Unnamed Negro Cousin of Roth's Mistress

Just before the young woman enters the tent at the end of the "Delta Autumn" chapter, Ike McCaslin sees, "sitting in the stern" of the boat that brought her to the camp, "a Negro man" (339). The boat is his, and he is the woman's "cousin," though unlike his, her race is not immediately apparent (342). When Ike learns that the young woman is descended from James Beauchamp, he might have realized that this cousin of hers is also a relative of his - part of the extended McCaslin-Beauchamp-Edmonds family - but that is not made explicit in the chapter. (This character is described in almost exactly the same way in the short story version of "Delta Autumn," but since there he is not related to the McCaslins and the Beauchamps, we created a separate entry for him in that story.)