Thomas Sutpen's Mother

Submitted by sfr on Sat, 2017-11-25 08:37
Text: 
Absalom, Absalom!
Character Key: 
Thomas Sutpen's Mother
Display Name: 
Thomas Sutpen's Mother
Sort Name: 
Sutpen, Mother of Thomas
Race: 
White
Gender: 
Female
Class: 
Poor White
Rank: 
Minor
Vitality: 
Dies
Family: 
Sutpen
Family (new): 
SutpensInAA
First Mentioned: 
Western Virginia in Absalom, Absalom! (Location)
Origin: 
Scotland
Cause of Death: 
Disease
Biography: 

Sutpen's mother was "a mountain woman," "bred in the mountains," but in her case the mountains were in Scotland (195). According to Sutpen, she "never did quite learn to speak English" (195). Her husband calls her "a fine wearying woman," and it is suggested that she made him move from coastal Virginia to the mountains (180). Her death precipitates the husband's decision to return east; since there is an infant in the family when the move starts, it seems likely that she died in childbirth.

Individual or Group: 
Individual
Character changes class in this text: 
Date of Death: 
Wednesday, January 1, 1817 to Wednesday, December 31, 1817

digyok:node/character/15363