# Whitfield — As I Lay Dying character guide

> Whitfield in As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Whitfield, Brother Whitfield

**First appearance:** 0042-whitfield

## Snapshot

A country preacher who once climbed down from his pulpit to Addie Bundren's bed, now riding toward her death with a confession he can't bring himself to make.

## Who they are

Whitfield is the rural minister who, years before the novel opens, carried on an affair with Addie Bundren and fathered Jewel — a sin he has spent a lifetime trying to pray away. When he learns Addie is dying, he sets out to confess and give her last rites, but a flooded creek and his own wavering resolve keep him circling the moment of truth. His private reckoning with guilt and grace shadows the Bundrens' journey, quietly measuring the distance between what people preach and what they do.

## In the story

### [Tull](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/tull)

Arrives late, wet and muddy, having swum his horse across the flooded ford.

### [Cora](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/cora)

Referenced as the preacher who wrestled with Addie's spirit at a camp meeting.

### [Whitfield](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/whitfield)

Whitfield struggles with guilt over his affair with Addie, prays for forgiveness, and intends to confess to Anse, but upon learning Addie is dead, he accepts God's will and offers a blessing instead.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/whitfield
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters