Absalom, Absalom

Absalom, Absalom! can be interpreted as a religious allegory due to the presence of recurring biblical themes and motifs throughout the narrative. The novel’s title itself is a reference to the biblical story of Absalom, which follows the rebellious son of King David who raised a revolt against his father. This parallel establishes the connection to themes of betrayal and filial conflict that arise between Thomas Sutpen, the family patriarch, and his son Henry, who abandons his family and his rights as heir to Sutpen’s Hundred.

There are additional, implicit parallels between the biblical story of Absalom and the familial lineage in Faulkner’s novel as well; Tamar is raped by her half brother Amnon (with whom she shares a father in King David). Absalom avenges his sister by ordering the murder of their half brother, to which Faulkner nods with Henry murdering Judith’s fiancé, Charles Bon, who is their half brother through Thomas Sutpen. Like King David, Thomas Sutpen is a complicated, morally ambiguous patriarch who fathers a lineage of children who inherit—and must contend with—certain complexities surrounding their family line.

Faulkner extends this biblical allegory beyond the King David/Absalom history to draw explicit parallels between Thomas Sutpen and Satan, or a fallen angel.