8.2 /10 1 Votes
Country United States Series Snopes trilogy Pages 452 Page count 452 Genres Novel, Fiction | 4.1/5 Goodreads Language English Publication date 1959 Originally published 1959 Preceded by The Town Publisher Random House | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback) Similar William Faulkner books, Mississippi books, Fiction books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Mansion is a novel by the American author William Faulkner, published in 1959. It is the last in a trilogy of books about the fictional Snopes family of Mississippi, following The Hamlet and The Town.
The novel charts the downfall of Flem Snopes at the hands of his relative Mink Snopes, in part aided by Flem's deaf Spanish-Civil-War-veteran daughter, Linda Snopes. It falls into three parts: 'Mink', 'Linda', and 'Flem'. Three narrators tell the story, Gavin Stevens, V.K. Ratliff, and Charles Mallison.
Themes
The Mansion deals with the South's displaced economic landscape in the first half of the twentieth century, rural populism, and racial and social tensions.
Theodore Greene has discussed the key characters of the novel and related them to his interpretation of Faulkner's general philosophy of life. Enrique García Díez has examined the change in stature of Mink in the course of the novel, and makes analogies with older literary forms and figures. Gordon Bigelow has commented on the evolution of Faulkner's own attitude towards Flem during the course of the trilogy. Paul Levine has discussed the recurring themes of love and money in the course of the trilogy.