What happens in Chapter 45 of As I Lay Dying?
The chapter is narrated by Moseley, a druggist in the town of Mottson. He first sees a young woman standing outside his store window, staring blankly inside, before she steps in. His clerk, Albert, struggles to get any information from her, so Moseley takes over. Through a hesitant conversation, he learns that she is seventeen, unmarried, two months pregnant, and has come on behalf of a man named Lafe, who sent her with ten dollars to buy something to terminate her pregnancy. Moseley firmly refuses, telling her that no amount of money could convince him to sell her an abortifacient. He advises her to return home and have her father or brothers make Lafe pay for a wedding license, adding that she should tell Lafe he has no respect for him. The girl, who is carrying a package wrapped in newspaper, ultimately leaves without making a purchase.
Moseley then shares what his clerk Albert told him: a dilapidated wagon from a family in Yoknapatawpha County had been stopped in front of Grummet's hardware store. The body inside had been dead for eight days, and the smell was driving townspeople away. The marshal is trying to get the family to move on. One son goes into Grummet's to buy a small amount of cement to help set a companion's broken leg, while the father explains to the marshal a series of unfortunate events: a washed-out bridge, drowned mules, flooded roads, and a detour through Mottson. The girl (Dewey Dell) returns with her package, and the family continues on toward Jefferson. The next day, Moseley and the marshal joke about the smell.
Analysis
Moseley serves as a first-person narrator completely detached from the Bundren family, and Faulkner leverages this outsider viewpoint for dramatic effect. Moseley never discovers the girl's name, referring to her simply as "she" or "that woman," emphasizing her invisibility and lack of identity to the town. His narration reflects his self-image; he elaborates on his fifty-six years as a churchman and respected druggist as if he’s rehearsing a defense, and this self-justifying tone adds a hint of irony to the chapter, as his moralizing overshadows any real empathy.
The chapter unfolds through two distinct encounters that only link at the end when "the girl came up with that newspaper package," revealing that the young woman in the drugstore and the family in the stalled wagon are the same people. The newspaper-wrapped package, introduced during her first appearance and referenced again at the close, serves as a subtle yet persistent motif: it enters the store unopened and leaves unopened, its contents remaining a mystery to Moseley.
The girl's dialogue is minimal and almost monosyllabic, while Moseley's speech extends into full paragraphs; this imbalance highlights the power discrepancy between them. Her eyes reappear as a recurring image—described as "blank," "dumb and hopeful," and "sullenly willing to be disappointed"—signifying each moment the conversation falls short.
In the second half, the narrative shifts to reported speech (Albert's account), which slows the pace and introduces the family's struggles from a distance. The townspeople's comic behavior, holding handkerchiefs to their noses, stands in stark contrast to the dire situation described by the father, placing the chapter in an uneasy tonal space between dark comedy and tragedy.
Key quotes from Chapter 45
“It was her eyes: kind of dumb and hopeful and sullenly willing to be disappointed all at the same time.”
Moseley describes the young woman's expression at the moment she reveals she is in serious trouble, in the back of his store.
“A thousand dollars wouldn’t be enough in my store and ten cents wouldn’t be enough”
Moseley responds after the girl tells him Lafe gave her ten dollars and said it would be enough.
“It must have been like a piece of rotten cheese coming into an anthill, in that ramshackle wagon that Albert said folks were scared would fall all to pieces before they could get it out of town”
Moseley, relaying Albert's account, describes the effect the Bundren wagon had on the people of Mottson.
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