Willie Lincoln Character Analysis in Lincoln in the Bardo

Abraham Lincoln’s son, who dies of typhoid during the first year of the Civil War. As Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln grieve, Willie goes to the Bardo, where he resolves to wait for his father, who visits his crypt a number of times on the night of his funeral. Indeed, President Lincoln even opens Willie’s coffin and holds the boy’s lifeless body, an act that stuns Vollman, Bevins, and the Reverend, along with all the other Bardo-dwellers. Encouraged by his father’s willingness to interact with his dead body, Willie ignores the advice of his new friends in the Bardo, deciding to stay in this realm even when a tendril creeps up from hell and wraps around him, threatening to fix him in place for eternity. Despite these dismal circumstances, Willie remains optimistic and good-natured, thinking that he will be able to interact with his father once again. Because of this attitude—and because Lincoln shows such an interest in his dead son—many of the Bardo-dwellers come to see the young boy as an emblem of hope, thinking he might be able to return to the living world. As such, they crowd around his crypt and tell them their stories, wanting him to relay their tales to their loved ones if he’s able to go back to “that previous place.” However, Willie eventually enters his father while the president remembers his funeral, and this experience helps the boy realize that he is dead. Exiting Lincoln, he tells the Bardo-dwellers the truth about their situation, yelling, “Everyone, we are dead!” As a result, souls begin departing in great numbers, and it isn’t long before Willie himself succumbs to the “matterlightblooming phenomenon,” which carries him away.

Willie Lincoln Quotes in Lincoln in the Bardo

The Lincoln in the Bardo quotes below are all either spoken by Willie Lincoln or refer to Willie Lincoln. 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:

I want ed so much to hold a dear Babe.

I know very wel I do not look as prety as I onseh. And over time, I admit, I have come to know serten words I did not formerly

Fuk cok shit reem ravage assfuk

[…] I did not get any. Thing.

Was gone too soon

To get

Only forteen.

Yrs of aje

Plese do come again sir it has been a pleasure to make your

But fuk yr anshient frends (do not bring them agin) who kome to ogle and mok me and ask me to swindle no that is not the werd slender slander that wich I am doing. Wich is no more than what they are doing. Is it not so? What I am doing, if I only cary on fathefully, will, I am sure, bring about that longed-for return to

Green grass kind looks.

Related Characters: Elise Traynor (or “The Traynor Girl”) (speaker), Willie Lincoln, Hans Vollman, Roger Bevins III, The Reverend Everly Thomas

Related Symbols: The Iron Fence

Page Number and Citation: 38

Explanation and Analysis:

Elise Traynor says this to Willie Lincoln when Vollman, Bevins, and the Reverend bring the boy to the iron fence to hear what she has to say about her time in the Bardo. Although she insists that staying in this liminal realm will eventually enable her to “return” to the living world, it’s clear that the Bardo has taken a significant toll on her wellbeing. She herself even admits that she’s no longer as good-looking as she used to be, and she also confesses that her vocabulary and various linguistic abilities have morphed while spending time in this realm. 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 dignis

It has done me good.

I believe it has.

It is secret. A bit of secret weakness, that shores me up; in shoring me up, it makes it more likely that I shall do my duty in other matters; it hastens the end of this period of weakness; it harms no one; therefore, it is not wrong, and I shall take away from here this resolve: I may return as often as I like, telling no one, accepting whatever help it may bring me, until it helps me no more.

Related Characters: Abraham Lincoln (speaker), Willie Lincoln

Page Number and Citation: 61

Explanation and Analysis:

This is what Abraham Lincoln thinks as he holds Willie’s dead body for the first time. As he does so, Willie himself slips into his father’s body and listens in on his thoughts, marking the first time in the novel that a Bardo-dweller occupies someone else. And this initial occupation is quite important to the novel’s plot, because Lincoln’s musings in this moment encourage Willie to stay in this transitional realm. As Saunders showcases the president’s mourning process—illustrating that Lincoln needs something to “shore” him up so that he can manage his grief and thus fulfill his “dut[ies] in 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 delec

We are here by grace […]. Our ability to abide by far from assured. Therefore, we must conserve our strength, restricting our activities to only those which directly serve our central purpose. We would not wish, through profligate activity, to appear ungrateful for the mysterious blessing of our continued abiding. […] We must look out for ourselves […]. And, by doing so, we protect the boy as well. He must hear nothing of this rumor, which would only serve to raise his hopes. As we know, only utter hopelessness will lead him to do what he must. Therefore, not a word. Are we in agreement?

Related Characters: The Reverend Everly Thomas (speaker), Willie Lincoln, Hans Vollman, Roger Bevins III, Abraham Lincoln

Page Number and Citation: 123

Explanation and Analysis:

The Reverend speaks these words to Vollman and Bevins, sensing that his two friends want to occupy Lincoln’s body in order to convince the man to return to Willie’s crypt. As he lectures them, he reveals his own mindset regarding the nature of a person’s existence in the Bardo. Apparently, he sees the “ability to abide” as conditional, not something that is “assured.” Whereas most of the other souls think the Bardo is merely a place to rest and recover from various ailments—a place where they go to wait to rejoin the living world—the Reverend worries that certain behavior might 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. Volu

Why will it not work. What magic word made it work. Who is the keeper of that word. What did it profit Him to switch this one off. What a contraption it is. How did it ever run. What spark ran it. Grand little machine. Set up just so. Receiving the spark, it jumped to life.

What put out that spark? What a sin it would be. Who would dare. Ruin such a marvel. Hence is murder anathema. God forbid I should ever commit such a grievous—

Related Characters: Abraham Lincoln (speaker), Willie Lincoln, Hans Vollman

Page Number and Citation: 150

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage, President Lincoln ponders the nature of death and existence as Hans Vollman sits inside his body and listens to his thoughts. By thinking of Willie’s mortality in terms of a “machine,” he attempts to better understand the “spark” of life. Unfortunately, though, this is an impossible task—although the body is “machine”-like in many aspects, it also operates in mysterious ways. As such, Lincoln must think of life not only in terms of a “machine,” but also in terms of “magic” and theology, wondering what or who makes the body “work.” Since this is such a vast and 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. El

Everything nonsense now. Those mourners came up. Hands extended. Sons intact. Wearing on their faces enforced sadness-masks to hide any sign of their happiness, which—which went on. They could not hide how alive they yet were with it, with their happiness at the potential of their still-living sons. Until lately I was one of them. Strolling whistling through the slaughterhouse, averting my eyes from the carnage, able to laugh and dream and hope because it had not yet happened to me.

Related Characters: Abraham Lincoln (speaker), Willie Lincoln, Hans Vollman

Page Number and Citation: 155

Explanation and Analysis:

As Hans Vollman sits inside the president, Lincoln remembers Willie’s funeral, ultimately considering the difference between sympathy and empathy. The “mourners” who approached him with their “hands extended,” it seems, merely sympathized with the president, but did not empathize with him. Although the difference between these two words might seem slight, it’s worth considering that sympathy denotes a sense of compassion and pity, whereas showing empathy for somebody else involves actually putting oneself into that person’s position and experiencing the pain in a more firsthand manner. The people who attended Willie’s funeral and shook Lincoln’s hand “could not hide how 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 deserun

Of course, there was always a moment, just as an order was given, when a small, resistant voice would make itself known in the back of my mind. Then the necessary job was to ignore that voice. It was not a defiant or angry voice, particularly, just that little human voice, saying, you know: I wish to do what I wish to do, and not what you are telling me to do.

And I must say, that voice was never quite silenced.

Although it did grow rather quiet over the years.

Related Characters: Thomas Havens (speaker), Elson Farwell , Willie Lincoln

Page Number and Citation: 219

Explanation and Analysis:

Thomas Havens says this to Willie Lincoln when the many (formerly-enslaved) black souls in the Bardo come to tell their stories. Having interrupted Elson Farwell—who wants to take revenge on his masters—Thomas explains that he never had much disdain for his master, who gave him occasional periods of free time. Nonetheless, though, he can’t deny the fact that there was always “a small, resistant voice” in the back of his “mind” that would protest any order given to him by his master. And although he tried to “ignore” this voice, he was never able to completely “silence” it, since it 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 eaqu

I was in error when I saw him as fixed and stable and thought I would have him forever. He was never fixed, nor stable, but always just a passing temporary energy-burst. I had reason to know this. Had he not looked this way at birth, that way at four, another way at seven, been made entirely anew at nine? He had never stayed the same, even instant to instant.

He came out of nothingness, took form, was loved, was always bound to return to nothingness.

