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Eulalia Bon
Goodhue Coldfield is Rosa and Ellen’s father. He’s a respected storeowner in Jefferson. Enigmatic newcomer Thomas Sutpen persuades him to enter into dubious business dealings, but Coldfield eventually pulls out after his “conscience” prohibits it. Despite his reservations about Sutpen’s character and business dealings, though, he still allows his eldest daughter, Ellen, to marry Sutpen. Mr. Coldfield is a conscientious objector to the Civil War and shuts himself inside his attic once the fighting begins, remaining there until his death.
Goodhue Coldfield Quotes in Absalom, Absalom!
The Absalom, Absalom! quotes below are all either spoken by Goodhue Coldfield or refer to Goodhue Coldfield. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2 Quotes
He might not have gone out of his way to keep Sutpen in jail, but doubtless the best possible moral fumigation which Sutpen could have received at the time in the eyes of his fellow citizens was the fact that Mr Coldfield signed his bond—something he would not have done to save his own good name even though the arrest had been a direct result of the business between himself and Sutpen—that affair which, when it reached a point where his conscience refused to sanction it, he had withdrawn from and let Sutpen take all the profit, refusing even to allow Sutpen to reimburse him for the loss which, in withdrawing, he had suffered, though he did permit his daughter to marry this man of whose actions his conscience did not approve. This was the second time he did something like that.
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Quentin Compson is waiting for it to be time for him to return to Miss Rosa Coldfield’s house so she can continue telling him her story about Thomas Sutpen. As he waits, his father, Mr. Compson, tells his own account of Thomas Sutpen’s early years in Jefferson, Mississippi. Mr. Compson didn’t witness the events he describes here firsthand—rather, he is telling a version of the story based on the story that his own father, General Compson (who had been Sutpen’s only friend) told him. Here, Mr. Compson talks about Rosa’s father’s early dealings with Sutpen, and how their relationship solidified Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisc
Chapter 5 Quotes
Now you will ask me why I stayed there. I could say, I do not know, could give ten thousand paltry reasons, all untrue, and be believed:—
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In this quote, Miss Rosa tries to defend and explain her choice to stay at Sutpen’s Hundred following the death of her father (Goodhue Coldfield) and the murder of Charles Bon. This becomes a pattern across the sections she narrates. It was Rosa’s choice to stay at Sutpen’s Hundred that indirectly led to her brief engagement to Sutpen, which led to Sutpen insulting her, which led to her fleeing the estate and living out the rest of her years as an embittered shut-in. Thus, it makes sense that Rosa would simultaneously try to justify her choice and also berate herself Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut mi
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Goodhue Coldfield Character Timeline in Absalom, Absalom!
The timeline below shows where the character Goodhue Coldfield appears in Absalom, Absalom!. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Rosa’s family is famous around Jefferson, Mississippi (where Rosa and Quentin live). Her father, Goodhue Coldfield , was a conscientious objector who hid from Confederate soldiers in his attic and later...
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...him and a “virtuous woman” to have a child with. Ellen and Rosa’s father ( Goodhue Coldfield ) gave him this. Rosa doesn’t fault her sister for marrying Sutpen—she was merely a...
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Rosa remembers another time she and Mr. Coldfield went to the house to see Ellen. In this story, she is four and asks...
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Rosa and Mr. Coldfield go to Sutpen’s Hundred (his estate) once a year to have dinner, and Ellen and...
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Chapter 2
...his plan three years after the mansion’s completion, walking into the Methodist church and selecting Goodhue Coldfield as someone he can use to successfully complete his next project. The decision shocks the...
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...in the posse’s direction. Then, with a bouquet of flowers in hand, he marches inside Mr. Coldfield ’s house and remains there for a long time. When he emerges, he’s no longer...
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...first arrived in Jefferson. Sutpen’s arrest was the direct result of business dealings in which Mr. Coldfield joined him, though Coldfield pulled out once his “conscience refused to sanction it” any longer....
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Ellen cries at the wedding. It’s a grand affair, something “the aunt” convinced Mr. Coldfield to fund. Sutpen didn’t ask for a big wedding but welcomed it, wanting everyone to...
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Chapter 3
Rosa, Mr. Compson suggests, may have seen Mr. Coldfield ’s death as “fate itself supplying her with the opportunity to observe her sister’s dying...
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...older than her). On the four or five times per year that Ellen would visit Mr. Coldfield ’s house with Judith and Henry, the spinster aunt would create an atmosphere of “conspiracy,”...
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...has run away, and so Rosa visits Sutpen’s Hundred once per year with her father— Mr. Coldfield insists on it, though Rosa doesn’t know why. In truth, Mr. Coldfield is growing increasingly...
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One year, the visits simply stop, though it’s never clear to Rosa why. Mr. Coldfield never explains his decision. It could be that there’s no point now that Judith and...
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...fat until later—not until something happens with his and Rosa’s engagement and Rosa returns to Mr. Coldfield ’s house, never to speak to Sutpen again.
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Miss Rosa doesn’t see the regiment leave Jefferson because Mr. Coldfield forbids her from doing so. But it isn’t because Sutpen is part of it—Rosa’s father...
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One morning, Mr. Coldfield learns that people—presumably soldiers—have broken into and looted his store. That night, he heads upstairs...
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Chapter 4
...buried under a massive marble monument Sutpen brought from Charleston, South Carolina. Then Judith’s grandfather Mr. Coldfield dies, having starved to death in his attic, and Judith likely invites Miss Rosa to...
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Chapter 5
...time to the summer after the first Christmas Henry brought Bon home. In this memory, Mr. Coldfield sends Rosa to stay with Ellen. Sutpen is gone. Rosa has never seen Bon—in fact,...
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Chapter 6
...like an overpopulated mausoleum” and describing the lifetime she spent hating everyone. He speaks of Mr. Coldfield ’s shutting himself inside the attic to avoid “being drafted in the Rebel army,” and...
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Chapter 7
Shreve interjects at this point to ask about Sutpen’s shady business dealings and how Mr. Coldfield was involved in them. Quentin only knows vague details and mentions something about “a bill...
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