The Hamlet - William Faulkner

Summary

"The Hamlet" is the first novel in William Faulkner's Snopes trilogy, chronicling the rise of the unscrupulous Flem Snopes in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi. The story details Flem's gradual infiltration and eventual takeover of the small rural community of Frenchman's Bend, primarily through shrewd, often dishonest, business dealings and manipulative social maneuvering. It follows his transformation from a poor, silent tenant farmer to a seemingly respectable, albeit ruthless, entrepreneur. The novel introduces a wide array of eccentric characters, including the shrewd but ultimately outmaneuvered Will Varner, the shrewd observer V.K. Ratliff, and the tragically naive Henry Armstid. Central plot points include Flem's calculated marriage to the pregnant Eula Varner, the bizarre obsession of Ike Snopes with a cow, and the chaotic auction of wild Texas ponies which leaves several villagers ruined or injured. Through these intertwined narratives, Faulkner explores themes of greed, ambition, exploitation, and the clash between traditional agrarian values and the encroaching forces of modern, amoral capitalism.

Book Sections

Section 1: Flem

The novel opens by introducing the Varner family and the isolated community of Frenchman's Bend. Jody Varner, son of the local patriarch Will Varner, manages the family store and frets over the arrival of a new tenant family, the Snopeses. Flem Snopes, a taciturn and inscrutable man, quickly establishes himself as a calculating figure. He begins working in Jody's store, displaying an unnerving quiet efficiency and an almost inhuman lack of emotion. Jody becomes increasingly wary, sensing Flem's ambition and potential for trouble, yet feels powerless to stop his infiltration. Other Snopeses begin to arrive, further unsettling the community.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Flem Snopes	Taciturn, inscrutable, ambitious, cold, calculating, devoid of conventional morality or emotion, ruthless.	Accumulate wealth and power; rise in social status; exploit opportunities and people for personal gain; control his environment.
Will Varner	Patriarch of Frenchman's Bend, landowner, local doctor, shrewd, intelligent, pragmatic, somewhat cynical, but ultimately complacent.	Maintain his established order and control over his land and family; preserve his legacy and position in the community; observe and comment on the human condition.
Jody Varner	Will's son, manager of the family store, nervous, easily intimidated, somewhat naive, concerned with appearances and his father's approval.	Avoid conflict; maintain his position and status; protect the family's assets; avoid incurring his father's wrath; secure his place in the community.
V.K. Ratliff	Traveling sewing machine salesman, shrewd observer of human nature, philosophical, witty, often attempts to advise or warn others, but ultimately respects individual autonomy.	Understand people and their motivations; engage in shrewd but fair business dealings; offer commentary on the events in Frenchman's Bend; occasionally intervene for the good, but mostly observe the unfolding drama.
Lump Snopes	Flem's cousin, proprietor of the local Post Office and an informal barber, lazy, gossipy, somewhat depraved.	Benefit from Flem's rise; engage in petty schemes; acquire money with minimal effort; participate in the community's gossip and minor depravities.
I.O. Snopes	One of Flem's cousins, a schoolteacher, known for his ability to write bad checks and use his pupils to forge signatures.	Exploit his position for personal gain; avoid honest work; benefit from Flem's growing influence.

Section 2: Eula

This section shifts focus to Eula Varner, Will Varner's exceptionally beautiful and sensuous daughter. From a young age, Eula possesses an almost mythical allure that captivates every man in the community. Her natural, earthy beauty is portrayed as a force of nature, almost indifferent to human societal norms. As she matures, she becomes a magnet for young men, leading to numerous suitors and considerable gossip. Ultimately, she becomes pregnant out of wedlock by a young man named McCarron, who then flees the county. Flem Snopes, recognizing an opportunity to cement his position and acquire a stake in the Varner estate, proposes marriage to the pregnant Eula. Jody Varner, desperate to avoid scandal and protect the family's reputation, agrees to the arrangement. The marriage is a purely transactional one, with Flem gaining social standing and property, and Eula being provided a husband and a cover for her child, though Flem is entirely indifferent to her and the child.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Eula Varner	Incredibly beautiful, sensuous, fertile, passive, embodies an almost mythical or elemental female force, largely indifferent to societal expectations.	Largely passive, driven by natural instincts and desires; seeks comfort and companionship; accepts her fate without protest, including her marriage to Flem.
McCarron	Young man, one of Eula's many suitors, responsible for her pregnancy.	Pursuit of Eula due to her beauty; flees to avoid responsibility for the pregnancy.
Mink Snopes	Another cousin of Flem, a tenant farmer, fiercely independent, proud, vengeful, often violent, lives in poverty.	Protect his meager possessions and honor; seek revenge against anyone who wrongs him; survive in a harsh world.

