Anse Bundren

Anse Bundren is portrayed as an ignorant and impoverished white man. Upon the death of his wife, Addie, he resolves to transport her body to Jefferson, honoring a promise he made. This journey, undertaken with his sons in a dilapidated wagon, involves crossing a flooded river that has swept away local bridges. While Anse claims his sole purpose is to fulfill his promise, his true motives surface upon reaching Jefferson: he seeks to acquire a set of false teeth and marry a woman described as "duck-shaped," much to his children's astonishment. Anse's selfishness and laziness are further highlighted by his neglect of the family's needs during the arduous trip.

Addie Bundren

Addie Bundren, Anse's overworked and dying wife, desires to see her coffin completed before her death. Her opinion of Anse is tainted by her belief that he is a man of empty words and that words themselves are futile. Feeling alienated from her husband and children, she attempts to overcome the isolation but remains in despair, finding no purpose in her strenuous life. Addie perceives sexual relations as a violation, contrasting with Anse's view of them as expressions of love. Her philosophy is shaped by her father's assertion: "The reason for living was to get ready to stay dead a long time." A schoolteacher by background, Addie is a proud, bitter woman who insisted on being buried in her family plot in Jefferson.

Darl Bundren

Darl Bundren, the peculiar son of Addie and Anse, is regarded by his family as mentally deficient. Contrary to this perception, he seems to possess an uncanny insight, almost like second sight. He understands the true motivations behind the family's trip to Jefferson and attempts to set fire to the barn containing his mother's body, seeing it as a form of purification. This act leads to his family declaring him insane, resulting in his confinement to an asylum in Jackson. As the main narrator of the story, Darl provides a unique perspective on the events and characters.

Jewel Bundren

Jewel Bundren is the illegitimate son of Addie and Preacher Whitfield, making him Addie's favorite child. Known for his violent nature, Jewel harbors a deep affection solely for his horse, which he acquires through long hours of nocturnal labor. Despite this attachment, Jewel allows Anse to trade the horse for a much-needed team of mules. Throughout the challenging journey to Jefferson, Jewel is fiercely dedicated, saving his mother's body from Darl's attempt to burn it. His actions underscore his complex relationship with his family and his determination to honor his mother's memory.

Cash Bundren

Cash Bundren, the first-born son of Anse and Addie, is a skilled carpenter. He diligently constructs his mother's coffin outside her window, showing her each board before nailing it in place. Cash's aversion to shoddy work reflects his meticulous nature. During the journey to Jefferson, he prioritizes saving his valuable tools when the wagon overturns in the river. Despite suffering a broken leg, Cash stoically endures his pain, only to have Anse crudely set the injury with cement, exacerbating his condition. His dedication to craftsmanship and stoicism in adversity mark him as a character of resilience and quiet strength.

Vardaman Bundren

Vardaman Bundren, the youngest son of Anse and Addie, is characterized by his repetitive assertion "My mother is a fish." This statement reflects his struggle to comprehend his mother's death and his attempt to make sense of his loss through a child's logic.

Dewey Dell Bundren

Dewey Dell Bundren, the seventeen-year-old daughter of Anse, is abruptly forced into maturity by her pregnancy. Her primary motivation for traveling to Jefferson is to procure drugs that might induce a miscarriage. This journey highlights her desperation and vulnerability, as she encounters deceitful individuals like Skeet MacGowan, a drugstore clerk who exploits her situation for his own gain.

Dr. Peabody

Dr. Peabody, a seasoned seventy-year-old country doctor, tends to Addie during her final days. His intervention is limited due to Anse summoning him too late. As an objective observer, he comments on the Bundren family's pride, ignorance, and slovenly behavior. In Jefferson, Dr. Peabody attempts to rectify the damage inflicted on Cash's leg by the misguided use of cement.

Vernon Tull

Vernon Tull is the Bundrens' supportive neighbor, offering assistance during their grim journey. A successful farmer, Tull aids Cash in constructing the coffin and tries to guide the family across the treacherous river. His empathy extends to Vardaman, possibly driven by his own lack of a son. Tull's practical nature and dedication to community emphasize his role as a stabilizing force in the narrative.

Cora Tull

Cora Tull, Vernon's devout wife, frequently offers her religious perspective on the events surrounding the Bundren family. Despite her self-righteous and often misguided judgments, her fundamentalist beliefs compel her to encourage Addie to repent. Cora's narration provides a contrast to other perspectives in the story, highlighting her pious yet flawed viewpoint.

