Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury: Re-inventing the Traumatic Modern Sublimity

This research validates the exceptional relationship between psychology and the sublime. It rereads the traditional conceptions of the Romantic sublime through the psychological depictions of the intricate interactions between the characters in William Faulkner’sThe Sound and the Fury. The approaches that have been applied for analysis are the aesthetic theory of the sublime besides the psychoanalytic theory. The selected novel aptly exemplifies the two associated notions: the novel as an aesthetic illustration of subjectivity, and the novel as a reflection of its psychological aspects. These theories reveal the change in the interpretation of the sublime from a Romantic view of a (subject-object) relationship to a more modern (subject-subject) association. The sublime functions are delineated not through the earlier, traditional and overwhelming natural magnificence but are demarcated by moving towards more domestic experiences. This new perspective is dependent on the recognition of social objectification and reciprocal empathy between the characters. The research focuses on how the experience of the sublime tends to be an emotional response, involving delight, fear, and, exaltation. Sublimity is at the core of a dynamic and contemporary representation of subjectivity that evaluates objectification. The research establishes how Faulkner has developed a view that reconsiders the function of the sublime in the modern world.