"Mountain Victory" is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

by American author

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...

first published in the December 3, 1932 issue of ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

''. The story is unusual among Faulkner's works in that it takes place outside of his fictional

Yoknapatawpha County Yoknapatawpha County () is a fictional Mississippi county created by the American author William Faulkner, largely based on and inspired by Lafayette County, Mississippi, and its county seat of Oxford (which Faulkner renamed "Jefferson"). Faulkne ...

. It deals with historical themes common to much of Faulkner's later work, including social and racial divisions in the South following the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Plot summary

The story opens with Major Saucier Weddel, a wounded officer in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

, and his black servant, Jubal, seeking shelter at a small cabin high in the mountains of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, formerly a

Confederate state A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

. With the Civil War at an end, Weddel believes that the time for killing is over, and wishes to return to his mansion in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. However, his occupation becomes a source of tension with the owners of the cabin, who are sympathetic toward the Union. Their oldest son, Vatch, who served in the Union army, makes no secret of his hatred for rebels like Saucier Weddel, or for black people like Jubal. When Jubal drinks too much corn liquor and passes out, Major Weddel finds himself alone, surrounded by his enemies, in a land that is part of the South and yet seems to him to be far removed from the grace and gentility of the great plantations. The story concludes in a tragic finale that underscores both the futility of war and the difficulty of social change.

Themes

;Resistance to change Despite the South's defeat in the war and his family's fallen fortunes, Major Weddel insists on carrying on the old traditions of gentility and

honor Honour ( Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as val ...

. When his slave endangers his life, he has the opportunity to flee; instead, he stays to protect his property. On the other hand, the mountain family stubbornly clings to its racism, backwardness, and, paradoxically, its form of honor as well. The father insists on protecting the guests from his son's wrath and tries several times to warn the Confederate officer to leave before it is too late. By contrast, the daughter and the younger boy Hule are both enchanted by the idea of following Weddel back to Mississippi and sharing in his lavish lifestyle. Yet they too have a sense of honor. They insist that they will work hard and be loyal if he will only take them along. Even the least sympathetic character in the story, Vatch, displays some sense of honor at the end of the story, by pacing off a hundred yards before firing his long rifle at the Major and his slave. 1932 short stories American Civil War fiction Short stories by William Faulkner Southern Gothic short stories {{1930s-story-stub