Though several critics have suggested that the interpretation of the past in Absalom, Absalom! has much in common with the work of modern historians, no sustained and systematic attempt has been made to view the novel in the context of what historians and philosophers of history have actually said about historical method. The starting-point for historical interpretation must lie in the ideas of the people who were living while the events in question were taking place. Their way of envisaging their struggles and formulating the issues of the time provides the historian with his initial framework. This version may continue to be reproduced for a long period to serve as a weapon in the conflict which the historian is trying to narrate. In Absalom, Absalom! William Faulkner is implying that there is a meaning in history which eludes a logical, analytical approach. The power of the method lies in its inner dynamic and universal applicability.