Content Warning: The source text depicts domestic violence, pregnancy loss, rape, and death by suicide, which this section of the guide discusses.

Consider the author’s use of multiple narrators. What is the significance of the characters Faulkner chooses as narrators and those whose interiority is never explored, such as Rachel? How do these narrative choices impact the experience of reading the text?

In the narrative, houses symbolize The Illusion of Safety. What do Daniel’s and Rory’s occupations as architects represent? How do they advance or develop this theme?

Analyze Faulkner’s allusion to Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” in Chapter 37. How does Poe’s poem relate to Greenwich Park and what is happening beyond the cellar door? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.