Dewey Dell Bundren Character Analysis in As I Lay Dying

Dewey Dell is the second-to-youngest Bundren child, and the only daughter of Anse and Addie. Dewey Dell does not narrate many sections throughout the novel, though she is arguably one of the most tragic characters in the book: she is impregnated by the farmhand Lafe, who then leaves her with nothing more than ten dollars for an abortion. Later, she is cheated by a drug store clerk into having sex with him and then is given what she is sure (correctly) is fake medicine. Just pages later, Anse takes her abortion money to buy his teeth, leaving Dewy Dell with next to nothing at the end of the novel.

Dewey Dell Bundren Quotes in As I Lay Dying

The As I Lay Dying quotes below are all either spoken by Dewey Dell Bundren or refer to Dewey Dell Bundren. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Self-Interest Versus Heroic Duty Theme Icon

“And so it was because I could not help it. It was then, and then I saw Darl and he knew. He said he knew without the words like he told me that ma is going to die without words…And that’s why I can talk to him with knowing with hating because he knows.”

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 27

Explanation and Analysis:

“I heard that my mother is dead. I wish I had time to let her die. I wish I had time to wish I had.”

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 120

Explanation and Analysis:

“And I saw something Dewey Dell told me not to tell nobody. It is not about pa and it is not about Cash and it is not about Jewel and it is not about Dewey Dell and it is not about me.”

Related Characters: (speaker), ,

Related Symbols:

Page Number and Citation: 215

Explanation and Analysis:

“It’s Cash and Jewel and Vardaman and Dewey Dell…Meet Mrs. Bundren.”

Related Characters: (speaker), , , ,

Page Number and Citation: 261

Explanation and Analysis:

Dewey Dell Bundren Character Timeline in As I Lay Dying

The timeline below shows where the character Dewey Dell Bundren appears in As I Lay Dying. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Christian, someone who will die surrounded by the love and respect of her Christian family. Dewey Dell asks Darl what he wants, but Darl does not answer and instead continues to stare... (full context)

As she sits next to Addie on her deathbed, Dewey Dell reflects on the experience harvesting cotton with Lafe, a laborer on the Bundrens' farm. She... (full context)

Dewey Dell then has the realization that Darl knows about her experience with Lafe, saying, "He said... (full context)

Mortality and the Nature of Existence Theme Icon

Darl then recalls the moment when he accused Dewey Dell of wanting Addie to die just so she can get to town. In asking Dewey... (full context)

...to help Peabody up the hill. When Peabody finally gets to the house, he notices Dewey Dell standing by Addie's bed, fanning her mother who appears dead except for vague movement in... (full context)

...sooner and Anse makes empty excuses. The two men go back inside Addie's room and Dewey Dell intervenes to tell Peabody that Addie wants him to leave. Meanwhile, Cash diligently continues to... (full context)

...in Addie's room back at the Bundren home. Addie continues to call for Cash, though Dewey Dell explains that she is actually calling for Jewel. Anse explains that Darl and Jewel are... (full context)

...members. Anse tells Cash to hurry and finish the coffin and then orders the grieving Dewey Dell to make dinner. Dewey Dell leaves the room, weeping, and without acknowledging her father. Darl... (full context)

...cow and hides in the darkness of the barn. Cash walks by without acknowledging Vardaman. Dewey Dell , who left the house to look for Vardaman, calls out his name. Yet Vardaman... (full context)

Dewey Dell preoccupies herself once again with thoughts of her potential pregnancy, referring to herself as a... (full context)

As Dewey Dell enters the barn, she sees the same cow waiting to be milked. She tells it... (full context)

...Cash finishes Addie's coffin, Vardaman is disturbed that she will be nailed up in it. Dewey Dell comforts Vardaman by telling him that they will get bananas for the trip to Jefferson,... (full context)

...that it is not a good day to fish, but Vardaman stubbornly resists and swears Dewey Dell has seen a fish in the bog. (full context)

...plan is disrespectful and to leave his tools at home. Similarly, Anse gets annoyed when Dewey Dell approaches with a package that she claims to hold Cora Tull's cakes, so she can... (full context)

Darl watches Anse go toward the barn as Dewey Dell approaches carrying a basket in one arm and a package wrapped in newspaper in the... (full context)

The Bundrens end up passing the sign for New Hope. Dewey Dell repeats the name "New Hope" in her head out of apparent excitement. She also begins... (full context)

