{{short description|Fictional character}} [[File:Story of Temple Drake original poster.jpg|thumb|Temple Drake, as portrayed by Miriam Hopkins, in the poster artwork for ''The Story of Temple Drake'' (1933)]] [[File:Lee Remick - 1960s.jpg|thumb|Lee Remick portrays Temple Drake in ''Sanctuary'' (1961)]] '''Temple Drake''' is a fictional character created by William Faulkner. She appears in the novels ''Sanctuary'' (1931) and ''Requiem for a Nun'' (1951). The 1962 play ''Requiem for a Nun'' and the films ''The Story of Temple Drake'' (1933) and ''Sanctuary'' (1961) also feature the character. In the two films she is played, respectively, by Miriam Hopkins and Lee Remick.
==Plot== In the first novel, she is a University of Mississippi student who is kidnapped and raped by Popeye, a criminal. Corrupted by her experience in a house of prostitution, she lies in a court, resulting in an innocent man being lynched for a murder. In the second novel, she plans on leaving her family and going back to a criminal lifestyle until her maid kills her child to return her mind to clarity. In the first film, Temple tells the truth on the witness stand and reveals her sordid past. The second film uses elements of both novels, but in that film she does not attend a court hearing.
==Development== According to Elisabeth Muhlenfeld of Florida State University, who wrote "Bewildered Witness: Temple Drake in ''Sanctuary''," initially Temple was not the primary character, but this was changed in a revision.<ref name=Muhlenfeldp43>Muhlenfeld, p. 43.</ref> E. Pauline Degenfelder of Worcester Public Schools argued that Temple, Popeye, and lawyer Horace Benbow were all main characters even though the work presented itself as mainly being about Temple.<ref>Degenfelder, p. 545.</ref>
==Characterization== Degenfelder wrote that the author mainly gave a "flat" characterization to Temple in the novel.<ref name=Degenfelderp553>Degenfelder, 553.</ref> The reviewer added that "Faulkner sees woman as the instrument who instigates and perpetuates this pattern of evil" and that the use of Temple was "attacking the chivalric code of the South".<ref>Degenfelder, p. 546.</ref>
Degenfelder wrote that her characterization in the first film differs from that of the novel version,<ref>Degenfelder, p. 548.</ref> and that the film gives her a "dual nature" of a dark and light aspects.<ref>Degenfelder, p. 549.</ref> Gene D. Phillips of Loyola University of Chicago wrote that she is "better" morally than the novel character.<ref>Phillips, p. 267.</ref> Miriam Hopkins stated : "That Temple Drake, now, there was a thing. Just give me a nice un-standardized wretch like Temple three times a year! Give me the complex ladies, and I'll interpret the daylights out of them."<ref name=Ellenbergerp85>{{cite book|author=Ellenberger, Alan R.|title=Miriam Hopkins: Life and Films of a Hollywood Rebel|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|date=2017-10-20|isbn=<!--Old: 0813174325-->9780813174327|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=rIg6DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 85]}}</ref> Allan R. Ellenberger, author of ''Miriam Hopkins: Life and Films of a Hollywood Rebel'', stated that of the characters Hopkins played, Temple was a "favorite" of hers.<ref name=Ellenbergerp85/>
In ''Requirem for a Nun'' and the 1960s ''Sanctuary'', though Temple is formally known as "Mrs. Gowan Stevens", she still calls herself by her maiden name. Phillips stated that internally she still perceives herself to be "an irresponsible adolescent" and undeserving of a reputation of being a responsible wife.<ref name=PhillipsFictionp82>Phillips, Gene D. ''Fiction, Film, and Faulkner: The Art of Adaptation''. University of Tennessee Press, 2001. {{ISBN|1572331666}}, 9781572331662. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Wrm3ZWTfrmEC&pg=PA82 82].</ref> In regards to the sequel novel Degenfelder stated that the author formed, in Temple, "an essentially different woman from the same base, without sensing any contradiction."<ref name=Degenfelderp553/> Degenfelder argued that the 1961 film does not have a consistent Temple as it tried but failed to reconcile the two different Temples from the novels, and that the resulting character was "weak".<ref name=Degenfelderp554>Degenfelder, p. 554.</ref> In addition, while that film was, according to the reviewer, trying to have a dual nature like with the first film, she felt that Temple was "unconvincing" in the "vamp" role.<ref>Degenfelder, p. 555.</ref>
