That Evening Sun

“That Evening Sun” by Faulkner was a different type of story. It certainly has some provocative themes for a story written so long ago, but then each generation thinks it is the first to think of such things. Nancy is person with some problems, not the least of which is apparently a drug and alcohol problem. Nancy’s “problems” are probably also the basis of her altercation with one church-going Mr. Stovall, the latter owing her money for services unmentioned but ultimately assumed by all. Through the narrator, the child of the family that Nancy works for, we learn that Nancy had been arrested and has unsuccessfully tried to kill herself- we also find out that Nancy is pregnant, and that her common law husband is not the father. Her husband, Jesus, leaves her, and Nancy falls apart. Her guilt and fear drive her crazy, and she begins to fear for her life. She thinks that Jesus is waiting for her, planning to kill her. The father of the family and the children walk her home one night, as Nancy is afraid of the dark. The mother is upset that the father would choose to Nancy’s safety over her. Eventually, Nancy is so upset that she winds up sleeping on a pallet on the children’s floor, talking about her death. She is afraid to go home, afraid that Jesus might be in the ditch waiting for her. The family tolerates Nancy and her drama for a while, and then they become impatient with her. They think her fears are “nonsense”, in part due to her dire predictions and also due to the fact that she is a black woman, a servant in their house. She was not seen as being worthy of their attention for very long. The wife especially was jealous and resentful of the attention shown to Nancy. The children and the family do not seem to understand that Nancy’s life is in danger from her “husband”, or that she served any purpose greater than doing their laundry and cooking. As the family left her cabin for the last time, Nancy had resigned herself to her probable fate, sitting in the dark she feared. The family was talking, joking, already dismissing what they had seen and heard as nonsense. The narrator wondered who would do their laundry, as if to say, if Nancy does die, what will we do? Their only concerns were for themselves, not for their servant.