Tag Archives: benjy compson

A plight felt keenly

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Merriam-Webster defines the word “castrate” not just in the obvious sense of the removal of the testes or ovaries, but also as “to render impotent”, “to deprive of virility (emasculate)”, or “to deprive of vitality, strength, or effectiveness”.

The word “castration” has a double meaning in Benjy’s case: it is both a physical attribute and a description of his situation. The fractured nature of his mental state leaves him unable to effectively communicate with virtually anyone. The only person he is able to develop any sort of meaningful relationship with is his sister Caddy, and this is only because Caddy is singularly compassionate towards him and actively reaches out to, defends, and takes care of him—something which is looked on with increasing distaste as Benjy gets older. Benjy is very alone and is unable to do anything about it. His castration is not only symbolic of the fact that his branch of the family tree must now also be a lonely one, but also that he is set apart from others and is not an effective member of society. In a society that puts a great deal of weight on the idea of white masculinity and superiority, Benjy is left at a distinct disadvantage.

The concept of white masculinity in the Southern society of the time already frowns upon the idea of men being fragile in any way, physical or mental, and the fact that mental support and understanding is something that Benjy clearly, desperately needs does not endear him to those around him. He is expected to be strong and self-sufficient, and not rely on others to protect or take care of him. Their Mother views Caddy’s attempts to help Benjy as her spoiling him, and insists that Caddy must stop trying to carry him. Despite Caddy’s insistence that Benjy would be better if given some help, the family still sees Benjy’s predicament as a behavioral issue as opposed to a mental health one. He is deprived of all the attributes that are considered by the society in which he is living to be important for someone of his gender to possess—and he is punished harshly for it. The few stereotypically masculine traits he does have are subsequently taken from him, and he is left even more of a social pariah than he was before.

When Caddy leaves, Benjy is put into a situation in which the one person who has always actively looked out and fought for him is gone. He is left even more open to the harsh judgment of those around him and is left fully subjected to the harsh Southern views of white masculinity and gender roles. Without the buffer of his beloved sister, he feels his castration even more keenly. Despite everything, Benjy is still painfully aware of certain aspects of his predicament; however, he is helpless to change his fate.

Benjy’s Sense of Smell

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Benjy maintains order through his senses instead of linear time. He will often make mental notes that are purely observational. He does this with most of his senses, telling the readers about visual details like colors, what textures feel like, and the sounds he hears. What is most significant in regard to understanding Benjy’s state of mind is his sense of smell. If readers keep track of what Benjy smells, his feelings can be extrapolated, hence revealing a character more complex than initially perceived. Carolyn Porter said it best when she states that, “By learning what provokes various responses in Benjy, we find out what constitutes his world as well as who and what he is” (Porter 42). Benjy uses smell almost as a form of self-reassurance that all is well and can also tell when something is wrong or different. Smell is how he establishes familiarity and comfort between himself and the other characters.

Benjy frequently describes Caddy’s scent to be that of trees. Since his feelings toward Caddy are of intense fascination and love, he refers to her smell because when she is around, he is calm and happy. For example, after Caddy says she’ll run away, Benjy reacts by crying, “Hush now.’ She said. ‘I’m not going to run away.’ So I hushed. Caddy smelled like trees in the rain” (19). Once Benjy’s stability (that being Caddy’s presence) is established, he signifies that he is once again serene by mentally acknowledging her smell.

If Caddy’s smell is disrupted, Benjy becomes extremely distressed. Benjy interprets the lack of the tree smell as her leaving or dissociating from her family. When Caddy, wearing a “shining veil” comforts Benjy, he narrates, “I couldn’t smell trees anymore and I began to cry” (40). Since she is wearing a veil, it can be inferred that this is her wedding. The veil is a symbolic separation from her family and Benjy not smelling trees anymore is his way of knowing that Caddy is soon to leave.

There is also an earlier memory in which Benjy is upset when Caddy is holding a perfume bottle. He still notes that she smells like trees after reassuring him that she didn’t run away (42). However, he is upset about the perfume bottle which Caddy figures out. After having Benjy give the perfume to Dilsey, Caddy says, “We don’t like perfume ourselves” (43). Once again, Benjy notes that she smells like trees when he has a confirmation that Caddy isn’t leaving him. He symbolically linked this to her giving away the perfume. Benjy associates many family and close characters through natural smells. For example, his father (64) and Versh (68) are described as smelling like rain. Therefore, perfume as the opposite of natural scents is a sign of Caddy’s dissociation with family.

The other characters also recognize that Benjy’s sense of smell is how he knows what is happening. Caddy understood what the perfume symbolized to him and got rid of it to calm him down. When Mr. Compson dies, Benjy knows by the smell. “A door opened and I could smell it more than ever, and a head came out. It wasn’t Father. Father was sick there” (34). Multiple times, Benjy mentally notes when a character isn’t his father, implying that he knows he is dead. One of his caretakers, T.P., also recognizes that Benjy already knew of Mr. Compson’s death, “He smell it.’ T.P said” (34). The readers know Benjy is upset in this scene even though he never says he is crying because T.P. hushes him many times.

These scenes show that while Benjy doesn’t use linear time, his sense of smell keeps him aware. Additionally, there is a scene that differs from the above where Benjy says, “The bed smelled like T.P. I liked it” (29). Usually, the readers use Benjy’s physical reactions like crying or calmness to know how he feels. His narrative is almost purely action and observation rather than internal commentary. Here, however, Benjy states that he likes that the bed smells like T.P. in the form of a mental declarative statement rather than a physical reaction. This rare occasion is prompted by a smell. Like Carolyn Porter says, looking at what provokes these reactions is the key to Benjy. In an interview, Faulker said, “You can’t feel anything for Benjy because he doesn’t feel anything” (Wasson 233). However, Benjy used the declarative statement, “I liked it” (29) which implies that he is more complex than Faulkner may have intended. By using a declarative statement, Benjy shows he is capable of feeling rather than only observing and physically reacting.