Mr. Cadaver Character Analysis in Walk Two Moons

Mr. Cadaver, Margaret Cadaver’s husband, is deceased and never appears in the novel. Phoebe spends much of the novel convinced that Mrs. Cadaver murdered her husband and buried him under a rhododendron in her backyard. But Mr. Birkway eventually shares that Mr. Cadaver actually died when a drunk driver hit his car. His mother-in-law, Mrs. Partridge, was blinded in the accident.

Mr. Cadaver Quotes in Walk Two Moons

The Walk Two Moons quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Cadaver or refer to Mr. Cadaver. 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:

Judgment, Perspective, and Storytelling Theme Icon

I started wondering if the birds of sadness had built their next in Mrs. Cadaver’s hair afterward, and if so, how she got rid of them. Her husband dying and her mother being blinded were events that would matter in the course of a lifetime. I saw everyone else going on with their own agendas while Mrs. Cadaver was frantically trying to keep her husband and her mother alive. Did she regret anything? Did she know the worth of water before the well was dry?

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Mr. Cadaver, Mrs. Partridge, Phoebe Winterbottom, Mrs. Margaret Cadaver

Page Number and Citation: 207

Explanation and Analysis:

Mr. Cadaver Character Timeline in Walk Two Moons

The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Cadaver appears in Walk Two Moons. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...door, and then the girls head for Phoebe’s house. Phoebe hisses that she doesn’t want Mrs. Cadaver and Mrs. Partridge to know she lives next door. She also says it’s not at... (full context)

...about her, but Phoebe was “blind about her.” She also says there’s something fishy about Mrs. Cadaver . Mrs. Cadaver is frightening, mostly because her last name means “dead body.” Sal didn’t... (full context)

...present, Phoebe agrees to tell Sal a secret. She asks if Dad goes over to Mrs. Cadaver ’s all the time, and if Sal knows what happened to Mr. Cadaver. Phoebe says... (full context)

Parents, Children, and Growing Up Theme Icon

...reminds Sal that she was just about to tell them what Phoebe thought happened to Mr. Cadaver . Sal explains that just as Phoebe was going to say what happened, Mr. Winterbottom... (full context)

Phoebe walks Sal home after dinner. She insists that Mrs. Cadaver is very strong—she suspects that Mrs. Cadaver chopped up Mr. Cadaver and buried him in... (full context)

...Phoebe doesn’t mention the lunatic at the drugstore, and later, the girls watch Ben leave Mrs. Cadaver ’s house in one piece. (full context)

...while Mr. Winterbottom is golfing. Mrs. Winterbottom instructed the girls to call the police or Mrs. Cadaver if they hear any noises. Phoebe is very jumpy. She remarks that Mrs. Cadaver works... (full context)

Phoebe is convinced that Mrs. Cadaver buried something under the rhododendron, like Mr. Cadaver. Maybe Mr. Birkway helped. She suggests that... (full context)

...unusually sullen for no apparent reason. She tells Sal that Dad has to stop seeing Mrs. Cadaver —Mrs. Cadaver might chop him up, and then, Sal would have to go live with... (full context)

...weeks later, Dad put the farm up for sale. Sal was aware that Dad and Mrs. Cadaver were writing each other letters. He went to visit her once and announced that he... (full context)

...snakebite. The last thing she remembers is that Phoebe wanted Sal to tell Dad that Mrs. Cadaver and Mr. Birkway cut up Mr. Cadaver. Sal picks her story up: Phoebe is very... (full context)

...stay after. Phoebe insists on staying too—Sal shouldn’t be alone with him, since he helped Mrs. Cadaver murder Mr. Cadaver. But the meeting is fine; Mr. Birkway assigns Sal a “mini journal,”... (full context)

...bed at every noise. She’s sure the lunatic will return for her, and she spots Mrs. Cadaver in her garden at one point. Sal dozes off and wakes up to Phoebe crying,... (full context)

...instead pesters Mr. Winterbottom with questions about Mrs. Winterbottom. He explains that Mrs. Winterbottom called Mrs. Cadaver to say she’s okay. He doesn’t know why she called Mrs. Cadaver, and Mrs. Cadaver... (full context)

...girls to speak to Sergeant Bickle. Phoebe tells Sergeant Bickle everything about her mother disappearing, Mrs. Cadaver and her missing husband, and the messages. Phoebe pulls out the messages, and Sergeant Bickle... (full context)

...drives to his house and tells Phoebe and Sal to wait while he speaks to Mrs. Cadaver . When he returns, he relays that Mrs. Winterbottom asked after Phoebe and Prudence, and... (full context)

...in the story, Sal is pretty sure that Phoebe didn’t actually plan on breaking into Mrs. Cadaver ’s house. But one evening, Phoebe sees Mrs. Cadaver leave for work, waits until Mr.... (full context)

...in to see Sergeant Bickle right away. Phoebe puts the newest message, her evidence from Mrs. Cadaver ’s house, and a list of more things to investigate on his desk. Sergeant Bickle... (full context)

...he and Mrs. Partridge explain their relation. Mrs. Partridge used to be a Birkway, and Mrs. Cadaver used to be a Birkway too. Mrs. Cadaver is Mr. Birkway’s twin sister. Sal spends... (full context)

...worse by reading people’s journals again. Sal studies Mr. Birkway and is very disappointed—if he’s Mrs. Cadaver ’s twin, he’s not going to marry her. The first journal he reads from is... (full context)

...Sal to come downstairs. Mr. Birkway is there, and Sal feels terrible—Phoebe doesn’t know that Mrs. Cadaver is Mr. Birkway’s sister. When Phoebe notices that Mr. Birkway has her journal, she says... (full context)

Then, Mr. Birkway explains that Mrs. Cadaver is his sister, and that her husband is dead. Phoebe looks smug, but Mr. Birkway... (full context)

...and Phoebe sit on the front porch. Phoebe doesn’t know what to do now; without Mrs. Cadaver to suspect, she doesn’t know where to look for Mrs. Winterbottom. Sal shares that the... (full context)

That night, Sal can’t stop thinking about Mrs. Cadaver and imagining her looking down at the stretchers in the emergency room. Sal feels like... (full context)

...saw Momma or not, but he does remember meeting Dad. Sal asks if he saw Mrs. Cadaver , and the sheriff is shocked—everyone, he says, saw Mrs. Cadaver. As they were bringing... (full context)

Sal tells the sheriff that Mrs. Cadaver and Momma were strangers when they got on the bus, but they were friends by... (full context)

...tells the sheriff that she learned all this on the day that Mrs. Winterbottom returned. Mrs. Cadaver told Sal about meeting Dad in the hospital. They talked for hours when he found... (full context)

...and Phoebe write to Sal regularly—Ben even sent Sal a valentine in October. Ben, Phoebe, Mrs. Cadaver , and Mrs. Partridge are all coming to visit Sal and Dad next month. Mr.... (full context)

Mr. Cadaver Character Analysis

Mr. Cadaver Quotes in Walk Two Moons

Chapter 33 Quotes

Mr. Cadaver Character Timeline in Walk Two Moons