Lennie Snopes

Lennie is Abner Snopes' second wife - at least, he is given a childless first wife named Vynie in The Hamlet - and the mother of Flem. But her most memorable appearance is as the mother of Flem's younger brother in "Barn Burning." There, amidst all the hardships of a tenant farmer's life, she tries very hard to balance her loyalty to her husband with her love for Sarty. In one of the few times she speaks it is easy to hear her desperation: "Abner. Abner. Please don't. Please, Abner" (14). She is talking about the way he ruins a landowner's rug, but that is also probably her perpetual refrain. In The Hamlet she is not named. There she is introduced as a "strapping gal" (15), at once hardworking and valuable to Ab, who uses her for menial labor and other tasks (15-6). She also has twin daughters, and a sister named Lizzie who shares her trials.