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At the heart of Absalom, Absalom! lies an incest plot centered around three of Thomas Sutpen’s children: Henry Sutpen, Judith Sutpen, and Charles Bon. Bon is Henry and Judith’s half-brother (unbeknownst to Henry and Judith), and his mother was part Black, whereas the Sutpens are white. Bon’s Black ancestry further complicates the novel’s incest plot, adding another type of social taboo in the world of the novel: interracial relationships. When Henry brings Bon home to Sutpen’s Hundred for Christmas in 1860, Bon initiates a romance with Judith that later leads to an engagement. Eventually, Sutpen tells Henry the truth about Bon’s identity (it’s assumed, though Faulkner leaves some room for ambiguity, that Bon knows all along that he is related to the family). But rather than admonish Bon for his attempt to commit incest, Henry honors his loyalty to Bon, rejects his birthright, and leaves Sutpen’s Hundred with Bon the next morning. In fact, he ultimately gives Bon his blessing to marry Judith, justifying it on the grounds that kings and other nobility “have done it.”
However, when Sutpen reunites with Henry four years later and reveals to him a second secret about Bon—his Black ancestry—Henry revokes his support of the marriage. In short, he finds the taboo of incest more tolerable than the taboo of a mixed-race man marrying his sister—so much so that Henry murders Bon to prevent the marriage. Not only does Henry’s murder of Bon reveal the depth of his racism, but the racially motivated act sets into motion a series of events that affect the siblings and their family for the rest of their lives. In a sense, the killing haunts the Sutpens, much like the genetic consequences of incest can affect a family for generations: the murder “dooms” Judith to spinsterhood as it dooms Henry to a life of running from the law. Meanwhile, the mystery and horror surrounding the murder captivates and haunts Southerners for decades into the future, with characters like Quentin plagued by the lingering presence of ghosts he believes he has inherited against his will. In paralleling two taboos in the world of the novel—incest and interracial relationships—Faulkner symbolically compares the inherited genetic abnormalities that can result from incest with the racist attitudes that persist in the American South. In so doing, he sheds light on the rampant racism and the inherited trauma of slavery that lingered in the aftermath of the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery.
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Social Taboos, Racism, and Inherited Trauma ThemeTracker
The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Social Taboos, Racism, and Inherited Trauma appears in each chapter of Absalom, Absalom!. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Social Taboos, Racism, and Inherited Trauma Quotes in Absalom, Absalom!
Below you will find the important quotes in Absalom, Absalom! related to the theme of Social Taboos, Racism, and Inherited Trauma .
Chapter 1 Quotes
Maybe you have to know anybody awful well to love them but when you have hated somebody for forty-three years you will know them awful well so maybe it’s better then maybe it’s fine then because after forty-three years they cant any longer surprise you or make you either very contented or very mad.
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Quentin Compson listens to Rosa Coldfield tell her story about Thomas Sutpen, his rise and fall, and the havoc he wreaked on the Coldfield family. It’s a story she’s been keeping to herself for decades—ever since Sutpen insulted her and she returned to her late father’s house to live out the rest of her days as a shut-in. Throughout her account, Miss Rosa will condemn Sutpen for his asocial personality, his exploitation of her family, and his underlying cruelty. As she makes clear in this passage, she has nursed a grudge against Sutpen for the past 43 years as a 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. No
Chapter 2 Quotes
It was a day of listening too—the listening, the hearing in 1909 even yet mostly that which he already knew since he had been born in and still breathed the same air in which the church bells had rung on that Sunday morning in 1833 […].
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Quentin is sitting outside with his father, Mr. Compson, waiting for it to be time to return to Miss Rosa Coldfield’s house so she can continue telling him her story about the Coldfield family’s history with Thomas Sutpen and the grudge she’s held against Sutpen for the past 43 years. The story’s narration traces Quentin’s thoughts as he contemplates Miss Rosa’s story, the act of listening, and the way the South’s past continues to haunt its present. Though Quentin is listening to Miss Rosa’s story in the novel’s present (1909) and was born well after the Confederacy lost the Civil 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 lab
Chapter 3 Quotes
He brought the two women deliberately; he probably chose them with the same care and shrewdness with which he chose the other livestock—the horses and mules and cattle—which he bought later on.
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While waiting for it to be time to return to Miss Rosa Coldfield’s house to continue listening to her tell her story, Quentin listens to his father, Mr. Compson, tell his own story about Sutpen. Mr. Compson has just noted that an enslaved girl, Clytie, who lived on Sutpen’s estate, was in fact Sutpen’s daughter with one of the enslaved women he brought with him when he first came to Jefferson, Mississippi. Mr. Compson specifies that Sutpen “deliberately” brought the women with him, speculating that he “chose them with the same care and shrewdness with which he chose the other 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.
