Since Anse is incapable of giving us any background information, we have to rely upon Addie's account of their courtship. We see that Addie married Anse because there was nothing else to do. She was tired of the children, tired of teaching school, and she says that when Anse came along she simply accepted him without any thought. There is no implication of love but simply a marriage of convenience.
The circumstances surrounding the birth of each child in some way affects the personality of the child. For example, Addie says that she gave birth to her oldest son, Cash, so that he could "violate" her aloneness and make her feel that someone is aware of her. Thus throughout Cash's life he has existed as a person who can concentrate only upon one thing. After she had Cash, she realized that even children cannot "violate" her aloneness; therefore, she did not want any more children. When she discovered that she did have Darl, she detested Anse and began to reject Darl himself. Consequently, throughout his life, Darl has felt as though he has had no mother and is the unwanted and rejected son.
Addie then thought that if she could engage in some type of violence, her "aloneness" and her isolation could be violated. When she met Preacher Whitfield, she felt that if she could have an affair with a man whose garments were sanctified, then the sin would be "more utter and terrible." While hoping for some type of violence, she conceived Jewel, who is seen as a person whose acts are constantly presented in terms of violence. Dewey Dell was conceived in order to negate Jewel, and then she had Vardaman so as to give Anse a child in place of Cash, whom she considers her own. Consequently, Dewey Dell seems to possess no love for her mother and functions more as a robot. And Vardaman himself is somewhat strange.
