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The Curious Life of Mississippi Planter and Sexual Freethinker

Fletcher Mitchell

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Published in William Alexander Percy: The Curious Life Of A Mississippi Planter And Sexual Freethinker

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Born in 1803 to a wealthy planter family in Mississippi, William Faulkner was a complex and controversial figure. He was a slave owner who publicly denounced slavery, a devout Christian who questioned the existence of God, and a married man who had several affairs.

Faulkner's life was marked by a series of contradictions. He was a brilliant scholar who graduated from the University of Mississippi at the age of 18, but he also had a rebellious streak that led him to abandon his studies to join the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

William Alexander Percy: The Curious Life of a Mississippi Planter and Sexual Freethinker

by Benjamin E. Wise

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Language	:	English
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Print length	:	367 pages

After the war, Faulkner returned to Mississippi and became a successful planter. He owned thousands of acres of land and hundreds of slaves. However, he also became increasingly outspoken in his opposition to slavery. In a letter to a friend, he wrote, "Slavery is the greatest evil that has ever existed." Faulkner's anti-slavery views were unpopular in Mississippi, and he was often ostracized by his neighbors.

Faulkner's religious beliefs were also unorthodox. He was raised a devout Christian, but he later came to doubt the existence of God. In his later years, he wrote, "I no longer believe in a personal God. I believe in a force that is greater than us, but I don't know what it is." Faulkner's religious views were influenced by his reading of the works of Voltaire, Rousseau, and other Enlightenment thinkers.

Faulkner was also a controversial figure in his personal life. He was married to a woman named Estelle Oldham, but he had several affairs with other women. In his later years, he lived with a young woman named Meta Carpenter, who was 30 years his junior. Faulkner's sexual freethinking was shocking to many people in his community. He was accused of being a libertine and a pervert. However, Faulkner defended his sexual freedom, saying, "I believe that every person has the right to live their life as they see fit."

Faulkner was a complex and fascinating figure. He was a slave owner who hated slavery, a devout Christian who questioned the existence of God, and a married man who had several affairs. He was a brilliant scholar who abandoned his studies to join the Confederate Army, and a successful planter who was ostracized for his anti-slavery views. Faulkner's life was marked by a series of contradictions, but he never wavered in his belief that every person has the right to live their life as they see fit.

Faulkner died in 1962 at the age of 59. He is considered one of the most important American writers of the 20th century.

A Portrait Of William Faulkner, A Mississippi Planter And Sexual Freethinker. William Alexander Percy: The Curious Life Of A Mississippi Planter And Sexual Freethinker