Mrs.+Bundren

I was really interested in how Anse's new wife is only introduced as Mrs. Bundren, but never as her maiden name. It was confusing to me at first because when she was first introduced, I actually thought that she was Anse's mother. Her only real purpose in the book was to serve as a new wife, so I guess her old identity didn't even matter. Even as a character, her old name doesn't matter. Anse completely takes over her identity. The strangest part about that new relationship was how Cash started to describe it. When Anse went into the house, he said that "It was like he knowed." Did Anse intend on finding a new wife? Did he know what was to come? To me, it almost seemed like Anse knew who lived in that house. Is there any possibility that Anse could have met this woman before? Perhaps Addie wasn't the only one who was unfaithful.1203778924

I was considering the same idea. Anse kept on telling himself throughout the whole book that he was going to Jefferson to "get some new teeth." Even though in the end he managed to buy his new teeth with Dewey Dell's money, it seems as if he had another idea in mind when he was going to Jefferson. Like you said, he knew where he was going to get the shovel, he knew who he was going to, so he must have known what he was going to do. I don't know if he was unfaithful to Addie, however, he must have met her earlier and thought, "well, once she's gone, i'm going to go get me a new wife so I won't be lonely!" It's a cruel thought to have, and I don't know if it was his exact thought. Perhaps he knew about Addie's unfaithfulness and knew what he wanted to do once she died. Any thoughts? 1203779492

I'm not sure if Anse really had the new Mrs. Bundren in mind when he went to Jefferson, because it seemed to me that there was one point when he was considering not going. Had it not been for Dewey Dell's instistance that he be true to Addie's last wishes, (though we now now that Dewey Dell had her own reasons for going, more urgent even than Anse's teeth) I think Anse would have taken the easy way out and just buried Addie nearby, as everyone else suggested. Therefore, I don't know that Anse had a plan involving the new Mrs. Bundren when he went, but I think that he saw an easy opportunity to replace Addie, and, as we know, Anse can be quite a charmer when it comes to getting other people to do what he wants. Therefore, he met and convinced this woman to come home with him and make his life easier. user:lsi-c

We already knew that Anse had other priorities in going to Jefferson other than burying Addie. He wanted new teeth. This seemed to be his main concern. With this in mind, it doesn't seem unlikely that he was also interested in finding a new wife, but was not as set on it as he was in getting new teeth. He didn't really seem to care about Addie's death and I think that this is reflected in how he waited so long to bury her. Anse really wasn't upset by her death so it didn't take him very long to move on to a new woman. I don't think that Anse had met the new Mrs. Bundren before, but there is also no reason to eliminate this possibility. My opinion is that he didn't know her before because he doesn't take his relationships very seriously and they don't appear to be very deep. It wouldn't surprise me if he just decided to marry her right after he met her. Also keep in mind the way that Anse and Addie met. Their courtship was very brief before they married this just reflected how he doesn’t take his relationships seriously. 1203782953

I do think that it is possible that Anse met this woman before the trip to Jefferson. As said before, he had many different reasons besides Addie as to why he made the journey. It doesn't seem to me that a woman would be willing to marry a man after knowing him for only one day, no matter how uneducated she may be. I think he knew this woman before and came to Jefferson for a new wife and teeth. It's funny that he first got new teeth and then obtained a new wife. I don't think that Addie's unfaithfulness was an issue for Anse. Meaning that I don't think her affair was the reason he wanted a new wife. He is selfish and needs the support of a woman especially because he lives on a farm. Anse needs someone to take care of the house and keep him happy. At first I was shocked by his actions, but then again he is not intelligent and has never loved anyone in his life. 1203870954

I think it's safe to assume that he had intentions of marrying her well before they arrived in Jefferson. Anse has done nothing, considering his relationships and personality, to allow us to give him the benefit of the doubt. His selfish personality is a big factor in this decision. Another support I see though, is how almost the entire family is traveling to Jefferson with a personal goal in mind. Except for Darl and Jewel, the Bundrens all have different motivations for taking this trip. It makes sense that Anse, the most selfish, always had this thought of marriage in mind. Do you think he used the new set of teeth as a coverup for this possible affair? I think he definately wanted new teeth and was going to take advantage of this opportunity, but I don't think this was the most important part of this trip. 1203881599

