''Requiem for a Nun'' is a work of

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

written by

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 ...

. It is a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to Faulkner's early novel ''

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

'', which introduced the characters of Temple Drake, her friend (later husband) Gowan Stevens, and Gowan's uncle Gavin Stevens. The events in ''Requiem'' are set in Faulkner's 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 ...

and

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

, in November 1937 and March 1938, eight years after the events of ''Sanctuary''. In ''Requiem'', Temple, now married with a child, must learn to deal with her violent, turbulent past as related in ''Sanctuary''. ''Requiem'', originally published in book form, was later adapted for the stage. It was also a co-source, along with ''Sanctuary'', for the 1961 film ''

''.

Form and theme

Like many of Faulkner's works, ''Requiem'' experiments with narrative technique; the book is part novel, part play. The main narrative, which is presented in dramatic form, is interspersed with prose sections recounting the history of the fictional

. Each prose section focuses on a specific institution (the courthouse, state house, and jailhouse respectively) that serves as the setting for the following dramatic section of the story. The major theme of ''Requiem'' concerns spiritual redemption for past evil deeds through suffering and the recognition of one's guilt. The word "nun" in the title refers to the character Nancy, a

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

convicted of murder, and has been understood to carry both its

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female ...

-slang meaning of a prostitute, and its contemporary meaning of a woman who sacrifices herself to save sinners.

Synopsis

Jefferson, Mississippi Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer) * Jefferson (singer) or Geoff Turton (born 1944), British s ...

, Nancy Mannigoe, a black

nursemaid A nursemaid (or nursery maid) is a mostly historical term for a female domestic worker who cares for children within a large household. The term implies that she is an assistant to an older and more experienced employee, a role usually known as ...

, who was formerly employed by Temple Drake Stevens (Mrs. Gowan Stevens), is found guilty of the murder of Temple's six-month-old daughter and sentenced to death. Eight years earlier, as described in ''Sanctuary'', Temple fell into the hands of a gang of violent bootleggers and was raped and imprisoned in a

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

through the drunken irresponsibility of her escort, Gowan Stevens. Afterwards, Gowan married Temple out of a sense of honor and responsibility, and they had two children. The Stevenses have resumed their place in the respectable, well-to-do society of the county, and appear to have a normal life, but their marriage is strained by Temple's past and the unspoken idea that on some level, she enjoyed or got some excitement from her brothel experience. Temple hired Nancy, a black drug addict and occasional prostitute, in order to have someone to talk to who understood her. Gowan's uncle Gavin Stevens, who is serving as Nancy's defense attorney, believes Temple is withholding information about her daughter's death, and confronts Temple outside the presence of her husband Gowan. Temple indicates that there were reasons why Nancy killed the baby, and that Nancy was neither mentally ill nor malicious, but avoids revealing any more information, instead going on an extended trip to California. Several months later, a week before Nancy's scheduled execution, Temple returns to Jefferson and contacts Gavin. After drugging her husband Gowan with a sleeping pill so he will not overhear the conversation, Temple confesses to Gavin that although Nancy did kill the baby, Temple herself also had a hand in the killing and wants to stop Nancy's execution. Gavin urges her to appeal directly to the Governor of Mississippi, although it may be too late to save Nancy. Unbeknownst to Temple or Gavin, Gowan has overheard the entire conversation. The day before Nancy's execution, Temple goes to the state capital,

, and confesses to the governor that prior to her baby's killing, she had planned to abandon her husband and family and run away with Pete, the younger brother of her former lover Red. As described in ''Sanctuary'', Temple as a 17-year-old virgin was brutally raped with a corncob by the impotent gangster

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Degenfelder, p. 552. Degenfelder, from

Worcester Public Schools Worcester Public Schools (WPS) is a school district serving the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest school district in the state behind Boston Public Schools Boston Public Schools (BPS) is a school dis ...

, believes that he may have gotten inspiration for the sequel from ''The Story of Temple Drake'' due to common elements between the two.

Characterization

Degenfelder stated that the author formed, in Temple, "an essentially different woman from the same base, without sensing any contradiction."Degenfelder, 553. According to the reviewer, this differs from the " flat" characterization of Temple in the novel. Though Temple, in this novel, is formally known as "Mrs. Gowan Stevens", she still calls herself by her

maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries and cultures that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" ...

. Gene D. Phillips stated that internally she still perceives herself to be "an irresponsible adolescent" and undeserving of a reputation of being a responsible wife. Phillips, Gene D. '' Fiction, Film, and Faulkner: The Art of Adaptation''.

University of Tennessee Press The University of Tennessee Press is a university press associated with the University of Tennessee. UT Press was established in 1940 by the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees. The University of Tennessee Press issues about 35 books each ...

, 2001. , 9781572331662. p
82

Reception

At the time of publication, ''Requiem'' received mixed reviews.

