The Conclusion of the Compsons

The novel is essentially brought to a close by Faulkner in Dilsey’s quote, “I seed de beginnin, en now I sees de endin” (297). The reader is hard pressed to fully interpret what Faulkner was trying to say through Dilsey in this passage. But the story is being brought to a close as the Compson family finally reaches its demise, or so one can predict. Dilsey had been with the family the entire novel, and possibly longer than even this time frame, when the Compson’s were a respectable, aristocratic, Southern family. She sees the ending when, in this final chapter, Quentin runs away and Jason goes after her, leaving mother to die and, consequently, Benjy to be sent to Jackson. Quentin’s running away is crucial because it contradicts Jason’s father when he said to Quentin, “no compson has ever disappointed a lady” (178). Thus all the values and traditions of the respectable Compson family are abandoned and the most recent generation collectively leads the family to its downfall. As Dilsey grows old, she sees that there will be nobody to hold this family together after her, and the Compson legacy will vanish. This is what she saw in her enlightenment during Easter service at church. Faulkner thus brings closure to the novel with the death of the Compsons.

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