Lie Down In Darkness
by William Styron
Nomination: National Book Finalist 1952
Date Read: February 8, 2021
Lie Down In Darkness is a beautiful and tragic look at a family imploding from the inside out. Unlike some disintegrations that amount small sorrows until there is no return, the Loftis family moves from one large sorrow to the next without ever regaining their footing.
Milton, the father, is a drunk with a wandering eye, looking for comfort and acceptance that his wife is unable and unwilling to provide. Mattie, one of the daughters, is physically and mentally disabled, with declining health and requires constant care until her brief life mercifully ends too soon. And then there is the mother and other sister, Helen and Peyton respectively. These two are beyond measure.
Helen basks in her righteous indignation, believing everything that occurs in the Loftis family is a direct betrayal of her and all she holds dear. More concerned with appearances than substance, she seems to almost revel in being right than being loving or compassionate. Helen repeatedly turns to the family’s minister, Carey, until even he can’t stand Helen’s posturing. In the end, Helen is left absolutely alone, with nothing. I can only imagine her continuing on through life, smug in her bitterness without letting the devastation of the losses she has suffered ever really sink in.
And, finally, there is Peyton – the daughter who is both beloved and abhorred. We begin by knowing that Peyton has committed suicide and most of the remaining novel attempts to explain how she reached that point. While Milton adores Peyton, Helen absolutely hates her and I never fully understand why. Helen believes Peyton is cruel to her sister, which is true to an extent. She manipulates her father, which a lot of kids do as they grow up to get what they want in the moment.
Peyton descends into madness after her marriage to Harry as mounting criticisms trigger as she seeks to harm and punish herself, rather than Harry. These criticism from Harry are totally banal and typical in a new cohabitation – letting things run out around the house, dust under the bed, spending habits etc. Her bizarre experience of love in childhood, one parent adoring and the other loathing, leaves a hangover of feeling unloved and worse, that she is unworthy of love. She rapidly breaks from reality and seeks the comfort of safety which she believes the rhythmic order of a clock can provide. Ultimately, there was nowhere left for her to retreat and death became the answer, a welcome relief.
I have never read Styron before and his talent is undeniable – thoroughly descriptive, often poetic and hauntingly insightful. This work will stay with me for years to come.
Looking Forward: The Confessions Of Nat Turner, Sophie’s Choice
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