Caddy as a Postulate

As a reader trudges through the novel, The Sound and the Fury, she must make assumptions or formulate her own theories about the history of the characters. I myself, along with a few of my classmates have a few theories that involve the central character, Caddy, in conjunction with Quentin, the girl, and her marriage. These theories are nothing more than postulates about the novel, but they are scenarios that have intrigued me as details have been added to my understanding of the history of the characters in the novel.
My theorizing began when the female Quentin became a larger part of the story, as she was seen with her boyfriend in the yard by Benjy, which raises many questions about the origin of this young girl. Due to her repulsion from Benjy, I could assume that she was not one of Benjy’s siblings. As I realized that Caddy was no longer in the picture, had been married, and now lived far from the home of Benjy and her family, I started to believe that Quentin was her own child. As we read it seems that our knowledge of Caddy grows. We soon realize that Caddy was experimenting with boys and her body at seventeen years old, and that this made her ashamed to confront Benjy. In the second section of the story, as told by the male Quentin, he notes that she was sick and could not inform anyone. This is where I believe she was pregnant with Quentin, and therefore was going to have an illegitimate child. In the South, and in the timeframe of this novel, illegitimate children were looked down upon, and this would have scared Caddy into rushing into a marriage in order to keep the child from being illegitimate. This theory is one that seems to be collecting evidence as I read further in the novel.
Another reoccurring theme in the novel is the theme of incest, which has many potential outcomes for the family and for Caddy. Caddy’s older brother, Quentin, tells his father that he has committed incest, which sparks concern for the reader. While reading I have come to theorize that Quentin loves his sister very much, as all of the children in the family did, and realized that she was pregnant with an illegitimate child when she confessed to being sick. I think that he lied to his father about the incest in order to protect his sister and her illegitimate child. If he had truly committed incest then the family would be able to cover the illegitimate child as their own because there would be no outside father that needed to be dealt with. This theory is supported by the fact that Quentin lives with the family after Caddy is off married. It seems as though Caddy had the child, claimed it as a product of incest with her brother, and moved on to a new life. This would explain the appearance of the child, Caddy’s abandoning of everything associated with her family, and the family’s hesitation to talk of their daughter after she is gone. This theory, as well, seems to be getting the most support out of the other theories of the family incest as I read further in the novel.
The openness of this novel leaves many occurrences in the family to the imagination. Many theories have been concocted by the readers in the class, and some might be proven true by the end of the novel. Though none of these theories is positively the truth, maybe more evidence will be shown to sway my opinion or to prove4 my theories real (606).