6 Light in August, Ch 11-12

1. Vacillation: inability to take a stand; irresolution, indecision. -Merriam-Webster Online.

Page 235: "There was no feminine vacillation, no coyness of obvious desire and intention to succumb at last."


2. Chapters eleven and twelve detail Joe Christmas and Joanna Burden's strange relationship. They go through three "stages," starting with their meeting up at night but virtually ignoring each other during the day. They then move to the second phase, where Joe stops visiting her and spends all of his time either at the mill or his cabin. Miss Burden then tells Joe her entire life story in an attempt at closeness. Joe is repulsed by Joanna, though, and nothing she tells him changes this. Joanna tells Joe that she wants a child and he objects, but later she tells him she is pregnant. She then asks him to take over her business for her. The two stop seeing each other and Miss Burden turns to religion. One night when Joe visits Miss Burden, upon her request, she pulls out a gun. She fires but the gun doesn't shoot, and the action flips to a dazed Joe flagging down a car. After the terrified drivers let him out he realizes that he has been holding the gun the entire time and that there are two bullets in it, meaning that Miss Burden intended to kill both herself and Joe.


3. Miss Burden has an interesting gender role in this section of the book. Faulkner makes a point to mention how masculine she is, in her shape, her demeanor, and her independence. She lives by herself and never locks her doors. Also, she regularly converses and receives visits from blacks, which would make most women extremely uncomfortable. She is self-sufficient and dresses in an unflattering and anti-feminine way. Although she wears dresses, they are shapeless and do nothing to promote femininity. However, she is also a feminine character, especially in her "love" for Joe. She tells him her life story one night and she repeatedly makes him play games and have intercourse in unusual places, flipping back and forth from hot to cold in her actions toward Joe. These are stereotypically "female" traits. Her cold personality makes it hard to decipher whether she is meant to be a masculine or feminine character. It is mentioned many times that she is emotionless and sexless, as noted on page 268 when it is said that Joe "looked upon a face cold, remote, and fanatic." She comes off in many parts as a robot. She seems to be going through the motions but not truly living life. I have mentioned before that I see Joanna as a sort of female Joe, and I'm wondering if this is supposed to point out the way Joe lives. He has no real regret or love; he goes through the motions and puts up with what he must.


4. My first question is whether Joe actually likes Miss Burden or not. On page 272 he seems excited to see her again and go back to their old ways, thinking "how they would both laugh over it tonight, later, afterward, when the time for quiet talking and quiet laughing came: at the whole thing, at one another, at themselves." This contrasts greatly with the hatred he seems to feel toward her.

My second question is why Joanna did not tell Joe she had stopped menstruating. Clearly she initially thought she was pregnant, but upon realizing her mistakes, why did she continue to lie?

My third question is why Miss Burden decided to kill Joe. I assume that it was out of anger and humiliation, but was there more too it? A clashing of personalities? His refusal to pray with her?