes him back, which we can only assume that the new Mrs. Bundren does.
I also do not see the new wife as dishonoring Addie, mostly because the entire journey was Addie's way of spiting Anse. Addie never really loved Anse, and in fact she hated him for most of their marriage, and her telling Anse to do the journey was her way at getting back at him. Yet Anse still went through with the journey to complete Addie's last wish, so that Anse could be done with Addie. Once the task was completed, it makes sense that he would look for another woman, preferably one that liked him at least a little as a person. So in the end, Anse's choice of a new wife makes perfect sense, and is only slightly offensive to Addie's memory, given that Addie hated Anse to begin with.
In some ways I do agree with you. But on the other hand, did Anse love Addie? Some might say that his long journey to Jefferson to bury Addie with her family was done for love, but I'm not so sure. I thought that Anse felt guilty for the lack of love and for a better word passion, in their relationship. It was obvious that Addie didn't love him, and we give her a whole bunch of flack for that. But did Anse love Addie? I some how doubt it. So why is that not bothersome to anyone?
ReplyDeleteIn some ways I do agree with you. But on the other hand, did Anse love Addie? Some might say that his long journey to Jefferson to bury Addie with her family was done for love, but I'm not so sure. I thought that Anse felt guilty for the lack of love and for a better word passion, in their relationship. It was obvious that Addie didn't love him, and we give her a whole bunch of flack for that. But did Anse love Addie? I some how doubt it. So why is that not bothersome to anyone?
ReplyDeleteI didn't think about it like this at all. I kept thinking that Anse really cared for Addie and that Anse finding a new wife was sick, but now that you mention it I guess Anse had a legitimate reason to find another wife. His first one didn't care for him at all. Thanks forgiving me a different view on the situation. Now I don't really hate Anse as much for what he has put his family through but really wish they just didn't get married in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it does make logical sense for Anse to get a new wife in town so soon. I still wouldn't categorize it as very moral though. One reason for this is that he was flirting with her (I assume given their long absence when he went to go get the shovels) before his wife was even in the ground. I also think that it's important to point out that we are getting a very unique perspective in that we get to see how terrible of a wife Addie (though she was in a terrible situation) was. Anse didn't know that Addie sat awake at night thinking "Why is Anse Anse?" so I am not too compelled by the argument of she was terrible so it's fair either. All in all I feel like this comes down to how much value is placed on the logical choice rather than the more morally correct one.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Addie's motivations for coming to Jefferson mean jack-skippity for justifying Anse's decision to grab a new wife. Anse had a heroic purpose for going to Jefferson, and he totally lost it, seizing the burial of his wife as an opportunity to go ahead and grab a new one. Regardless of what Addie believed, his heart wasn't quite in the right place since he didn't know what she thought.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I get that Addie not loving Anse maybe makes it okay for him to try to move on quickly, but I thought it was just creepy that he used borrowing shovels for digging a grave as a way to make advances. That's just kinda morbid, and decaying Addie wasn't even in the ground yet. It also makes Anse seem like a jerk in my opinion because he kept telling his children to respect the dead and Addie's last wishes, but all the while his ultimate move is hugely disrespectful to her. Also I'm not into this "need for a wife so someone can cut is hair" thing. Anse never goes to town anyway so why does he care how long his hair is? Getting his son's leg cut off is too big of a price to pay for domestic help. I would buy it more if he seemed in love with her but he's known her for a day...
ReplyDelete