Section 3: The Long Summer

This section takes a significant detour to focus on the character of Ike Snopes, another cousin of Flem. Ike is portrayed as mentally disabled, a gentle and innocent figure who lives a simple, animalistic existence. The narrative details his bizarre and profound infatuation with a cow. Ike forms an intense, innocent, and pure bond with the animal, showering it with affection and protection. The community, led by Ratliff and other observers, reacts with a mixture of amusement, discomfort, and pity. Some characters attempt to exploit Ike's vulnerability or use his situation for their own amusement, while others, like Ratliff, try to protect him. The story of Ike and the cow is deeply symbolic, exploring themes of innocence, perversion, and the natural world, contrasting sharply with the calculating human interactions of Flem Snopes. The cow is eventually sold, leading to Ike's heartbreak and subsequent attempts to recover his beloved animal.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Ike Snopes	Mentally disabled, gentle, innocent, lives largely by instinct, deeply affectionate towards animals, easily manipulated.	Simple desires: affection, comfort, companionship with the cow; driven by pure, animalistic love and instinct rather than reason or societal norms.
Houston	A local farmer, known for his prize-winning bull, becomes entangled in the community's observation and eventual sale of Ike's cow.	Maintain his farm and livestock; engage in the ordinary business of rural life; initially an observer, then becomes involved through the sale of the cow. (Note: He will have a more direct conflict in the trilogy later).

Section 4: The Peasants

The final section brings together many of the novel's themes and characters, culminating in a series of events that solidify Flem Snopes's dominance. The most dramatic episode involves a herd of wild Texas ponies brought into Frenchman's Bend by a horse trader. Flem Snopes orchestrates a chaotic auction of these wild, untamed horses, exploiting the desperate hopes and greed of the local farmers, particularly Henry Armstid and Laban. The auction descends into madness, with the horses breaking loose, causing injury and destruction. Flem, of course, profits from the entire spectacle, having cleverly arranged the sale to his advantage, leaving the farmers with broken horses and shattered dreams.

The novel concludes with Flem Snopes's most significant acquisition: the Old Frenchman place. This dilapidated, supposedly haunted antebellum mansion has long been a source of fascination and fear in the community, rumored to contain buried treasure. Flem, through a series of subtle manipulations and a calculated feigned interest, manages to acquire the property from Will Varner for next to nothing, consolidating his land ownership and further cementing his power. The transaction is a final testament to Flem's ruthless efficiency and the community's inability to counter his machinations, leaving Henry Armstid to continue digging fruitlessly for treasure on the property, ruined and deluded.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Henry Armstid	Poor farmer, hardworking but naive, easily swayed by hope and greed, desperate for a better life.	Improve his financial situation; acquire land and property; believes in the promise of easy wealth (e.g., wild horses, buried treasure); driven by a desperate, often misguided, hope for prosperity.
Laban	Another local farmer, involved in the horse trading.	Acquire horses for his farm; participate in community events and transactions.
Ratcliffe	(Same as V.K. Ratliff, often referred to by his last name.)	Continue observing and commenting on the human condition; sometimes attempts to prevent the exploitation of others, but ultimately respects individual choices and the inevitability of Flem's rise.
Eck Snopes	One of Flem's more morally upright cousins, simple-minded, often tries to do the right thing despite being a Snopes.	Act in good faith; help others; display a rudimentary sense of ethics, often standing in contrast to the other Snopeses.

Literary Genre: Southern Gothic, Modernist, Satirical, Social Realism. It's also a bildungsroman in a sense, tracing Flem Snopes's rise, and a character study of the community of Frenchman's Bend.

Author Facts:

• William Faulkner (1897-1962): One of the most important writers in American literature, known for his complex narratives and deep exploration of the American South.
• Nobel Prize Winner: Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949 for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel.
• Yoknapatawpha County: Faulkner created the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi (based on Lafayette County, Mississippi), as the setting for most of his novels and short stories. This allows for an intricate and interconnected literary world.
• Experimental Style: He is known for his experimental narrative techniques, including stream of consciousness, multiple narrators, fractured timelines, and complex sentence structures.
• Themes: His work often explores themes of history, race, family, the decline of the Old South, moral decay, and the human condition.

Morale:
The primary moral of "The Hamlet" is a stark warning about the destructive nature of unchecked ambition, greed, and amoral opportunism. It illustrates how traditional communities and their values can be exploited and corrupted by individuals who prioritize personal gain above all else. The novel suggests that innocence and honesty are vulnerable to the ruthless forces of capitalism and manipulation. It also highlights the cyclical nature of human folly and the enduring power of observation and storytelling (through Ratliff) even in the face of inevitable social change and exploitation.

Curiosities:

• Snopes Trilogy: "The Hamlet" is the first novel in Faulkner's "Snopes trilogy," followed by "The Town" (1957) and "The Mansion" (1959), which continue to trace Flem Snopes's rise and fall, and the impact of the Snopes clan on Jefferson, the county seat.
• Short Story Origins: Many of the episodes and characters in "The Hamlet" initially appeared as independent short stories published by Faulkner in various magazines during the 1930s. He later revised and wove them together to form the novel.
• Faulkner's Humor: Despite its dark themes, "The Hamlet" contains significant elements of dark humor and satire, particularly in the portrayal of the Snopes family and the absurd events like the horse auction and Ike's infatuation.
• The Old Frenchman Place: The Old Frenchman place, a dilapidated antebellum mansion that Flem eventually acquires, serves as a recurring symbol in Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County, often representing the decay of the Old South and the lingering, often corrupt, dreams associated with it.