Caddy's Promiscuity In The Compson

Caddy not following the rules and her strong-willed spirit as a child carries over to when she grows up. For instance, young Caddy accidentally wets her dress when she plays by the water. Instead of worrying about the consequences of her wet dress, the headstrong Caddy dares to remove it to continue playing. According to Benjy, the youngest Compson brother, “Caddy [then] didn’t have anything on but her bodice and drawers” (Faulkner 12). Later on, when Caddy climbs a tree, the boys “watched the muddy bottom of her drawers” (Faulkner 26). The muddy drawers and her taking off her dress in a carefree manner foreshadows Caddy and her promiscuity when she becomes a young woman. Even as child, she already starts rebelling against the Southern values that the Compsons strive to
They expect that for a young lady like Caddy, she should be pure, graceful and a virgin up until marriage. But Caddy challenges these values. She strips any aspect of chastity away from herself as she begins to see boys. Clearly, Caddy feels that she cannot continue to sustain them when her family is no better than her. For instance, according to David Minter, “Mr. Compson is a weak, nihilistic alcoholic” while Mrs. Compson is a “cold, self-involved woman...complaining about her life” (Minter 371). Based on Minter’s blunt descriptions, the parental figures clearly do not represent a respectable couple with strong Southern values of moral strength and perseverance. Therefore, since the Compson parents clearly do not remain true to the values that extend to the honor of the family name, Caddy stubbornly breaks away from her family through her