Cataloguing all of her relationships with her brothers, Dewey Dell first imagines killing Darl with the knife Vardaman used to cut up the fish he... (full context)

...why they are not going to New Hope but the family remains silent in response. Dewey Dell repeats to herself that she believes in God. (full context)

Tull feels as though he is the object of the Bundrens' scorn, noticing in particular Dewey Dell and Darl's cold stares and Cash's meticulous look, as though Tull were the coffin Cash... (full context)

...that I knew. I knew that as plain on that day as I knew about Dewey Dell on that day." (full context)

Tull helps Anse, Dewey Dell and Vardaman cross the river, offering Vardaman in particular a hand as he walks across.... (full context)

Down the river from where Tull, Anse, Dewey Dell and Vardaman crossed, Darl and Cash proceed with the wagon to the ford. Jewel remains... (full context)

...coffin securely on the wagon and to keep it from falling into the rushing water. Dewey Dell screams Vardaman's name as he watches Cash finally lose his grip. Vardaman hollers for Darl... (full context)

...tools in particular. The family and Tull attempt to wake Cash up from his unconsciousness: Dewey Dell addresses Cash by name as she lifts his head, while the others hold his tools,... (full context)

...child. To make up for her sinful behavior, Addie (and Anse) have two more children— Dewey Dell and Vardaman. Addie says: "I gave Anse Dewey Dell to negative Jewel. Then I gave... (full context)

...pain on his face, Cash denies that it bothers him. Meanwhile, Darl snidely remarks to Dewey Dell that the cakes she is carrying will "be in fine shape" by the time they... (full context)

...girl looking inside the store-window with a blank look on her face. The girl is Dewey Dell . She eventually comes into the store, carrying a package wrapped in newspaper and appearing... (full context)

Disturbed by his encounter with Dewey Dell , Moseley then learns more about the Bundrens from his colleague Albert. Apparently, Anse was... (full context)

...family and their mules make a pit-stop in front of a house, and Darl tells Dewey Dell to go inside and ask for a bucket to retrieve water. Darl then tells Dewey... (full context)

Dewey Dell returns with the water bucket and Darl begins to mix the cement to make a... (full context)

Vardaman, Darl, Jewel and Dewey Dell walk up the hill. Vardaman mentally narrates the situation in simple, declarative sentences: "Jewel came... (full context)

...two brothers return inside to check on Cash. Vardaman states that he saw something that Dewey Dell told him not to talk about—something that concerns Darl. (full context)

Dewey Dell and Vardaman go to sleep outside on the porch, from which the barn is visible.... (full context)

...barn and notices the sense of urgency and hostility in Jewel's fire-reflecting glare. Anse, Gillepsie, Dewey Dell and Vardaman emerge from inside the house afterward, to witness what is going on outside. (full context)

...After saving all of the animals, Jewel then single-handedly rescues Addie's coffin from the fire. Dewey Dell protectively calls after Jewel, while Darl marvels in the sight of his brother "enclosed in... (full context)

...turns black from the cement cast, while Jewel's back becomes red from the fire-induced burns. Dewey Dell rubs medicine on it, which then makes it also turn black. (full context)

...do something the other night when he was looking where the buzzards go and that Dewey Dell said he should keep a secret. (full context)

...cement all across his leg. Anse states that they must take him to a doctor. Dewey Dell asks to stop and despite the fuss Anse makes, he allows her to go into... (full context)

...soil. The men from the mental institution then arrive to take Darl away. Cash and Dewey Dell try their best to calm Darl, who is suffering a sustained hysteria of laughter as... (full context)

Dewey Dell enters the Jefferson pharmacy when MacGowan is on duty. Since he finds Dewey Dell to... (full context)

Dewey Dell takes Vardaman on a nighttime walk through the streets of Jefferson. She insists that they... (full context)

Dewey Dell and Vardaman eventually stop at the pharmacy, which is the only lit store on the... (full context)

Anse spots Dewey Dell 's ten dollars, initially given to her by Lafe and still left over from the... (full context)

Dewey Dell repeats again and again that the money is not hers, but Anse does not care... (full context)

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Dewey Dell Bundren Character Analysis

Dewey Dell Bundren Quotes in As I Lay Dying

Dewey Dell Bundren Character Timeline in As I Lay Dying

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