Malcolm Cowley Malcolm Cowley (August 24, 1898 – March 27, 1989) was an American writer, editor, historian, poet, and literary critic. His best known works include his first book of poetry, ''Blue Juniata'' (1929), and his memoir, ''Exile's Return'' ( ...

in the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...

'' wrote that ''Requiem'' was "a drama conceived on a level of moral consciousness" that made it "genuinely tragic", and "in that respect it is vastly superior to ''Sanctuary'', where the only morality was in the dim background of the author's mind." Some critics were also intrigued or impressed by ''Requiem's'' experimental form combining novel and drama. However, Faulkner's writing style was criticized as clumsy or tedious, particularly in the dramatic sections, where the action was largely narrated rather than shown. Critics also found some aspects of the story to be implausible, unreal, and out of step with contemporary attitudes, particularly the characterization of Nancy as self-sacrificing and the motivation for her killing of Temple's baby. In later decades, the book was not considered marketable by publishers and for a time was not available in a paperback or other inexpensive edition. Its ongoing significance was primarily as a sequel to Faulkner's more highly regarded novel, ''Sanctuary''.

"The past"

''Requiem for a Nun'' is the source of one of Faulkner's best-known lines, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." This line is often paraphrased, as it was in 2008 by then-Senator

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

in his speech " A More Perfect Union". In 2012, Faulkner Literary Rights LLC filed a

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...

lawsuit against

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...

over a scene in the film ''

Midnight in Paris ''Midnight in Paris'' is a 2011 fantasy comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. Set in Paris, the film follows Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), a screenwriter and aspiring novelist, who is forced to confront the shortcomings of his relationsh ...

'', in which a

time-traveling Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

character says, "The past is not dead! Actually, it's not even past. You know who said that? Faulkner. And he was right. And I met him, too. I ran into him at a dinner party." In 2013, the judge dismissed Faulkner Literary Rights LLC's claim, ruling that the use of the quote in the film was ''

de minimis ''De minimis'' is a legal doctrine by which a court refuses to consider trifling matters. The name of the doctrine is a Latin expression meaning "pertaining to minimal things" or "with trifles", normally in the terms ("The praetor does not conce ...

'' and constituted "

fair use Fair use is a Legal doctrine, doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to bal ...

Adaptations

The novel was dramatized for the theater in 1956 by

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

, entitled '' Requiem pour une nonne''. Camus also wrote the preface to the 1957 French translation of the novel by Maurice Coindreau. The English Stage Company at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

presented the play in London on November 27, 1957. The Broadway production opened at the

John Golden Theatre The John Golden Theatre, formerly the Theatre Masque and Masque Theater, is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 252 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York ...

on January 30, 1959. Both productions were directed by

Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director, producer and screenwriter, whose career spanned five decades. He was identified with the "angry young men" group of British directors and play ...

. William Faulkner adapted the play from his own novel. The

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions among Sir Tyrone Gut ...

in Minneapolis, Minnesota presented the play as part of its 1982-83 season. It was directed by

Liviu Ciulei Liviu Ciulei (; 7 July 1923 – 24 October 2011) was a Romanian theater and film director, film writer, actor, architect, educator, costume and set designer. During a career spanning over 50 years, he was described by ''Newsweek'' as "one of th ...

Cesear's Forum, a

minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

theatre company, presented the play in a 1993 Chicago production. The novel was a co-source for the 1961 film ''

''. directed by

. An earlier 1933 film version (Faulkner worked on the screenplay), was entitled

The Story of Temple Drake ''The Story of Temple Drake'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code drama film directed by Stephen Roberts (director), Stephen Roberts and starring Miriam Hopkins and Jack La Rue. It tells the story of Temple Drake, a reckless woman in ...

. A West German television film ''Requiem für eine Nonne'' was released in 1965. In 1975 a television film adaptation of ''Requiem for a Nun '' was released with Sarah Miles,

Mary Alice Mary Alice Smith (December 3, 1936 – July 27, 2022), known professionally as Mary Alice, was an American television, film, and stage actress. Alice was known for her roles as Leticia "Lettie" Bostic on the sitcom ''A Different World'' (1987� ...

and

Sam Edwards Sam George Edwards (May 26, 1915 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor. His most famous role on television was as banker Bill Anderson on ''Little House on the Prairie''.D.S.S. Form 1 Military Draft Registration Card completed on October 16, ...

. Oscar Strasnoy's opera ''Requiem'' was first produced at the

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón () is a historic opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acoustics expert Leo Beranek among leadin ...

in Buenos Aires, 2014.

References

Notes

External links

*
Requiem for a Nun
' -

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

*
Requiem for a Nun: Commentary
- ''William Faulkner on the Web'',

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

''Requiem for a Nun'' at Digital Yoknapatawpha
{{DEFAULTSORT:Requiem for a Nun 1951 American novels American novels adapted into films Novels by William Faulkner Novels set in Mississippi Random House books Sequel novels