The+Wedding+Dress

Addie was buried in her wedding dress. I realize that the Bundrens weren't exactly the richest family, but I'm sure that Addie would at least have a Sunday dress that would have been appropriate to be buried in. So why the wedding dress? What is the significance here? I can see that they would have wanted to bury her in her nicest dress. I guess they didn't realize that it was the symbol of the beginning of her unhappiness. It was also significant that they put her in the coffin backwards. It just shows that by trying to make things better, they consistently make them much worse. 1203909285

Although I agree with your analysis of the dress and the backwards part, but I think the humor in it is that it spins off tradition. It's not uncommon, and wasn't uncommon particularly then, for a woman to be buried in her wedding dress. First and foremost, it was sometimes the only nice dress they had, especially when they lived out in the country. Second, it was supposed to be a remembrance of the happiest day of her life: the day she was completed by her husband. What's funny is that this was clearly not the case in the life of Addie Bundren. I don't question why she wore the dress, nor do I think Faulkner would've wanted us to contemplate why he chose this dress over another. I think he just wanted to add meaning to something that was mainly a practical custom before, and to make a pun on tradition.1203913716

When the put her in the coffin backwards, it seems to me that they were putting a greater importance on the dress than on Addie's head, which would represent her life. They put the dress in the wider part so that it wouldn't get all messed up, but they confined her head in the narrowest part of the coffin. It could be some sort of statement about materialism, or it could symbolize a type of imprisonment. The imprisonment is probably the more likely of the two. It seems to me like they are placing a greater importance on her appearance than on her life; it seems almost disrespectful to me. But then again, it just reflects how she actually felt while she was living. Is that disrespect? 1203915106

Yes, it may "a type of imprisonment" ... if marriage is a prison. The valuing of the wedding dress over the head/face (individuality) of the person could represent the community's assertion of the power of the institution of marriage even after death ... which is even farther than traditional Christian thought goes ... "till death do us part". Is it possible that Addie's marriage continues after death ... in the form of her revenge?1203945877

The thing about the wedding dress is interesting. I always thought that Addie might not have any other nice clothes. Some form of religion was only mentioned a couple of times. The most prominent was when they had a makeshift prayer service where the adults dressed up a little. The minister was also mentioned several times and connects directly to Addie and Jewel. I think that they buried her in the dress because it was most likely the best item of clothing she ever wore in her life. The significance of the dress and the burial go hand in hand because of the part of the wedding vows that states "til death do us part." However, I don't think that it was as significant to the relationship between Addie and Anse because in her chapter she states, among other things, that she does not love Anse and that the marriage was completely rushed. Through most of her confession on their life together, she regrets the way he made her do things. As for burying Addie backwards, this could have been Anse's last feelings toward Addie as well. 1203977819

Interesting topic... I remembered this fact towards the end of the novel and especially during the last chapter, I reconsider what significence it might hold. Many of you have suggested that Addie's marriage contines after her death. I can see that in her intentions that she meant for her last wish to be revenge from the grave, but I'm not sure that she accomplished this in the way she wanted to. I mean, yes, Anse does fulfill her wish to be buried in Jefferson and we all know that the family had a heck of time getting her there. The journey was certainly not an easy one. But on the other hand, Anse comes out of this with a new wife and a new set of teeth. How much revenge does that sound like? I have to wonder if Addie would be satisfied with that. I just want to throw out a new thought-- could being buried in her wedding dress symbolized the "death" of Addie and Anse's marriage. He certainly seems to forget about her rather quickly. 1203978142

I think their marraige was dead long before Addie died. Was their marraige even alive to begin with? Addie said she was always alone, it wasn't even violated "by Anse in the nights" (172). Cash was the one to break her lonliness. She then had a child by another man and tried to repay it by having two more children. That does not sound like a marriage. In regards to her marraige she says "So I took Anse." (171) I don't think their marraige was alive to begin with and the way she was buried only reiterates that. The dress probably did mean more to Anse than the person wearing it and so he buried her backwards. He took the time to make sure the dress was ok, and then turned around and married someone new some nine days later. The woman in the dress was not respected. 1203994888

