Diffused Feeling: Threat Environments and Affective Labor in William Faulkner’s If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem [The Wild Palms]

Abstract

Abstract:This essay examines the tumultuous circumstances and key moments of shared affect (or emotional content) between two characters in William Faulkner’s If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem [The Wild Palms]: Tall Convict and Harry Wilbourne. Ultimately, by connecting these two geographically and temporally distant characters through affect, Faulkner subversively argues against notions of regional exceptionalism.