Absalom, Absalom!

by

William Faulkner

Goodhue Coldfield Character Analysis

Goodhue Coldfield is Rosa and Ellen’s father. He’s a respected storeowner in Jefferson. Enigmatic newcomer Thomas Sutpen persuades him to enter into dubious business dealings, but Coldfield eventually pulls out after his “conscience” prohibits it. Despite his reservations about Sutpen’s character and business dealings, though, he still allows his eldest daughter, Ellen, to marry Sutpen. Mr. Coldfield is a conscientious objector to the Civil War and shuts himself inside his attic once the fighting begins, remaining there until his death.

Goodhue Coldfield Quotes in Absalom, Absalom!

The Absalom, Absalom! quotes below are all either spoken by Goodhue Coldfield or refer to Goodhue Coldfield. 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:
Storytelling, Perspective, and Truth  Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2  Quotes

He might not have gone out of his way to keep Sutpen in jail, but doubtless the best possible moral fumigation which Sutpen could have received at the time in the eyes of his fellow citizens was the fact that Mr Coldfield signed his bond—something he would not have done to save his own good name even though the arrest had been a direct result of the business between himself and Sutpen—that affair which, when it reached a point where his conscience refused to sanction it, he had withdrawn from and let Sutpen take all the profit, refusing even to allow Sutpen to reimburse him for the loss which, in withdrawing, he had suffered, though he did permit his daughter to marry this man of whose actions his conscience did not approve. This was the second time he did something like that.

Related Characters: Mr. Compson (speaker), Thomas Sutpen, Rosa Coldfield, Quentin Compson, Ellen Coldfield, Goodhue Coldfield
Page Number: 38-39
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

Now you will ask me why I stayed there. I could say, I do not know, could give ten thousand paltry reasons, all untrue, and be believed:—

Related Characters: Rosa Coldfield (speaker), Thomas Sutpen, Charles Bon, Quentin Compson, Mr. Compson, Goodhue Coldfield
Page Number: 123
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Absalom, Absalom! LitChart as a printable PDF.
Absalom, Absalom! PDF

Goodhue Coldfield Quotes in Absalom, Absalom!

The Absalom, Absalom! quotes below are all either spoken by Goodhue Coldfield or refer to Goodhue Coldfield. 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:
Storytelling, Perspective, and Truth  Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2  Quotes

He might not have gone out of his way to keep Sutpen in jail, but doubtless the best possible moral fumigation which Sutpen could have received at the time in the eyes of his fellow citizens was the fact that Mr Coldfield signed his bond—something he would not have done to save his own good name even though the arrest had been a direct result of the business between himself and Sutpen—that affair which, when it reached a point where his conscience refused to sanction it, he had withdrawn from and let Sutpen take all the profit, refusing even to allow Sutpen to reimburse him for the loss which, in withdrawing, he had suffered, though he did permit his daughter to marry this man of whose actions his conscience did not approve. This was the second time he did something like that.

Related Characters: Mr. Compson (speaker), Thomas Sutpen, Rosa Coldfield, Quentin Compson, Ellen Coldfield, Goodhue Coldfield
Page Number: 38-39
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

Now you will ask me why I stayed there. I could say, I do not know, could give ten thousand paltry reasons, all untrue, and be believed:—

Related Characters: Rosa Coldfield (speaker), Thomas Sutpen, Charles Bon, Quentin Compson, Mr. Compson, Goodhue Coldfield
Page Number: 123
Explanation and Analysis: