Said the Spider to the Fly

"'It's not your horse that's dead, Jewel," I say.... 'See them?' I say. High above the house, against the quick thick sky, they hang in narrowing circles. From here they are no more than specks, implacable, patient, portentous. 'But it's not your horse that's dead.'" (page 94)

While there were several moments in this second portion of the reading that made me pause, this has to be the one that made me think the most. While none of the Bundren children are all that pleasant to be around, especially in and after the time of Addie's sickness and death, Darl is particularly malicious to those around him. Whether this is a coping mechanism or whether he is just an unpleasant person to be around can be debated... but I'm leaning towards the latter. Darl is blessed with an intellect and eloquence that is, thus far, far superior to any we have been exposed to - at least, on the surface. For some reason, I think of Darl as a spider - someone who knows all the secrets of those around him and is sitting in the centre of his web, waiting for the right time to strike. There's something decidedly sinister about Darl and I can't tell whether he plans on using that which he already knows to his advantage or keeping quiet about it. What really struck me, however, was Cora's insistence, later on in the book, on how Darl was the best child out of the Bundrens. This brings me to my question: given what we have gathered about Darl and his character, why do you think Cora is so adamant that Darl is like god's gift to mankind? What does this tell us about her?