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The French Architect
Charles Bon’s mistress in New Orleans is referred to as “the octoroon woman” or simply “the octoroon” (an outdated, derogatory term that refers to a person of one-eighth Black ancestry). They have a child, Charles Etienne, with her, and the mistress and Charles Etienne visit Bon’s grave at Sutpen’s Hundred following his death. After Bon’s mistress dies, Charles Etienne comes to live with Judith and Clytie at Sutpen’s Hundred.
Charles Bon’s Mistress Quotes in Absalom, Absalom!
The Absalom, Absalom! quotes below are all either spoken by Charles Bon’s Mistress or refer to Charles Bon’s Mistress. 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:
).
Chapter 4
Quotes
“[…] Oh he was shrewd, this man whom for weeks now Henry was realising that he knew less and less, this stranger immersed and oblivious now in the formal, almost ritual, preparations for the visit, finicking almost like a woman over the fit of the new coat which he would have ordered for Henry, forced Henry to accept for this occasion, by means of which the entire impression which Henry was to receive from the visit would be established before they even left the house, before Henry ever saw the woman: and Henry, the countryman, the bewildered, with the subtle tide already setting beneath him toward the point where he must either betray himself and his entire upbringing and thinking, or deny the friend for whom he had already repudiated home and kin and all […].”
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Charles Bon’s Mistress Quotes in Absalom, Absalom!
The Absalom, Absalom! quotes below are all either spoken by Charles Bon’s Mistress or refer to Charles Bon’s Mistress. 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:
).
Chapter 4
Quotes
“[…] Oh he was shrewd, this man whom for weeks now Henry was realising that he knew less and less, this stranger immersed and oblivious now in the formal, almost ritual, preparations for the visit, finicking almost like a woman over the fit of the new coat which he would have ordered for Henry, forced Henry to accept for this occasion, by means of which the entire impression which Henry was to receive from the visit would be established before they even left the house, before Henry ever saw the woman: and Henry, the countryman, the bewildered, with the subtle tide already setting beneath him toward the point where he must either betray himself and his entire upbringing and thinking, or deny the friend for whom he had already repudiated home and kin and all […].”
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