Related Characters: Abraham Lincoln (speaker), Willie Lincoln, Hans Vollman

Page Number and Citation: 244

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage, Lincoln once again reflects upon Willie’s death. Looking at his son’s lifeless body, the president tries to come to terms with the fact that life is impermanent. “I was in error when I saw him as fixed and stable,” he thinks, recognizing that it was foolish to think of anyone as lasting “forever.” Lincoln chides himself for not acknowledging this earlier, when Willie was still alive and constantly changing, rapidly shifting through different stages of life, the process of growing up constantly making him “entirely anew.” “He had never stayed the same, even instant to instant,” the 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

Whatever my sin, it must, I felt (I prayed), be small, compared to the sins of these. And yet, I was of their ilk. Was I not? When I went, it seemed, it would be to join them.

As I had many times preached, our Lord is a fearsome Lord, and mysterious, and will not be predicted, but judges as He sees fit, and we are but as lambs to Him, whom He regards with neither affection or malice; some go to the slaughter, while others are released to the meadow, by His whim, according to a standard we are too lowly to discern.

It is only for us to accept; accept His judgment, and our punishment.

But, as applied to me, this teaching did not satisfy.

And oh, I was sick, sick at heart.

Related Characters: The Reverend Everly Thomas (speaker), The Female Voice , The British Voice , The Vermonter , Willie Lincoln

Page Number and Citation: 268

Explanation and Analysis:

As a dreadful tendril wraps around Willie’s body—trying to keep him in the Bardo forever—the Reverend realizes that there are miniature people embedded in its surface. When these people speak to him, he discovers that they’re in hell, and this simultaneously repulses and frightens him, since he knows that he too is supposed to be in hell. “I was of their ilk,” he says, horrified by the idea. Because he finds himself so vehemently opposed to these hell-dwellers and their sinful ways that he questions why, exactly, he should have to “join them.” In doing so, though, he remembers that 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.

We were as we were! the bass lisper barked. How could we have been otherwise? Or, being that way, have done otherwise? We were that way, at that time, and had been led to that place, not by any innate evil in ourselves, but by the state of our cognition and our experience up until that moment.

By Fate, by Destiny, said the Vermonter.

By the fact that time runs in only one direction, and we are borne along by it, influenced precisely as we are, to do just the things that we do, the bass lisper said.

And then are cruelly punished for it, said the woman.

Related Characters: The Reverend Everly Thomas (speaker), The Female Voice , The Bass Voice , The British Voice , The Vermonter , Willie Lincoln

Page Number and Citation: 270

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage, the Reverend relays what the hell-dwellers say while they wrap around Willie’s body. While he interrogates himself in an effort to determine what evil thing he’s done to deserve damnation, the tendril-people work to absolve themselves of any culpability regarding their wrongdoings. Although the bass voice suggests that he and his companions did not—while they were alive—possess “any innate evil,” the Vermonter blames “Fate” and “Destiny” for their sins, ultimately suggesting that none of them could have done anything to alter themselves for the better. As such, the hell-dwellers frame their damnation as “cruel” and unjust even 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. A

Flying out window, allowed, allowed (the entire laughing party of guests happily joining behind me, urging me to please, yes, fly away) (saying oh, he feels much better now, he does not seem sick at all!)!

Whatever that former fellow (willie) had, must now be given back (is given back gladly) as it never was mine (never his) and therefore is not being taken away, not at all!

As I (who was of willie but is no longer (merely) of willie) return

To such beauty.

Related Characters: Willie Lincoln (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 301

Explanation and Analysis:

This passage is Willie’s celebratory final monologue, which takes place directly after he has finally departed from the Bardo. As the child leaves that transitional realm, he divests himself from himself, letting go of his physical attachment to the living world. As this happens, Saunders provides readers with a glimpse of what one can only assume is a heaven of sorts for Willie, since he flies out a “window,” chanting joyously that this is “allowed” and clearly reveling in the idea that he can now do whatever he wants. What’s more, the setting of his paradise resembles the party that 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 p

He must (we must, we felt) do all we could, in light of the many soldiers lying dead and wounded, in open fields, all across the land, weeds violating their torsos, eyeballs pecked out or dissolving, lips hideously retracted, rain-soaked/blood-soaked/snow-crusted letters scattered about them, to ensure that we did not, as we trod that difficult path we were now well upon, blunder, blunder further (we had blundered so badly already) and, in so blundering, ruin more, more of these boys, each of whom was once dear to someone.