==Analysis== Joseph R. Urgo, author of an encyclopedia article on Temple Drake, wrote that the character is an "intersection" of "female agency", "pornographic representation", "the social construction of feminity" and other 20th century "major feminist issues".<ref name=Urgo>Urgo, Joseph R. "Drake, Temple." In: Hamblin, Robert W. and Charles A. Peek (editors) ''A William Faulkner Encyclopedia''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999. {{ISBN|0313298513}}, 9780313298516. Start and CITED: p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=fpuVmudsihYC&pg=PA107 107].</ref> According to Urgo, audiences in the late 20th century perceived Temple as a "victim of the various social pressures" inflicted on young women while earlier ones blamed her for the sexual assault she undergoes.<ref name=Urgo/> Muhlenfeld argued that the earlier characterizations of Temple needed re-evaluation. Philip G. Cohen, David Krause, and Karl F. Zender, who wrote an article about Faulkner's works for ''Sixteen Modern American Authors'', argued that compared to "A Measure of Innocence in ''Sanctuary''" by Diane Luce Cox<!--Page says it is in ''MissQ'' of summer 1986-->, Muhlenfeld's article "persuades more", and that Muhlenfeld's stance on needing a different viewpoint on Temple agrees with that of Urgo;<ref><!--The book table of contents reveals the authors and start page of the section-->Cohen, Philip G., David Krause, and Karl F. Zender. "William Faulkner." In: ''Sixteen Modern American Authors'' Volume 2. Duke University Press, 1990. Start: p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=K18jAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA210 210]. CITED: p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=K18jAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA276 276]-[https://books.google.com/books?id=K18jAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA277 277].</ref> Muhlenfeld counted Urgo, Cleanth Brooks, Philip M. Weinstein, and Judith Bryant Wittenberg as writers who view Temple in a positive light, while she categorized Calvin S. Brown, Robert L. Mason, Sally R. Page, and Olga Vickery as critics who regard the character as "a symbol of moral decay or evil".<ref name=Muhlenfeldp43/>
Urgo also argued that Temple's actions differ wildly based on varying "social (and antisocial) situations" that the character lacks a unified "integral being".<ref name=Urgo/>
==References== * {{cite journal|author=Degenfelder, E. Pauline|title=The Four Faces of Temple Drake: Faulkner's ''Sanctuary'', ''Requiem for a Nun'', and the Two Film Adaptations|journal=American Quarterly|date=Winter 1976|volume=28|issue=5|pages=544–560|jstor=2712288|doi=10.2307/2712288}} * {{cite journal|author=Muhlenfeld, Elisabeth|title=Bewildered Witness: Temple Drake in ''Sanctuary''|journal=Faulkner Journal|volume=1|issue=2|year=1986|pages=43–55|jstor=24907753}} * {{cite journal |last=Phillips |first=Gene D. |author-link=Gene D. Phillips|date=Summer 1973|title= Faulkner And The Film: The Two Versions Of "Sanctuary" |journal=Film Quarterly |publisher=Salisbury University|volume=1|issue=2 |pages= 263–273 |jstor=43795435 }}
===Notes=== {{reflist}}
{{Sanctuary (novel)}} <!--Many works are listed at ''A William Faulkner Encyclopedia'' https://books.google.com/books?id=fpuVmudsihYC&pg=PA107 -->
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Temple}} Category:Drama film characters Category:William Faulkner characters Category:Literary characters introduced in 1931 Category:Fictional American people Category:Fictional characters from the 20th century Category:Female characters in literature Category:Female characters in film