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Situational Irony
Definition of Soliloquy
A soliloquy is a literary device, most often found in dramas, in which a character speaks to him or herself, relating his or her innermost thoughts and feelings as if... read full definition
A soliloquy is a literary device, most often found in dramas, in which a character speaks to him or herself, relating his or her innermost... read full definition
A soliloquy is a literary device, most often found in dramas, in which a character speaks to him or herself... read full definition
58. Dewey Dell
Explanation and Analysis—Anse's Selfish Delusion:
In Chapter 58, Anse gives a soliloquy after discovering Dewey Dell’s money:
It’s just a loan. God knows, I hate for my blooden children to reproach me. But I give them what was mine without stint. Cheerful I give them, without stint. And now they deny me. Addie. It was lucky for you you died, Addie.
The use of a soliloquy in a novel is arresting, and this moment in particular is very important for showing how selfish Anse can be. Instead of being concerned for his daughter—how she might have gotten such a sum of money, why she was being cagey about its origin, and so on—he delves into self-pit, and invokes the memory of Addie to make Dewey Dell feel guilty. The strangeness of a soliloquy in the novel reflects the strangeness of Anse's choice to act selfishly as a father as well as his tenuous grasp on social and cultural norms. All around, the soliloquy reads as inappropriate.
Dewey Dell’s inability to obtain an abortion is tragic on its own, but to have her chances dashed completely by her own father would have been terribly painful for the girl. The use of a soliloquy calls to mind tragic dramas, and further emphasizes Dewey Dell's despair.
Related Themes:
