# Addie Bundren — As I Lay Dying character guide > Addie Bundren in As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Addie, Addie Bundren, Bundren **First appearance:** 0041-addie ## Snapshot The Bundren matriarch whose dying wish to be buried among her own people in Jefferson sets her family on a hard road. ## Who they are Addie is the dying woman at the center of the journey, a proud, lonely wife who chose Anse and then found her life hollowed out by him, taking refuge in her love for Jewel and in secret deceptions. She lies watching her family from the bed, her eyes moving like a stream from a hose, and her insistence on burial in Jefferson rather than among the Bundrens reveals a will that outlasts her body. Her one chapter of interior monologue reframes everything: her account of love, duty, and the words that are just shapes to fill a lack haunts the whole novel. ## In the story ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Referenced as the intended occupant of the coffin Cash is building. ### [Cora](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/cora) Lying ill in bed, barely breathing, with her face showing signs of wasting away. ### [Jewel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/jewel) Lying ill in bed, her hands described as lifeless roots, the focus of Jewel's protective anguish. ### [Cora](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/cora) Dying woman, lonely and proud, watched by Cora with a mix of pity and judgment. ### [Dewey Dell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/dewey-dell) Lying ill; Darl predicts her death before the brothers return from their haul. ### [Anse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/anse) Addie is mentioned as being 'well and hale' until the road brought trouble, and Anse recalls her insisting she was not sick. She is the subject of Anse's promise and concern. ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) The dying mother; her death is the central subject of Darl's reflections. ### [Peabody](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/peabody) Lying near death; barely moves but insists on seeing Cash before the end. ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Dies in this chapter, her final moments marked by a silent, urgent gaze and a brief rally to look at Cash working on the coffin. ### [Vardaman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/vardaman) Addie is the deceased mother whose death Vardaman mourns. He conflates her with the fish he caught, saying 'Cooked and et. Cooked and et.' ### [Vardaman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/vardaman) Addie is the deceased mother, central to Vardaman's thoughts as he struggles to accept her death and the coffin being built. ### [Tull](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/tull) Deceased; her body is placed in the coffin, and Vardaman's holes bore into her face. ### [Vardaman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/vardaman) Vardaman's deceased mother, central to his grief. ### [Anse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/anse) Deceased; her body lies in the coffin at Darl's feet. ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Hides special food for Jewel; cries upon learning of his secret horse purchase. ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Present as a corpse in the wagon, the object of the family's journey. ### [Cora](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/cora) Subject of Cora's criticism; speaks of her sin and her belief that Jewel will save her. ### [Addie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/addie) Narrates her life story, expressing her views on sin, love, motherhood, and the inadequacy of words. ### [Whitfield](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/whitfield) Addie is mentioned as having died before Whitfield could confess; her silence about the affair is interpreted by Whitfield as divine mercy. ### [Vardaman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/vardaman) Lying in her room, speaking to God, heard through the wood by Vardaman and Darl. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/addie_bundren - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters