Rosa and Ellen Coldfield’s aunt is never named; characters mostly refer to her as “the aunt” or “the spinster aunt.” She raises Rosa after Rosa’s mother dies giving birth to her, instilling in Rosa a sense of self-importance that leaves her underprepared to do practical work and fend for herself following Mr. Coldfield’s death. She runs away with her lover, a cavalryman who later serves in the war. When her lover is called to serve, Mr. Coldfield, a conscientious objector, refuses to accept her back home.
Get the entire Absalom, Absalom! LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Spinster Aunt Character Timeline in Absalom, Absalom!
The timeline below shows where the character The Spinster Aunt appears in Absalom, Absalom!. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
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,...
(full context)
The night before the wedding, the aunt goes to every house in town and demands that the townspeople attend the wedding, hysterically...
(full context)
Chapter 3
...childbirth, and Rosa was made to feel guilty about it her whole life. The spinster aunt, who continued to take “revenge” on the town for the debacle of Ellen’s wedding, raised...
(full context)
Mr. Compson shifts his focus to Rosa’s childhood visits to Sutpen’s Hundred with her spinster aunt. During these visits, Rosa is ordered to play with her niece and nephew (who are...
(full context)
By the time Rosa is 10, the spinster aunt has run away, and so Rosa visits Sutpen’s Hundred once per year with her father—Mr....
(full context)
...shop and refused to do business with them. He also refused to let the spinster aunt come back home while her husband was serving in the army. From that point forward,...
(full context)
...his death. Miss Rosa, who before now hasn’t had to learn any practical skills (her aunt had raised her to believe she is special), takes to heading out at night and...
(full context)