Ruinmore, ruinmore, we felt, must endeavor not to ruinmore.

Our grief must be defeated; it must not become our master, and make us ineffective, and put us even deeper into the ditch.

Related Characters: Roger Bevins III (speaker), Abraham Lincoln, Hans Vollman, Willie Lincoln

Page Number and Citation: 306

Explanation and Analysis:

Although Roger Bevins III narrates this passage, he is actually bringing to light President Lincoln’s thoughts. In this scene, Willie has just departed, an event that suddenly releases Lincoln, allowing the man to finally leave the graveyard because he can sense that his boy is no longer there. As he turns to leave, he walks through Bevins and Vollman, and so they occupy him one last time. In doing so, they see the effect that this tumultuous, grief-ridden night has had on the president. Apparently, coming to terms with Willie’s death has inspired Lincoln to do “all” he can “to 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

Willie Lincoln Character Timeline in Lincoln in the Bardo

The timeline below shows where the character Willie Lincoln appears in Lincoln in the Bardo. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Another historical excerpt explains that Willie Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s son, was quite sick when the president threw one of his large... (full context)

...and her husband,” reads one historical account. “They kept climbing the stairs to see how Willie was, and he was not doing well at all.” (full context)

The historians assert that Willie can hear the Marine Band piping out its songs as the reception progresses merrily below.... (full context)

...her brother, Isabelle Perkins—a woman who lives across the street from the cemetery— describes seeing Willie Lincoln’s funeral procession. She watches the group enter the chapel, and then later leave the... (full context)

Historians describe Willie’s temporary tomb. “Nothing could have been more peaceful or more beautiful than the situation of... (full context)

At this point, Willie Lincoln finally speaks, saying, “‘Bevins’ had several sets of eyes All darting to and fro ... (full context)

Vollman explains that Willie Lincoln observes Bevins from the roof of his own “sick-house” (a “white stone home”). Bevins... (full context)

...certain pull?” asks Vollman. “An urge? To go? Somewhere? More comfortable?” Despite these urgings, though, Willie merely says, “I feel I am to wait.” When Vollman asks what, exactly, he intends... (full context)

Hans Vollman shakes his head somberly, telling Willie that his parents may indeed come, but they won’t collect him. “In any event, they... (full context)

Vollman tells Willie to follow him, Bevins, and the Reverend. “There is someone we would like you to... (full context)

As Willie walk-skims with Vollman, Bevins, and the Reverend, a woman joins them and lists off the... (full context)

...fastened there so long that she has ultimately become part of the boundary itself. As Willie and his guides approach, Elise Traynor “manifests” as a “horrid blackened furnace.” With sorrow in... (full context)

Elise Traynor tells Willie that a number of young men used to “desire” her as they sat together on... (full context)

Leaving Elise Traynor, Willie asks Bevins, Vollman, and the Reverend if the same thing will happen to him if... (full context)

...irregular,” the Reverend notes. “It was after hours; the front gate would be locked.” Indeed, Willie has only been interred that very same day, meaning that his father has no doubt... (full context)

...reaches the white stone home, he keys it open and goes inside, where he slides Willie’s coffin from the wall, places it on the floor, and opens it. Looking upon his... (full context)

Returning to the historical accounts of Willie’s illness, Saunders outlines the Lincolns’ sorrow after the boy’s death. One observer notes that he... (full context)

Once again culling information from letters and biographies, Saunders portrays Willie Lincoln as a “lovable boy” whose charm gave him the air of a small, well-mannered... (full context)

Back in the white stone home, Lincoln picks up Willie’s lifeless body and cradles it. At this point, the Reverend realizes a crowd has formed... (full context)

Inside his own physical form, Willie listens to Lincoln whisper in his ear. His father assures him that, though their “bond... (full context)

Continuing to narrate his father’s thoughts, Willie says: “And I believe this has done me good. I remember him. Again. Who he... (full context)

Watching Willie’s father leave, the Reverend reenters the white stone home and finds Willie sitting in the... (full context)

...noises.” Despite this love, though, nobody has ever come to hold them like Lincoln held Willie. (full context)

...of souls surround the white stone home. Everybody, Vollman explains, wants to associate themselves with Willie, hoping to know what “this apparently charmed being” thinks of their “particular reasons for remaining.”... (full context)

