Unnamed Alabama Jailer

Submitted by sfr on Sat, 2020-01-25 10:46
Character Key Number: 
1917
Display Name: 
Unnamed Alabama Jailer
Sort Name: 
Unnamed Alabama Jailer
Ever Present in Yoknapatawpha?: 
No
Biography: 

After Popeye is convicted in Sanctuary, this "turnkey" shows considerable solicitude for him, buying cigarettes for him with the money Popeye gives him, but also sharing information about the murdered man and even, on the day of his execution, trying to give Popeye his change (312). ("Turnkey" is a fairly archaic term for "jailor," and "jailor" is an acceptable alternative spelling for "jailer." According to the "Corrected Texts" that Noel Polk edited for Vintage International, Faulkner spelled "jailer" with an 'e' in "That Evening Sun," Intruder in the Dust, "An Error in Chemistry" and Requiem for a Nun but with an 'o' in Sanctuary, "Monk" and The Reivers. "Jailer" is more standard in American usage, so we use that spelling for all DY's Cumulative Character names, but preserve "jailor" in the individual Character entries for the second set of texts.))

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