Mrs. Nathaniel Burden

Character Key Number: 
759
Display Name: 
Mrs. Nathaniel Burden
Sort Name: 
Burden, Mrs. Nathaniel
Ever Present in Yoknapatawpha?: 
Yes
Biography: 

In Light in August Joanna Burden's mother is Nathaniel Burden's second wife, but compared to all Joanna tells Joe Christmas about Juana, Burden's first wife after after whom she is named, Joanna says very little about her own mother, not even her name. All we know about her is that she moves to Jefferson from New Hampshire after Nathaniel writes his cousin there that he is seeking a wife who is "a good housekeeper and . . . at least thirtyfive years old" (250). She and Nathaniel marry "two days after" she arrives in town, and "two years later" Joanna, their only child, is born (252).