I+Dislike+Him

I can see why Addie wanted revenge on him. But it just figures that he seems to be the only person that is happy in the end. I mean, "Meet Mrs Bundren."! I suppose that I'm glad he was at least hangdog (which I just learned means shamefaced), but it is just like him to be proud of it. So how does Anse end up worse for the wear in the end? The three children that are his aren't in good shape: Darl is off to jail in Jackson, Dewey Dell is pregnant, and Vardaman...Well, there isn't much hope for him to have a normal childhood from what he psychologically must be going through with the death of his mother and everything going on around him. But does Anse care about his children? This can't possibly be his revenge. He just has his new wife, and he can leave Jefferson and his old wife behind.

Throughout the book, he has not changed much. He has posed as a religious man, wanted pity from everybody, and has passed any buck that has come to him. So how is this a suitable ending? And how can he be both hangdog and proud at the same time? 1203643482

I actually liked the ending. I thought the irony of Anse marrying a woman almost literally right after burying his dead wife was the perfect way to end the novel. Anse did just bury Addie in Jefferson, so Addie finally did get her revenge on Anse. But the irony is that the entire novel builds up to getting to Jefferson, but once Anse finishes his task, he forgets about it as if it were nothing, and quickly begins a new life with a new wife and a new set of teeth. Little did Addie know what her "revenge" would bring about. Anse is a bit shameful because he knows his kids will think that it's too soon to be moving on, but just like KLe said, he is also proud because that's just his character. Other opinions on the ending?1203651296

I also thought the ending was pretty perfect. Throughout the novel, we have learned to look deeper into nearly all of the characters, combining the perspectives of many different people to get a comprehensive idea of each character, his or her motivations and thought processes. Anse, on the other hand, was the one character that was never much of a puzzle. There he was, with his humped back and gummy mouth, talking big but never doing anything. He was easy to see through, never very sincere or thoughtful, and all of the other characters were in agreement, for the most part, about Anse's character. This was emphasized by his repetition throughout the novel: Addie wouldn't "begrudge" him something, he has so "suffered," and so on. I think we have something to learn from each of the characters, and from Anse I found that people are who they are--they aren't likely to change. This was emphasized by Anse's simple nature, as it seemed to me that the potential for change was a bit beyond his capacity. Addie's death didn't change Anse at all, the hardships of the journey didn't change him, and it certainly fits that Anse finds himself both new teeth and a new wife, once again getting what he thinks he needs, looking out for number one. 1203652939

All things considered, this was a suitable end to the novel. Throughout the novel, we (at least, I) saw two prominent themes: misperception and dysfunction. Cora saw Jewel as hating his mother, when he actually loved her. And then there's all those other instances that I'm not going to type out because its 10:30 at night. We all saw Anse as a relatively sincere guy, but then in the end it turns out that he wanted to go to Jefferson not to bury Addie, but to pick up his new wife. The final shock of the realization of our misperceptioin is appropriate to a novel full of it. As for dysfunctionality, we saw how messed up this family was. Addie had an affair and hated her family (another misperception), Vardaman was...Vardaman, Jewel was violent, Darl went nuts, and Cash wanted to show his mom how good a casket he was making. Anse' new relationship will make this darkly comical family even more dysfunctional, continuing the theme.1203654549

Anse most definately does not love his children. He has disregarded them mentally and physically every way he could just to pursue his own selfish desires. He sold Jewel's horse, which was practically Jewel's baby. He didn't help try to save the coffin in the river, letting only his children do the dirty work. Once Cash broke his leg, Anse made him put cement on it because Anse had already payed good money for it. This leads to the death of Cash's leg. He most definately contributed to Darl's madness and he stole Dewey Dell's money in a storm of guilt. He has never had any regard for them and has contributed to many of their demises. And as for how can this be a suitable ending? Well I have a feeling we are going to talk at length about this in class and completely trash the idea I'm about to propose, but here goes. Maybe it is a comment on the treachery and destruction that can come from selfishness and lazyness. No Anse didn't get the ax. But everyone around him did. Maybe this message works for us as the audience because we can observe the destruction better than Anse can because of his blindness.1203658187

I think that it's hard to say that that is the purpose of the ending, MKo. Even if we take the scene out of context, the purpose is not to show that Anse's laziness or selfishness ruined them. However, I agree with you in that the whole book may be making a statement about the selfishness of humanity. You point out a lot of Anse's selfish moments, but let's remember the fact that Jewel bought the horse even if it involved lying to his mother, that Dewey Dell wants to go to town to get an abortion, and that Vardaman was insistent about getting a toy train that he wanted. Cash and Darl were not as selfish, necessarily, but they had other dark moments. This makes the entire book a lesson on the drive of selfishness. Laziness, however, is a different subject. Except for Anse, I don't think any of them were necessarily lazy. Even Anse was very mentally active in his cunning actions and guilt trips, despite his lack of physical effort. This doesn't seem to make much sense. I like your idea in reference to selfishness, though.1203732849

Was the ending a message about where laziness and selfishness will get you? I think so. Today in class we discussed looking at the novel in terms of the entire family, not just character by character. Therefore, Br. Tom explained, when something goes wrong with one character--Darl's craziness, Dewey Dell's pregnancy, Jewel's odd behavior--this is a symptom of illness within the family, not just that one person. And, given that all of the kids pretty much hate each other and betray each other on a regular basis, I think it is safe to say that Anse is the heart of the family. Anse really is the purpose driven one in this book, yet given his laziness (and I definitely think he is lazy, no matter how mentally cunning he may be, he is a lazy, worthless man) and selfishness, he needs the rest of the family. I think Anse is the glue holding the family together at this point, and therefore, the symptoms that the children display are the effects of Anse's problems. Therefore, though Anse comes out of this whole thing scoff-free, the rest of the family was destroyed, and I believe that message was very much a part Faulkner's idea for this novel. 1203742758

I think Addie definitely got her revenge on Anse. Perhaps Anse doesn't look at himself very differently, but everyone else does! Not only do the rest of the characters look upon Anse as a lazy, selfish father, but so does every single one of the readers. Perhaps Addie's revenge was not only dragging her husband to Jefferson, but the telling of her story so that everyone else could understand the kind of person her husband was. I don't know if that's possible, but I don't feel like Anse got out lucky when I think of the reputation he has at the end of the book. I don't think Addie's intentions for revenge were for Anse to merely undergo a rough journey, but instead to lose all respect. As Anse traveled to Jefferson, whatever reputation he had disappeared. Anse may gain some teeth and a new wife at the end of the novel, but he has lost so much more than that. I think that Addie was successful. 1203987361

This ending served as a way to show yet again just how despicable Anse really is. If it wasn't bad enough that he never mourned the death of his wife, he went out and got a new one just days after her death. I think that it seems like Anse lost nothing in the end, but maybe that's because he had nothing to start with. He was an empty, shallow man from beginning to end, and I think that eventually his own character will be his punishment. There will come that day at the end of Anse's life when he looks back and realizes that he has made nothing of his life, and frankly that's punishment enough. What's worse than realizing that you've failed as a person? 1203995149

I think a correction to LDo's comment "it seems like Anse lost nothing in the end" is that it seems like Anse gained from the death of his wife. First of all, he got a new wife; Addie never loved him any way. Plus, he got teeth so he can eat real food again! I disagree with KGa when she stated that he has lost more than he has gained. I believe Anse was selfish and didn't even really care about his children's problems. He was always thinking about himself. I don't think he ever realized that he failed as a person either. I believe he was content and felt successful in the end of the book even though his family was crumblin to pieces and his children were in a chaotic mess. Seriously, how can you say that Anse really cared? 1204002796

I was actually not all that surprised by the ending--"Meet Mrs. Bundren"-- due to a foreshadowing in the very beginning of the novel: Tull: "Poor Anse. [Addie] kept him at work for thirty-odd years. I reckon she is tired." Kate: "And I reckon she'll be behind him for thirty more. Or if it ain't her, he'll get another one before cotton-picking." (33-34).

What Kate says about Addie being behind Anse for thirty more years could peraps be seen as her influence over him (like having him bring her to rest at Jefferson; although we know he had other motives). However, I see the couple as completley disconnected. Anse, of course, moved on pretty quickly from her death; he showed little to no emotion. Indeed, as Kate predicted, Anse found himself a wife pretty much right after the death of his wife Addie. He wasted no time on finding a woman because I think he depended on the woman to take care of him, the family, and other tasks around the house. It probably did not matter who, but Anse needed a woman around! 1204090566

I agree with IMa. I don't think anything could've been more fitting at the end of this novel than Anse marrying another woman immediately after burying his recently deceased wife. I think that Anse was made out to be a horrible person throughout the entire novel, and the ending was the perfect way to tie his whole personality together. I agree with AWr when she said that Anse probably married another woman right away because he's far too lazy to take care of all of his children. I doubt there was any other motive behind it. I fully agree with the title of this thread--I dislike him. Greatly. 1204163874

Yea I agree with LDo that the ending really is just showing what a bad person Anse is, but really he is getting the worst of it I think. He is just setting himself for the same really miserable, empty lifestyle and probably another unhappy spouse that will seek to get revenge on him as Addie did. Overall though, yea, I don't like Anse at all either for some reason this entire book I've pictured him like the bad hick from __To Kill a Mockingbird__. He just seems like one of those thoroughly trashy people.1204164014

I haven't quite decided what I feel about Anse completely. I guess I just have mixed feelings. I am uneasy with the fact that he got himself a new wife so soon, but on the other hand, maybe she will be a better wife for him. I think everyone deserves to be with someone that makes them happy. I have to give him credit for wanting to respect Addie's wishes, regardless of his intentions or motives or reasons for doing so; he did as she wanted. He wanted everyone to respect her, and of page 101 makes a point to mention them almost as one. "It's a deliberate flouting of her and of me." At least he respects what they had together enough to stick up for themselves as a couple. Although he does these honorable things, they should be expected from a husband, not really commended. At the same time, I never really got a good feeling fom Anse, like it was fake to him or something. Who knows. I guess overall, I would say that I don't really care for his character either. The whle thing made me sick and uneasy. It's a disgrace that a family would act that way and treat a member of their family that way, but then again it's just a novel, right?. 1204263255

I, like AGe, don't really know what I think about Anse. When he introduced his new wife to his kids, I felt so bad for them. They had just lost there mother and their dad already replaced her? I would have been so mad at him! I wish we could have know what their reactions were when they found out about the new marriage. As much as I hated that he married so quickly, I also felt really bad for him all throughout the story. We know that Addie wasn't happy in their marriage but Anse wasn't either and I am sure it was hard for him to know that his wife was in love with another man. As much as I don't like Anse and think that some of his actions are unfair to his family, I can't help but feeling a little bit of remorse for him as well. 1204767687