Chapter 4 Quotes
There was no time, no interval, no niche in the crowded days when he could have courted Judith. You can not even imagine him and Judith alone together. Try to do it and the nearest you can come is a projection of them while the two actual people were doubtless separate and elsewhere—two shades pacing, serene and untroubled by flesh, in a summer garden […].
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This passage is told from Mr. Compson’s perspective as he continues his version of the Sutpen story as Quentin waits for it to be time to return to Miss Rosa’s house. Here, Mr. Compson expresses his doubts about the romance between Bon and Judith being genuine. According to Mr. Compson, there was simply no opportunity for any feelings of love to develop between Bon and Judith. They’d hardly had the chance to be alone together—or at least, Mr. Compson “can not even imagine [Bon] and Judith alone together.” Instead, one can only imagine “a projection of them while the two 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. Libe
“[…] Oh he was shrewd, this man whom for weeks now Henry was realising that he knew less and less, this stranger immersed and oblivious now in the formal, almost ritual, preparations for the visit, finicking almost like a woman over the fit of the new coat which he would have ordered for Henry, forced Henry to accept for this occasion, by means of which the entire impression which Henry was to receive from the visit would be established before they even left the house, before Henry ever saw the woman: and Henry, the countryman, the bewildered, with the subtle tide already setting beneath him toward the point where he must either betray himself and his entire upbringing and thinking, or deny the friend for whom he had already repudiated home and kin and all […].”
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In this passage, which is told from Mr. Compson’s perspective, Mr. Compson continues to relate to Quentin his version of Thomas Sutpen’s life and the tragedies that undid the Sutpen dynasty. Here, Mr. Compson speculates on what happened during the trip to Bon’s home in New Orleans that Bon and Henry took after Henry renounced his family and fled Sutpen’s Hundred following his argument with Sutpen on Christmas Eve. Mr. Compson crafts a narrative where Bon, following Henry’s break with his family, now has Henry in the palm of his hand: Henry rejected his family out of loyalty to Bon, 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. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias. In et eveniet. Eaque et repellendus.
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
I waited for him exactly as Judith and Clytie waited for him: because now he was all we had, all that gave us any reason for continuing to exist, to eat food and sleep and wake and rise again: knowing that he would need us, knowing as we did (who knew him) that he would begin at once to salvage what was left of Sutpen’s Hundred and restore it.
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This passage is an excerpt from one of Rosa’s longer monologues during which she relates to Quentin the story of Thomas Sutpen’s rise and fall and the havoc he wreaked on her family. Here, she describes how life went on after she started living at Sutpen’s Hundred following Henry’s murder of Charles Bon. At this point, Sutpen is still away serving in the Civil War, and his estate (like all the estates in the region) has suffered in his absence. Clytie, Judith, and Rosa make do the best they can in Sutpen’s absence, but they exist in a sort of 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 itaq
Chapter 6 Quotes
Tell about the South. What’s it like there. What do they do there. Why do they live there. Why do they live at all […]
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This passage comes at the beginning of Chapter 6, when the main action shifts to Cambridge, Massachusetts. There, the novel continues to develop Sutpen’s story, with Quentin Compson telling his roommate Shreve all that he’s learned about Sutpen and about the South. Shreve is Canadian, and as a Northerner, he—like most of Quentin’s classmates at Harvard—are totally unfamiliar with the culture of the South, its history, and how the burden of that inherited history weighs on Quentin and other members of the younger generation of Southerners who have grown up amidst elders who remember the impact the war had on 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
“Yes,” Quentin said. He sounds just like Father he thought, glancing (his face quiet, reposed, curiously almost sullen) for a moment at Shreve leaning forward into the lamp, his naked torso pink-gleaming and baby-smooth, cherubic, almost hairless, the twin moons of his spectacles glinting against his moonlike rubicund face, smelling (Quentin) the cigar and the wistaria, seeing the fireflies blowing and winking in the September dusk.
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Quentin and Shreve are in their dorm room at Harvard, and Quentin listens as Shreve repeats back to him the story of Sutpen that Quentin has just told him. As Shreve speaks, Quentin observes how much “like Father” (Mr. Compson) Shreve sounds. This is because Quentin himself, when he related the story to Shreve, drew from the language and tone that Mr. Compson used when he first told the story to Quentin. Quentin’s observation thus reinforces the novel’s broader examination of the ways in which storytelling influences and creates truth. In the novel, words and speech aren’t ephemeral things—they are 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 accusa
But you were not listening, because you knew it all already, had learned, absorbed it already without the medium of speech somehow from having been born and living beside it, with it, as children will and do […]
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These are Quentin’s thoughts as he starts to feel increasingly out of control listening to Shreve retell portions of the Sutpen story. In this chapter, the narrative perspective becomes increasingly difficult to discern as Shreve’s voice melds with Mr. Compson’s voice and with all the other voices through which Quentin has gradually come to know the history of Sutpen and of the South. The disorienting quality of this chapter reflects Quentin’s general anxiety and unease about confronting the South’s past. Here, he reflects on the burden of inherited history he’s been forced to shoulder, practically from the moment he was 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 de
Chapter 7 Quotes
“So he just wanted a grandson,” he said. “That was all he was after. Jesus, the South is fine, isn’t it. It’s better than the theatre, isn’t it. It’s better than Ben Hur, isn’t it. No wonder you have to come away now and then, isn’t it.”
