Vardaman Pg150-151

“You never got her. You knew she is a fish but you let her get away. You never got her. Darl. Darl. Darl.”

Vardaman is arguable the saddest character in the book. He is young enough to not completely understand the gravity of death, but old enough to know that his mother is not there anymore. Vardaman returns to his obsession with the idea that his mom is a fish. Throughout the novel, the personification of a dead cut up fish as his mom serves as his outlet to grief. This extended metaphor can be furthermore analyzed to signify the Bundren’s hopeless struggle for acceptance. They are isolated from society by the corpse’s stench as they strive to bury Addie. However, even when Addie is buried, there is emptiness—nothing has changed. When Vardaman blames Darl when he says “you let her get away”, he can be referring to his happiness. He has been forced to deal with things past his maturity (like watching Darl set the barn on fire) and only wants his family to be united. Although Addie was a heartless lady, Vardaman associates her with happiness; it is what has been missing in his life ever since her death. In addition, the repetition of Darl shows that Darl is the closest person to Vardaman. Therefore, it makes sense for Vardaman to blame Darl for his pain and the loss of his mom. Finally, the repetition of “you never got her” shows Vardaman’s immaturity. He doesn’t understand that Addie was never attainable; you can’t bring back the dead.



^^The original picture had a city in the background.

Because Vardaman compares his mom to a fish, he can also be seen as a fish. A fish is contained in a fish tank. First, because glass has a different diffraction gradient than air, the world is seen to be different, at a different angle. This is shown through the inverse reflection of the city through the glass. Vardaman is unable to fully understand what death means and that his mother is never coming back. Second, the picture shows a small fish with a city in the background. Vardaman is small and young compared to the rest of his family. His ignorance is something that isolates him and prevents him for achieving happiness. Furthermore, Addie is contained in a casket like Vardaman is contained by his maturity.