In this story by William Faulkner, a man recalls his parents’ callous indifference to the fate of an African-American woman who had washed the family’s clothes for many years. The woman makes extra money by allowing white men to “visit” her at home, and thinks her violent husband is planning to kill her for carrying a white man’s child. One night, she panics and tricks the family’s three children into staying with her. When their father takes them home, we are left wondering if she will survive the night. Themes: coming of age, racism, sexual exploitation, violence, fear, inhumanity.
The first version of the story appeared under the name That Evening Sun Go Down and was published in ‘The American Mercury’ magazine in March, 1931. Later in the same year the story appeared under the name That Evening Sun in ‘These 13’, Faulkner’s first short story collection. The magazine version is different to the book version in several ways. The most notable of these are that the magazine editor insisted on Nancy’s husband being called “Jubah” instead of “Jesus”, and Section VI was changed significantly to provide a clearer ending to the story. It is interesting to note that when American writer John Updike was asked to select a collection of stories for his book Best American Short Stories of the Century, he chose to include the magazine version over the book version. We have provided a link to both versions below.
That Evening Sun Go Down Original Text / PDF (6,200 words)
That Evening Sun Original Text / PDF / Audio (6,200 words)
That Evening Sun Go Down General Understanding Quiz