When I first read about the new Mrs. Bundren, I was furious. What kind of guy would do that to his children who just lost their mother? (Obviously an Anse-kind of guy) But after we started analyzing the situation in class, I recognized why he might have hooked up with her in the end. Constantly throughout the book, he mentioned that he needed to get to Jefferson to bury Addie. After finishing the book, I considered if he had just gone there to meet this woman that he already knew. At that point, the joke would no longer be on Anse, but on Addie. He kept saying that it was her wish to be buried there, which was supposed to be the punishment for Anse after she died. But because he got something good out of all of this, the plan backfired on Addie. Not only did Anse get the new set of teeth, he got a new girl. Half of me wishes that the book wouldn't have stopped at that point. I wanted to read about the childrens' reactions to their "new" mother. True, it was a good ending, but I still longed for more after that last sentence. What would all of them, minus Darl, have thought so close to losing their original mother?1203900269

Well, well, well, it looks like the guy I think we all under-estimated turned out to be such a crafty manipulator that none of us could even quite grasp what he was up to until the very end of the novel. I think that reading the end, we finally see Anse's true colors and see that he took advantage of Addie wanting to be buried in Jefferson as a way for him to replace her with a new woman from Jefferson. Like someone else mentioned, it's an odd irony how Addie wanted to be buried in Jefferson to get back at Anse, but it's Anse who gets the last laugh with the new teeth and new wife. Basically, he conned his whole family into making this voyage with him to Jefferson so that he could get a new wife while his children continue to labor. He is truly a horribly masterful manipulator who took advantage of every single person around him.

If anything, he is a mooch and a liar. I use the word mooch because of how he mentions when they get to Jefferson that instead of buying a shovel they find some good Christians who will lend one to them; he is constantly looking to use others basically. He used his kids so that he could get this new wife just like he used his kids every day on the farm by having them work while he lazily refuses to do anything of much use whatsoever. He plays the role of an aloof puppetmaster who is calling all the shots without anyone really noticing his power. I mean he even allowed Darl to get shipped off to Jackson without batting an eyelash because he was more focused on his new teeth, new clothes, and new wife; he cared about no one but himself and somehow swindled a new wife out of all the debacles in this novel.1203907136

Ok, I really don't get what these women see in Anse. How in the world could Anse have gotten two women to marry him?? I realize that toothless southern gentlemen with their hair all slicked back can be pretty hard to resist, but how could anybody fall for a soul-less, lazy, manipulator? The only thing I can come up with is that people didn't marry for love in these days, they married for security. But was Anse really as good as it got for both Mrs. Bundrens? I would think that with a little bit of patience, Addie could have lived a happier life, and the new Mrs. Bundren wouldn't have to have the rest of her life doomed. Maybe he put on an act for them to make him seem like a man much better than he really is; he is the great manipulator after all. 1203995667

I think that it's hard for us to assume that Anse had intended to marry that particular woman before they had arrived at Jefferson. I'm convinced that he intended to marry //someone//, if only because he's lazy and needed someone to take care of things up at the house for him. From what it seems, though, Anse hasn't left the farm to go into town in ages. I doubt there was any sort of affair or anything like that going on.

From the best I could tell, he just happened to stop at that woman's house, and when he realized that the woman was single, he stuck around and wooed her. It was written from a retrospective point, so it makes it seem more intentional than it was, but I think the only thing Anse had going through his head is that he wanted to marry. He didn't know or care who his bride was, but he'd have one somehow.1204074588

Well, right now we're doing exactly what we're 'not supposed to be doing', that is, speculating on things in the book for which we don't have enough information. Yeah, she serves little purpose other than being a new wife, but as we talked about in class, she might also be a symbol of new life and joy in the family, now that Anse has a wife which he's not completely disagreeable to. Was he unfaithful? When I first read it, I thought that would not be too bizarre, after all, he's such a cold person already, it wouldn't seem outrageous to say he'd sinned badly for his pleasure on top of it all. But I don't think that there's any evidence to support this at all. We hear that the house had music in it which stopped when he came in, and if we take the music to mean just about anything, joy and life being two things which we considered in class, then I do suppose that means that she was surprised and stopped when he came in because she'd never met him before and was taken aback, or else his entrance just sucked the life out of her, either way, she had something which changed when he came in, so I think they had not previously encountered each other... Still, it's sudden and just downright strange to marry 'before the funeral food has been finished.' 1204164582