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Quentin is at Harvard, telling his roommate Shreve the story of Sutpen that Mr. Compson and Miss Rosa Coldfield related to him in the first half of the novel. For the most part, the scenes between Quentin and Shreve consist of Shreve retelling excerpts of the Sutpen story that he’s already heard from Quentin and then turning to Quentin for clarification that he’s understood everything correctly. Shreve also interjects with glib (sometimes to the point of being disrespectful) commentary about the South that expresses his amusement at some of the more unbelievable elements of Quentin’s story and highlights his outsider’s 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
“[…] ‘I found that she was not and could never be, through no fault of her own, adjunctive or incremental to the design which I had in mind, so I provided for her and put her aside.’ […]”
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This quote is Sutpen’s supposed explanation to General Compson for why he abandoned his first wife (Eulalia Bon) and their son (Charles Bon). Regardless, Sutpen’s explanation for his choice gives readers insight into Sutpen’s character, the way he interacts with others, his extreme ambition, and the core values his “design” rests upon. Sutpen’s description of why he chose to abandon Eulalia and Bon—an act that is cruel, racist, and morally reprehensible—is frank and emotionless. He doesn’t express anger at learning about Eulalia’s mixed-race ancestry, and he explicitly notes that he doesn’t blame or think ill of Eulalia for her ancestry—he 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
Chapter 8 Quotes
There would be no deep breathing tonight.
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This quote opens Chapter 8. In a college sitting room at Harvard, Shreve continues to make sense of Quentin’s story of Sutpen and the South. As the boys work through Sutpen’s story together, Quentin, a Southerner unacquainted with the harsh winter climate of the North, struggles to keep warm. He remains constantly aware of the cold and his resultant discomfort, and his thoughts about this discomfort, regularly interrupt the flow of the main narrative. When the narrative, seemingly from Quentin’s perspective, states that there will “be no deep breathing tonight,” it’s literally describing how the intense cold of the evening 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. Adipisci voluptate et
—Yes. What else can I do now? I gave him the choice. I have been giving him the choice for four years.
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This passage is Bon’s response to Henry after Henry pleads with Bon not to marry Judith—Henry’s sister and Bon’s half-sister. Despite Henry’s earlier acceptance of Bon’s plan to go through with the incestuous marriage (which, in this version of the story, he formulates in order to get back at Sutpen for abandoning him and then failing to acknowledge him as his son), Henry rescinds his approval after learning of Bon’s mixed-race ancestry. Here, Bon shifts the blame away from himself and toward Sutpen. For the past four years, ever since Henry first brought Bon home to visit Sutpen’s Hundred (at 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. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias. In et eveniet. Eaque et repellendus. Dolores aut voluptatibus. Voluptatem qui voluptatum. Voluptatibus sed placeat. Aut tenetur autem. Fugit voluptates in. Quidem impedit sunt. Excepturi ullam nobis. Ducimus odio quo. Ut autem harum. Omnis vel v
Chapter 9 Quotes
Wait. Listen. I’m not trying to be funny, smart. I just want to understand it if I can and I dont know how to say it better. Because it’s something my people haven’t got. Or if we have got it, it all happened long ago across the water and so now there aint anything to look at every day to remind us of it. We dont live among defeated grandfathers and freed slaves […] and bullets in the dining room table and such, to be always reminding us to never forget.
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Quentin and Shreve are sitting in their dorm room at Harvard as Shreve repeats back the story of the South that Quentin has just told him. Shreve has been making glib jokes throughout, treating the story’s subjects as fictional characters and making light of topics that affect Quentin so deeply that he can hardly speak of them aloud. In this passage, Shreve defends (or at least explains) why he has responded to Quentin’s story the way he has while also reaffirming his genuine desire to understand the deeper significance of Quentin’s story, at least as well as he can as 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. Ani
“Yes. I remember your grandpaw. You go up there and make her come down. Make her go away from here. Whatever he done, me and Judith and him have paid it out. You go and get her. Take her away from here.”
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Quentin has accompanied Miss Rosa to Sutpen’s derelict mansion, where Miss Rosa claims someone is hiding upstairs (that someone turns out to be the dying Henry Sutpen, who has been a fugitive for the past 43 years, ever since he murdered Charles Bon). Clytie, Sutpen’s daughter by one of his enslaved women, tries to stop Miss Rosa from walking upstairs to find (and, Clytie seems to fear, murder) Henry. She calls on Quentin to help her after a determined and scornful Rosa defies Clytie, knocking her to the ground when Clytie tries to stand in Rosa’s way. Clytie urges Quentin 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 consequ
