Faulkner: The Return of the Repressed

In Faulkner: The Return of the Repressed, Doreen Fowler uses what she terms a feminist psychoanalytic methodology to assess the symbolic meanings of race and gender in five of his major novels. Focusing on black and female characters, she demonstrates how these figures represent psychic doubles for Faulkner's white male protagonists. This book addresses the deep ambivalence toward women and blacks in Faulkner's fiction and offers a much-needed response to frequent allegations that Faulkner embraced white male supremacist values by demonstrating how his texts expose and critique patriarchal culture.