In the novel Light in August, Joe Christmas and Joanna Burden are extremely wounded individuals. Both characters grew up in turbulent environments with an emphasis on religion. The sins they committed had a profound impact on them. They knew their behavior was wrong, but they were forced to continue. Religion has become a mental prison for them. A prison they created but from which they would never escape alive. Even though Joe and Joanna viewed religion in completely different ways, they both lacked the ability to forgive each other because of their upbringings. For Joanna, religion was a source of comfort that her father had imposed on her. Joanna was raised by Puritans and she lives her life with a constant unconscious fear of hell. He also lacked a mother figure. Joanna never learned what it meant to be a woman because she needed a good teacher. When she was introduced to Joe Christmas, she experienced her first sexual encounter. The pleasure she felt was a shock to her and Joanna became a nymphomaniac. “Within six months, it was completely corrupted. We cannot say that he corrupted her.” (Faulkner 260) Joe Christmas was simply a catalyst for Joanna's descent into sin. She knew her actions were a sin but she saw no other alternative. “Don’t make me pray just yet. God, let me be damned a little longer, a little while longer. She was blinded by lust that eventually turned into love. Joe freed her from her life of isolation and loneliness and she fell in love with him despite his obvious flaws. It was isolated from the city due to its Nordic heritage. At Christmas, religion was a source of shame and suffering. Under Mr. McEachern's cruel reign, Christmas was subjected to constant beatings... middle of paper... in Joe's arms until his death. Both characters longed for peace and freedom, but they could not escape the prisons of their past. Works Cited Faulkner, William. Light in August. New York: Vintage International, 1991. Lackey, Michael. “The ideological function of the concept of God in the light of Faulkner in August.” Faulkner Journal 21.1/2 (2005): 66-90. Littleton, Heather and Carmen Radecki Breitkopf. “Coping with the Experience of Rape.” Psychology Of Women Quarterly 30.1 (2006): 106-116. Shapero, Benjamin G., et al. “Stressful life events and depressive symptoms: The effect of childhood emotional abuse on stress reactivity.” Journal of Clinical Psychology 70.3 (2014): 209-223. Stayton, Jeffrey. “Southern Expressionism: Apocalyptic Hillscapes, Racial Panoramas, and “Lustmord” in William Faulkner’s “Light In August.” Southern Literary Journal 42.1 (2009): 32-56.