Thomas Sutpen's Sister 3
Character Key Number:
258
Display Name:
Thomas Sutpen's Sister 3
Sort Name:
Sutpen, Sister of Thomas 3
Parent Character Key:
Ever Present in Yoknapatawpha?:
No
Biography:
The Sutpens' family cabin in the mountains of Virginia is described in Absalom! as "boiling with children" (179), and the novel never makes it more clear how many siblings Thomas has. At least two sisters are alive and living with him and his father in Virginia when, at 14, he runs away from home (192). But there must have been more: at least, Quentin tells Shreve that, because of the "dampness" and heat in the Tidewater, "sisters and brothers" get sick "after supper and die before the next meal" (184). Even allowing for hyperbole, this implies that there must have been at least one or two more sisters.