...three “gelatinous orbs” that contain “a likeness of one of her daughters”—steps up and tells Willie her story. As a child, she explains, she once helped her father tie a deer... (full context)

Jane Ellis continues telling Willie her story, saying that she had three children with her despicable husband. “In those girls... (full context)

Willie listens to the stories and watches the “shifting mass of gray and black” that stretches... (full context)

...and becoming as thin as a pencil. Meanwhile, Eddie and Betsy Baron approach and tell Willie in exceedingly vulgar language how they lived in extreme poverty but spent their lives partying,... (full context)

...to the Barons. Vollman agrees that these two souls are too vulgar to speak to Willie. “Drunk and insensate, lying in the road, run over by the same carriage, they had... (full context)

As the souls crowd around Willie, “certain familiar signs” hint at the fact that “trouble [is] brewing.” First, a “hush” falls,... (full context)

Motivated by Mrs. Blass’s departure, the beings double their efforts. Willie, for his part, sees ten versions of his mother. “Come with us,” one says. “You... (full context)

...exposed. As the trio of friends makes their way across the grounds, they assume that Willie was one of the three souls to have moved on, since it is “unlikely that... (full context)

As Vollman, Bevins, and the Reverend approach the white stone home, they’re astounded to see Willie sitting cross-legged on its roof. Unfortunately, “the effort of resistance” has eroded his physical strength.... (full context)

Willie reminds the older souls that his father promised to return, but Vollman insists this won’t... (full context)

...wanders the grounds searching for her husband. As this woman screams out her husband’s name, Willie finds himself suddenly overtaken by the roof itself, which has “liquefied” so that he now... (full context)

...become engulfed by the very same material, so they know that the tendril will overtake Willie and fasten him to the roof of the white stone home. Once he’s fixed in... (full context)

...make clear, are not “inconsiderable” and “have not lessened in the meantime.” Now, they watch Willie tossing back and forth in discomfort as the chapel bell tolls three o’clock—indicating that the... (full context)

Drifting in and out of consciousness as the tendril wraps around him, Willie dreams of his mother and father, fantasizing about the candy served at the Lincolns’ receptions... (full context)

Vollman, Bevins, and the Reverend start digging at the tendrils wrapping around Willie. Above, the Three Bachelors fly about while laughing and making jokes. “Having never loved or... (full context)

On their way to Willie’s father, Bevins and Vollman come across a group of souls standing around “a freshly filled... (full context)

...proper chance,” Bevins and Vollman move on from the crowd, resuming their quest to find Willie’s father. (full context)

...of the many “home-places” of souls who have long since moved on. Finally, they find Willie’s father sitting with his legs crossed in the grass, looking like “a sculpture on the... (full context)

...muddy path. Not wanting to dwell upon this illicit flashback during such a somber time, Willie’s father redirects his attention, trying to recapture his son’s face in his mind’s eye. To... (full context)

Lincoln continues to think about Willie, wondering what has happened to his boy. “Why will it not work,” he muses. “What... (full context)

...historical excerpts, Saunders provides an account of the nation’s response to the Civil War. “Young Willie Lincoln was laid to rest on the day that the casualty lists from the Union... (full context)

Back in the cemetery, Lincoln continues thinking about Willie. “He is just one,” he considers. “And the weight of it about to kill me.... (full context)

...for any kind of “consolation.” In order to soothe himself, he tries to think of Willie as existing in a place void of suffering. “All over now,” he thinks. “He is... (full context)

Knowing Willie isn’t “in some bright place, free of suffering” or “resplendent in a new mode of... (full context)

Inside Willie’s father, Bevins and Vollman try to “persuade the gentleman.” Thinking about the white stone home... (full context)

Meanwhile, the Reverend toils in solitude, working to free Willie from the tendrils. As he does so, an orgiastic group approaches to watch, finding the... (full context)

“For I am different, yes,” the Reverend admits, though he doesn’t say this to Willie. Unlike Bevins, Vollman, and everybody else in this place, he knows “very well” what he... (full context)

As the Reverend concludes his tale, he sees that Willie’s situation has worsened, the tendrils having engulfed the boy. As he notices this, Hans Vollman... (full context)

Lincoln approaches the white stone home, goes inside, takes Willie’s coffin from the wall, puts it on the ground, kneels, and opens it. Vollman, Bevins,... (full context)

...[is] not appropriate,” as a number of black souls approach the group and talk to Willie. “Let them have their chance,” somebody calls out. “In this place, we are all the... (full context)

As commotion ensues outside the white stone home, Lincoln hears nothing. Just as Willie is about to step into his father, though, a lantern light wobbles in the distance.... (full context)

...to wait. This entire ordeal strikes Bevins, Vollman, and the Reverend as a “catastrophe” because Willie hasn’t gone into his father yet. In fact, the boy hasn’t even advanced from the... (full context)

Excerpts from historical texts and letters indicate the nation’s response to Willie’s death, showing that many believe the boy’s illness could have been avoided if his parents... (full context)

Inside the white stone home, Lincoln looks one last time at Willie’s body and, in a moment of strange hope, tries to get him to rise like... (full context)

While Lincoln grapples with his grief, Vollman listens and tries to tell the man that Willie can still benefit from his help. However, he’s unsuccessful, and Lincoln decides to leave, thinking... (full context)

Meanwhile, the Reverend and Bevins tear their way through the tendril around Willie’s waste. As they do so, though, Lincoln closes Willie’s “sick-box,” puts it back, and walks... (full context)

...himself that he’d never occupy a person again. However, because he feels such “affection” for Willie, and also harbors a sense of guilt for having failed to free the boy from... (full context)

...souls exit Lincoln and, upon doing so, Vollman, Bevins, and the Reverend remember they’ve left Willie at the white stone home. (full context)

When Vollman, Bevins, and the Reverend reach the white stone home, they find Willie on the floor, “cocooned to the neck” in the tendrils, which have fully hardened into... (full context)

...make an exception—a suggestion that invites nothing but laughter from the carapace. Vollman insists that Willie is a “fine child,” but the hell-beings say, “We have done this to many, many... (full context)

The hell-dwellers repeat their question about whether Willie should be affixed inside the white stone home or on its roof. When Willie doesn’t... (full context)

...the Reverend’s departure temporarily damages the tendrils. Kicking the now-viscous vines, Vollman and Bevins extract Willie. While digging, they find an imprint of the Reverend’s face and see that his “countenance”... (full context)

“I know this place,” says Willie inside the chapel. Vollman isn’t surprised to hear this, since everybody has passed through the... (full context)

Writing again in the watchman’s logbook, Manders recounts escorting Lincoln away from Willie’s crypt. As they approached the front gate, he explains, Lincoln saw the chapel and decided... (full context)

In the chapel, Willie once again has the chance to become one with his father. As he sits inside... (full context)

Once more, historical writings describe Willie’s descent, explaining how his fever eventually developed into typhoid, which “works slowly and cruelly over... (full context)

“Wait,” Willie says inside his father, confused by the man’s thoughts. Watching this scene play out, Vollman... (full context)

As Willie sits “stock-still, eyes very wide” inside his father, Saunders describes (once again using historical excerpts)... (full context)

Willie stands and exits his father. Looking at Bevins and Vollman as a crowd of souls... (full context)

When Willie reveals that everybody is dead, three people immediately succumb to the “matterlightblooming phenomenon.” “Dead!” the... (full context)

Willie tells his friends he wants to “do good” by going where he “should have gone... (full context)

Looking at Vollman and Bevins, Willie says, “Oh, it was nice. So nice there. But we can’t go back. To how... (full context)

In his final monologue, Willie asserts that he is simultaneously himself and not himself. Now “allowed” to do whatever he... (full context)

As soon as Willie departs, Lincoln jolts, looks around, stands up, and leaves, “the lad’s departure having set him... (full context)

...to continue into eternity. Moving on, Bevins and Vollman can’t help but feel “shaken” by Willie’s words. Skimming across the grounds, they watch as Betsy Baron flickers and manifests as all... (full context)

...from visiting the Carroll crypt to make sure everything is all right. Inside, he saw Willie Lincoln’s coffin poking out from the wall, so he pushed it back in and thought... (full context)

Willie Lincoln Character Analysis

Willie Lincoln Quotes in Lincoln in the Bardo

Chapter 13 Quotes

Chapter 21 Quotes

Chapter 36 Quotes

Chapter 45-46 Quotes

Chapter 48 Quotes

Chapter 66 Quotes

Chapter 74 Quotes

Chapter 80-81 Quotes

Chapter 92 Quotes

Chapter 93-94 Quotes

Willie Lincoln Character Timeline in Lincoln in the Bardo