Preacher Whitfield

Preacher Whitfield, Addie's former lover, is the biological father of Jewel. Despite his past affair, he has never confessed to the Bundren family. On the night of Addie's death, he considers revealing the affair but refrains, interpreting her death as divine absolution of his sin. Whitfield's hypocrisy and moral ambiguity are central to his character.

Armstid

Armstid, a local farmer, provides refuge to the Bundren family after their river crossing mishap. He makes cryptic remarks about Cash's injury, Anse's mule trade, and the decaying smell from Addie's casket. His observations convey a silent critique of the family's struggles and choices.

Mrs. Bundren

Mrs. Bundren, Anse's second wife, is described as a "duck-shaped" woman with "hardlooking pop eyes." After Anse's trip to Jefferson, he successfully woos and marries her, introducing her as a surprise to his children after burying Addie.

Gillespie

Gillespie, a farmer, offers the Bundrens a place to stay during their journey. Darl's decision to set fire to Gillespie's barn as an attempt to end the humiliating journey highlights the tension and desperation surrounding the family.

Skeet MacGowan

Skeet MacGowan, a cunning drugstore clerk in Jefferson, deceives Dewey Dell by providing counterfeit abortion pills. He manipulates her vulnerability, ultimately seducing her under the guise of medical assistance. His actions underscore the exploitation Dewey Dell faces in her quest for autonomy.

Moseley

Moseley, the owner of a drugstore in Mottson, is a man of religious principles. He refuses to provide Dewey Dell with abortion drugs and condemns her attempt to procure them, reflecting his staunch moral stance.

Samson

Samson, another farmer, offers the Bundren family shelter before their river crossing attempt. He disapproves of their decision to press on, rejecting his hospitality, and critically observes their journey's grim realities.

Rachel Samson

Rachel Samson, Samson's wife, is appalled by the handling of Addie's body. Her outrage is a commentary on the broader treatment of women, encapsulating the gender dynamics at play within the narrative.

Much like the Compsons in The Sound and the Fury or the Sutpens in Absalom, Absalom, As I Lay Dying offers a family portrait of the Bundrens. Unlike the aristocratic, multigenerational families in the other novels, the Bundrens are impoverished hill farmers, and readers may not immediately realize that the Bundren family spans three generations. Addie Bundren is the wife of the poor hill farmer Anse Bundren and the mother of his five children. Despite having only one monologue, she emerges as the novel's most compelling character. Addie is a dominant woman who "takes" both her husband and her lover, with both men responding to her needs and desires. In contrast to her neighbor Cora, who aspires to earn a place in heaven, Addie values desire over sin and willpower over goodness. Rather than offering unconditional maternal love, Addie's love is conditional. She regards her sons Cash and Jewel as her own children, not Anse's. Her deep passion for her illegitimate son Jewel far surpasses any feelings she had for his father, Reverend Whitfield. She refuses to acknowledge her son Darl and views Vardaman and Dewey Dell as replacements for Anse after she emotionally usurps Cash and Jewel. Prioritizing action over words, Addie instills whatever backbone her children possess.

Anse Bundren, who owns a modest Mississippi farm, is adept at appropriating the money and labor of others. Anse is comically inept: he holds the very saw Vernon and Cash are searching for, wrinkles a blanket he tries to smooth, and smothers a lantern he attempts to shield from the rain. Yet, he is ultimately vicious in his selfishness. His clumsiness compels others to take over his tasks. It is evident to the reader that his laziness has exhausted Addie over their thirty-year marriage. Comfortable with taking what belongs to others, Anse doesn't hesitate to take Cash's money, Jewel's horse, or the money Dewey Dell receives from Lafe for her abortion. Although Addie manipulates him into promising to bury her in Jefferson, her birthplace far from their farm, Anse exploits this family emergency to justify taking Dewey Dell's money. However, it becomes clear that the trip to Jefferson serves additional purposes for Anse: acquiring new false teeth and finding a new wife. While he acknowledges the necessity of addressing family crises, he believes that only others should contribute—Anse himself gives nothing.

Cash, the eldest son of Addie and Anse Bundren, demonstrates his affection for his mother through his actions rather than words. His early monologues are dominated by his thoughts as a carpenter, and he expresses his love by meticulously crafting Addie's coffin. This act of love is something Addie both comprehends and values. Throughout the arduous journey to Jefferson, Cash's stoic endurance of his broken leg is both heroic and understatedly comedic. Despite being a builder and protector of property, Cash understands why his brother Darl sets fire to the barn where Addie's decaying coffin lies. He refrains from judging the antics of Anse or the rest of the family, and his empathy for Darl fosters a sense of sympathy for Cash among readers.

Darl, the second son and unwanted by Addie, longs for his mother’s recognition. This longing shapes his character, fuels his jealousy of Jewel, and enhances his keen perceptiveness, as he lacks a strong sense of self that might hinder his ability to understand others. Darl's monologues are filled with a desperate need for acknowledgment, reflected when he says, "I dont know what I am. I dont know if I am or not." His deep insight into others, particularly Dewey Dell and Jewel, verges on an invasive intrusion, almost violating their identities. This behavior explains why characters like Dewey Dell and Jewel harbor violent impulses towards him. Despite his actions, Cash and Vardaman miss Darl when he is forcibly taken to an insane asylum in Jackson. Vardaman’s longing is palpable as he cries, "Darl. Darl is my brother. Darl. Darl."

Jewel, the third Bundren son and the illegitimate child of Addie and Reverend Whitfield, also believes in action, though he is not given to reflection. Unaware that Whitfield is his biological father, Jewel remains isolated from the rest of the Bundrens due to Addie's love. His solitary monologue reveals his sense of isolation as he envisions himself and Addie on a high hill, rolling rocks down at everyone else. Jewel's passionate love for Addie drives him, and he exhausts himself to earn money for a wild horse he loves just as fervently. Heroic undertakings define Jewel’s essence. His acts of rescuing Addie's corpse and coffin from the flooded river or the burning barn are quintessential Jewel actions. If he pauses to think, he becomes ensnared in his own conflicting emotions.

Dewey Dell, the sole daughter of Anse and Addie Bundren, faces isolation due to her pregnancy, which only Darl knows about. When she desperately needs her mother, Addie passes away. Dewey Dell becomes consumed by the thought of obtaining an abortion or medication to terminate the pregnancy, aiming to preserve her identity rather than assuming the role of a mother. Abandoned by her lover Lafe and deprived of affection almost as much as Darl, Dewey Dell is depicted as an eyeless body—a girl ensnared and defined by her physicality. Life's experiences seem to rush past her, leaving her struggling to find her place.

Vardaman, the youngest Bundren child, is notably small, with characters like Vernon and Cora Tull commenting on his size. He might be around five or six years old—old enough to wield an axe and catch a fish as big as himself, yet young enough to grapple with the concept of death. Unable to accept his mother's passing, Vardaman concocts a vivid analogy; having caught and cleaned a fish around the time of her death, he declares, "My mother is a fish." Despite understanding that a dead fish doesn't require oxygen, Vardaman believes his mother needs to breathe, leading him to drill holes in her coffin. As the fish analogy weakens, Faulkner emphasizes Vardaman's denial of Addie's death through the use of state-of-being verbs. Vardaman speculates that an imposter has replaced his mother, insisting, "was not my mother.... I saw when it did not be her." When Darl is committed to an asylum, Vardaman's inability to accept Darl's absence creates a similar dilemma. His main concern is his position within the family, and the loss of Addie and Darl, along with the presence of Anse's new wife, a woman shaped like a duck, destabilizes Vardaman's understanding of his world.

While many characters, like Samson and Armstid, exist primarily to offer external perspectives on the Bundrens, they also pass judgment on the family's actions, especially Anse's laziness and selfishness. Samson, a farmer, narrates the journey before the river crossing, and Armstid continues the narration afterward. More significant roles are played by Doctor Peabody and the Bundrens' neighbors, Cora and Vernon Tull. These three have known the Bundrens for a long time. As a doctor, Peabody is used to giving advice on how people should live and does not hesitate to criticize any of the Bundrens. Cora, who uses religion to assert dominance over others, views Addie as both a threat to her values and a rival. Addie has managed to give a worthless husband sons, whereas Cora has only given her good husband, Vernon, daughters. Like Anse Bundren, Vernon Tull is also a hill farmer. Tull's good-natured practicality serves as a benchmark for readers to gauge the Bundrens' social decline.

Other characters, such as the Mottson druggist Moseley and the Jefferson drugstore clerk MacGowan, are included to narrate the story of Dewey Dell and her attempt to terminate her pregnancy. Moseley self-righteously refuses the ten dollars Dewey Dell offers for abortion medication, while MacGowan takes advantage of her, taking the money and seducing her. Reverend Whitfield plays a more pivotal role, as he is Addie's lover when Jewel is conceived. Desperate to reach Addie's home before she dies, Whitfield intends to confess his sin to Anse before Addie reveals their affair. However, upon learning from one of the Tulls' daughters that Addie has passed away without disclosing their relationship, the hypocritical Whitfield decides he no longer needs to confess.