# Dewey Dell Bundren — As I Lay Dying character guide > Dewey Dell Bundren in As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Dewey Dell, Dell, Dewey Dell Bundren **First appearance:** 0008-dewey-dell ## Snapshot The only Bundren daughter, secretly pregnant and desperate, carrying a private terror through her mother's funeral errand. ## Who they are Dewey Dell is the family's lone daughter, a young woman who has been caring for Addie and who now moves through the journey with a secret pregnancy pressing on her every thought. She guards her ten dollars and her plans, snaps at Darl when he guesses too much, and fixates on finding a way out of her condition before it becomes visible. Her private desperation runs alongside the public grief of the funeral, giving the novel a second, quieter engine of dread. ## Relationships ### [Jewel Bundren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/jewel_bundren) _family_ Siblings with little direct warmth; Dewey Dell resents Jewel's favored status and his harshness. ### [Cash Bundren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/cash_bundren) _family_ Brother and sister; Cash is protective and steady, while Dewey Dell is preoccupied with her own secret. ### [Darl Bundren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/darl_bundren) _family_ Brother and sister; Darl's uncanny insight into Dewey Dell's pregnancy creates a tense, invasive dynamic. ### [Vernon Tull](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/vernon_tull) _social_ Neighbor and young woman; Tull is kindly but distant, while Dewey Dell is absorbed in her own crisis. ### [Darl Bundren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/darl_bundren) _family_ Brother and sister; Darl's uncanny insight into Dewey Dell's pregnancy creates a tense, invasive dynamic. ### [Jewel Bundren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/jewel_bundren) _family_ Siblings with little direct warmth; Dewey Dell resents Jewel's favored status and his harshness. ### [Jewel Bundren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/jewel_bundren) _family_ Siblings with little direct warmth; Dewey Dell resents Jewel's favored status and his harshness. ### [Cash Bundren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/cash_bundren) _family_ Brother and sister; Cash is protective and steady, while Dewey Dell is preoccupied with her own secret. ### [Cash Bundren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/cash_bundren) _family_ Brother and sister; Cash is protective and steady, while Dewey Dell is preoccupied with her own secret. ### [Vernon Tull](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/vernon_tull) _social_ Neighbor and young woman; Tull is kindly but distant, while Dewey Dell is absorbed in her own crisis. ## In the story ### [Jewel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/jewel) Seen fanning Addie, part of the group Jewel resents for their passive waiting. ### [Cora](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/cora) Keeps a constant vigil over Addie, fanning her and speaking for her, preventing others from approaching. ### [Dewey Dell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/dewey-dell) Narrates her inner conflict about her pregnancy with Lafe, feeling trapped by fate and unable to prevent what happened. ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Darl questions her about her desire for Addie to die so she can go to town; she avoids the truth. ### [Peabody](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/peabody) Fanning Addie; relays Addie's request for Anse and Peabody to leave. ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Attends Addie in her final moments, keens over her body, and later leaves to prepare supper, carrying a secret burden. ### [Vardaman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/vardaman) Dewey Dell calls out to Vardaman from the hill, trying to get his attention, but he remains unresponsive. ### [Dewey Dell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/dewey-dell) Dewey Dell is overwhelmed by her pregnancy and grief, feeling alone and unable to cry or worry. She obsesses over the man who could help her but doesn't know her need. ### [Vardaman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/vardaman) Dewey Dell is mentioned as suggesting they get bananas, a small comfort for Vardaman, but her presence is peripheral. ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Carries a basket and a newspaper-wrapped parcel, climbs into the wagon with a calm and sullen face. ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Watches the road and looks back at Darl with watchful, repudiant eyes. ### [Samson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/samson) Fiercely watches Samson, whispers urgently to Anse about his promise, and helps Rachel in the kitchen but remains silent and intense. ### [Dewey Dell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/dewey-dell) Narrates the chapter, grappling with her mother's death and the temptation to divert the journey to New Hope. ### [Tull](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/tull) Nervously watches the water and mentions Whitfield's crossing, hoping to move forward. ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Takes over Jewel's milking chores; complicit in keeping the secret. ### [Tull](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/tull) Present on the bridge with a lunch-basket and package, determined to go to town. ### [Vardaman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/vardaman) Hollers at Vardaman during the chaos, trying to control him. ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Tends to Cash, wiping vomit from his face; expresses concern for Jewel's safety in the water. ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Helps care for Cash, wipes his mouth, and assists Mrs. Armstid. ### [Armstid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/armstid) Holds the lamp during Cash's leg-setting and wipes his mouth; attends to his needs. ### [Vardaman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/vardaman) Wipes Cash's face and is told by Darl she should try to sell her cakes in Mottson. ### [Moseley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/moseley) Visits Moseley's drugstore seeking an abortifacient, claiming Lafe gave her ten dollars. She is sullen, awkward, and desperate, but Moseley refuses her request. ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Gets down from the wagon to borrow a bucket and later wipes cement from Cash's leg. ### [Vardaman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/vardaman) Mentioned as having told Vardaman about Jefferson. ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Wipes Cash's face with her dress. ### [Vardaman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/vardaman) Sleeps on the pallet with Vardaman, tells him to go to sleep, and instructs him not to tell what he saw. ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Emerges from the house and screams for Jewel as he re-enters the barn. ### [Vardaman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/vardaman) Tends to Cash and Jewel, holds the lamp during the procedure on Cash's leg, and tells Vardaman to go back to sleep. ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Insists on stopping to change into her Sunday dress despite Anse's annoyance; carries a newspaper package. ### [Cash](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/cash) Attacks Darl during his arrest; Cash notes her closeness to Darl. ### [Macgowan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/macgowan) The country woman seeking help for an unwanted pregnancy; she is desperate and vulnerable. ### [Vardaman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/vardaman) Accompanies Vardaman, enters a store alone, and emerges distressed, saying 'It ain't going to work.' ### [Darl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/darl) Dewey Dell sits on the wagon seat, eating a banana from a paper bag. ### [Dewey Dell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/dewey-dell) Dewey Dell tries to protect the money she earned from selling cakes, insisting it belongs to Cora Tull, but is overpowered by her father's demands. ### [Cash](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/cash) Present in the wagon with Vardaman, eating bananas, shocked by Anse's new wife. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/dewey_dell_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