Well, Br. Tom, I never really thought about the dress symbolizing the "community's assertion of the power of the institution of marriage even after death." If this is true, (it certainly makes sense to me) then why does it only apply to Addie? The community forces her into the dress as if she is chained to Anse even when she is dead, but the day after Addie is buried, how come Anse is allowed to remarry? Is it just because he is a man? But I don't understand what is meant by "her revenge." How is Addie seeking out revenge on anybody? Her stench? 1203998989

Leave it to Anse and the bumbling Bundrens to even screw up the task of putting Addie into the coffin. Of course, they would put her in backwards and in her wedding dress because that's just the kind of thing Anse would do. Remember the whole thing about Addie wanting her revenge on Anse from beyond the grave? Well, here you go the first part of her plan backfired as Anse had Addie put in the coffin in her wedding dress, which I agree signals the beginning of her unhappiness. To me, it sort of says that her misery in life followed her into death which is sad, and then to add insult to injury she's placed in the coffin backwards which of course gets on Cash's nerves, but he doesn't say much anything in protest. I take this being placed backwards part as being a way of not only adding to Addie's misery, but making her misery obvious towards everyone else. I mean, with her placed backwards, there's more room for her dress to flare out and so this symbol of her misery becomes even more obvious and glaring. I find it sad though because I honestly believe Addie wouldn't have wanted to be buried in that wedding dress, but rather something, anything else, so long as it represented her freedom in death from the misery of her married life. It's just the start of the post-mortem abuses that Anse continues to heap on throughout the novel.1204043395

Well, she was dead when she first wore the dress and she was as dead when she last wore the dress. She has been dying since her wedding day. Obviously, she was pretty miserable and lonely most of her life. She was unhappy and didn't really enjoy life. I think by wearing her wedding dress it just goes to show that her wedding day never ended. Okay, so what's up Addie being placed backwards in the coffin? Well, at first I thought they just wanted her dress to be neat and everything, but thinking about it her placement seems so wrong. The purpose of being place in the normal direction is so that there is more room for the shoulders to comfortably sit, but if she was in the reverse direction I think she would be very cramped and uncomfortable (although she is dead). Thus, her uncomfortable life ended in an uncomfortable death. The whole casket situation sort of foreshadows the unusal situation to come. 1204066499

I agree that the wedding dress is significant, but in a different sense than you guys proposed. Addie implied that all her life she was preparing for death. Lo and behold, she's dead. Now, she is forever in death's grasp. Now, she is married to death. Death gave Addie her purpose just as a husband is supposed to give a wife happiness and a reason to be alive. Anse obviously does not fit the description. As for her being buried backwards, it first indicates the general stupidity of the Bundren family. But it also signifies how twisted her life was. Inversion, particularly of a crucifix, is a sign of mockery and opposition. By being buried backwards, Addie is shown not to have loved life and lived in the moment, but to have taken a darker path and hated life and her family. It also implies "ha ha I'm dead and you had no idea how much I hated you guys (except for Cash and Jewel)".1204082170

I think that it is very ironic that Addie was buried in her wedding dress, something that symbolizes a bond of trust that should never be broken, yet Whitefield is on his way over to tell the family the affair between Addie and him. However, she died before Whitefield got there so he decided to just not say anything. Addie also did not feel the need to apologize or even tell anyone what happened before she died. Perhaps this lack of action shows that she does not value her marriage vows and she does not care about her husband enough to even level the playing field with him. Because of this she is buried in her wedding dress, she will forever rest with her her infedelity and her choice to never come clean with those she hurt. She will forever suffer with the symbol of the vow that she broke. She had many opportunities to come clean, yet she chose not to; now she will be punished for eternity.1204149465

It is pretty comical that she is wearing the symbol of purity and happiness, both of which are tainted. But perhaps, as JHe mentioned, she is more happy to meet death then she was to live as she did. Did she know her life was to be miserable before she and Anse tied the knot? I also liked the point about it representing materialism, which brings to mind the importance Anse placed upon monetary things rather than human relationships. It also made me think about how Anse liked to put on a show, or an act, for everyone. Maybe he decided she should be buried in that dress to look like a symbol of their love, and that the last way he wished to remember Addie was with her wearing the clothing of "the happiest day of his life." He may have thought that the others would think it was sweet how he chose such symbolic attire for his late wife. There always seem to be selfish motives behind so many parts of this book, especially when Anse is involved. Am I way out of bounds, or could that be a logical conclusion? 1204174525

Well I think that this wedding dress thing is kind of wierd but has a level of meaning to it. Of course, we have learned that Addie really hated her marriage and was getting her own revenge on Anse, but now it looks like Anse may have had the last laugh in this one. For the rest of time (or I guess til the body decomposes), Addie will be enveloped in a symbol of the very thing in this world that she may have hated the most. Anse probably wasn't smart enough to plan this out and then do it to spite his dead wife: he's not that smart. Actually now that I think about it, who did have this thing put on her?1204176246

I think that being buried in her wedding dress says more about how her marriage was than it did about anything. She was imprisoned in her marriage, much like she would be in her coffin. She did not love her husband but could not escape it just like she could not escape death. Maybe she is wearing her wedding dress because she is finally able to get away from the marriage and its a way out, and something new, almost like a new start but I guess she's dead so it seems weird to say that. 1204241986

I definitely think there is significance in the way they put her in her coffin. Anse obviously valued the fact that he was married (and having children, according to Addie's chapter) over Addie personally or their children personally. Also, Anse was very concerned with adhering very strictly to Addie's wishes (to be buried in Jefferson), more than he was with respect for Addie's body. This leads me to believe that in general he was more concerned with the motions of marriage than the relationship of marriage, and probably had this theory about life in general. So when Addie was placed in her coffin, of course her head was not of importance; her wedding dress, the physical representation of Anse's status (remember how selfish he is), was more important. 1204254256

When I think of the attire that a woman wears when she is buried, two things come to mind. One, the clothes are what is most common to her, like a favrite outfit, something ordinary that suits her. Two, I think of the most important article of clothing that she owns, the piece that is most near and dear to her heart. I'm not so sure that her wedding dress was either of these. I guess you could argue that it's fits her everyday life, representing her marriage, her role as a wife and role as a mother. The whole business, however, about being placed in the coffin backwards, like with her head not right side up, but at the foot of the coffin so as to not smush the dress does not sit so well with me. That just seems wrong. The dress should not come first.Throughout the novel, there is mention of respect for the dead. In my book that would be considered disrespectful, don't you think? It's like what's really important here folks, come on! I honestly feel sorry for Addie. Maybe she was not always the perfect wife or mother, but these are the people that are supposed to care for you the most and this is how they treat her? Everybody only has one family, and like or or not, that's the family that you've got; what does "family" mean then to these country hillbilies? 1204256932

haha is it weird that I totally like the idea of the marriage between Addie and Anse continuing after her death? I mean, yes obviously, I want there to be one person that each person is supposed to be with for all of eternity, but in their case it would just make me laugh. Her revenge could live on well after she is buried. That is what is humorous to me. But anyway...the dress. When I first read that, I thought nothing of it, just because the wedding dress could have been the nicest thing she had, but it is also the symbol of one of the unhappiest days in Addie's life. Now that it is brought up, I think that it is just odd. I mean i think it is Faulkner poking fun at tradition, with the whole burial backwards thing. But the dress is something that is just a little ironic. It isnt her favorite outfit and it wasnt her happiest day. The dress symbolizes the beginning of a life with Anse that I believe Addie sometimes regrets. 1204259327