I just finished listening to Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty, read by actress Sally Darling, which I enjoyed very much. In this novel about a plantation owning family in 1920s
Welty does not openly criticize the status quo, but she does hint that great change is coming. Shelley Fairchild says in her diary that she will never marry and live the life her parents wish; she pleads that her mother stop having children. Uncle George is unhappy with the plantation life; he is living in
Listening to the story, I was reminded of the movies of Robert Altman. There are so many characters and they all seem very busy. Sorting out the storyline is a pleasant puzzle for the listener. To get the characters straight, I listened to disc one twice and got a print copy of the novel to consult before proceeding. Here are the characters that I identified.
Laura McCraven, a nine year old, who travels alone by train to attend her cousin's wedding
Annie Laurie Fairchild McCraven, her mother, who died the previous January
her father, who stays in
Battle Fairchild, the current head of Shellmound
Ellen Fairchild, his wife, who is a native of
Shelley, the oldest daughter, who is about to take a European trip
Dabney, the daughter who is getting married
Orrin, the oldest son
Ranny
Bluet, the baby
Maureen Fairchild, nine year old, who is living at Shellmound because her father is dead and her mother insane
Denis Fairchild, father of Maureen, brother of
Virgie Lee Fairchild, insane mother, on the loose
George Fairchild, brother of
Robbie Reid Fairchild, his wife, who no one (other than George) forgives for having been a Fairchild employee
Tempe Fairchild Summers, sister of
Pinck Summers, her husband
Mary Denis Summers Buchanan, their daughter who can not come because she just had a baby
Lady Clare Buchanan, Mary Denis's daughter, who comes down with chicken pox
Primrose Fairchild, sister of
"Aunt Jim Allen," sister of
Laura Allen, deceased daughter of Aunt Jim Allen
Rowena Fairchild, deceased sister of
Great-Aunt Shannon, who raised
Great-Aunt Mac, who shared the child rearing with Great-Aunt Shannon
The dead ancestors to whom Great-Aunt Shannon is always talking:
Aunt Mashula
Uncle George
Uncle Battle
Uncle Gordon
Aunt Shannon
Blacks who work for the Fairchilds:
Bitsy
Roxie
Little Uncle
Vi'let
Partheny
Sylvanus
Mary Lamar Mackey, friend of Dabney, plays piano
Troy Flavin, the overseer and prospective groom
Dickie Boy Featherstone, Dabney's rejected suitor
Dr. Murdoch, who brought many of the Fairchilds into the world
Mr. Rondo, the minister at the wedding
Junie, a horse
Isabelle, another horse
Most of those names appear in chapter one.
In addition to many characters, Delta Wedding is filled with details of 1920s plantation life. The food at meals, the wedding dinner, and a post-wedding picnic is fully described, as is the sewing, house cleaning, dressing of the bride, work in the fields, and contents of the general store. During Laura's initial train ride and a canoe trip on the
Delta Wedding is a rich novel that merits reading.
Welty, Eudora. Delta Wedding. New York, Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1946.
10 compact discs. Prince
14 comments:
You are totally right half the fun of this book is the names! Bluet is one of my favorite character names--I can just hear Sally Darling yell "Let Bluet drive!" along with Cam the Wicked from Woolf's "To the Lighthouse" and the "roamin' round, roamin' round" Hugh with the Norse god sidekick Olaf of Lewis's "Mainstreet"! Not only that it is a fabulous portrait of the Reconstruction South--was so surprised to see it adn find this blog!
well i disagree because i just got done reading this book and it did NOT grab my attention....and it was VERY confusing for me.....but you are right about the names!
Isn't that amazing? I too have always remembered that line about letting the baby drive -- for all these years since I read the book. And I loved the name so much I swore if I ever had a daughter I'd name her Bluet -- and I did! This isn't my favorite Eudora Welty, but it definitely sticks with you...
this one was of the most confusing books ive ever read. it doesn't grab my attention and i couldn't wait until i was finished reading it.
This is one of the most poetically beautiful novels I have ever read. IT is a joy to let it wash over yourself. It captures a feeling of the deep South that I have never experienced. It is not a novel in the conventional sense.
In chapter 7 Ellan refers to laura's father as Billie McRaven. She wondering if they should keep Laura at Shellmound. And don't forget to mention that Beverly is Shelly's dog.
Let me begin by saying that I consider Welty to be a genius of the highest order. I had the largest collection of her works in privare hands, now in Princeton University. But I always think of the book as a deeply rounded story of a greatly dysfunctional family, too ingrown and profligate of its resources and indifferent to the humanity of its black servants. Dabney's marriage will not last because Troy is a bit heartless. evem dangerous to be around. That said, this book is one of the finest written about that now happily departed style of
Southern life, as fine as Faulkner at his finest, and nowhere nearly as purple prosish. Bob Finley
How do you pronounce the baby's name? Is it pronounced Blue-it?
I suspect that is the pronunciation. I had a great uncle and that his how his name was pronounced.
Thank you for your quick response to my question about the baby's name. In your list of characters, you listed Laura Allen as the deceased daughter of Aunt Jim Allen. However, if you look on page 87 of the printed novel, you will find that Laura Allen is actually the mother of Battle, Jim Allen, George, Denis, etc. Her husband was named James. Thus they could have named their daughter, Jim Allen, after themselves.
Thank you so much for making the list of characters. It was very helpful to me as I was reading the book.
It is November of 2011, and I have just read your short introduction of "Delta Wedding". I recently finished reading it, and I LOVE this book. It was the first Eudora Welty novel I have read. (I then read "The Optimist's Daughter" and found the difference in prose styles striking.)
I felt like I was in the bosom of a family. I noticed that we were veering into confused language patterns as Laura McRaven began to fall asleep on the train! But it was mostly understandable enough. I felt like I was in the midst of a beautiful dream such as the dreams we women have of family life among our children in some distant hoped-for future.
Thank so much for your insights, details and recommendations. My mother passed away two years ago and I came across her copy of Delta Wedding. From time to time she'd mention this book, but I thought she had been referring to the book, A Member of the Wedding.
Delta Wedding is challenging. You do have to sort of mentally relax to not get uptight about the whirl-wind of dialogue and action being thrown all at once at the reader. But, it is very rewarding. Something about it is mysteriously revealing - the strange and nuanced and familiar psychology of family/relatives.
Your posting has helped me not give up. At least I don't feel like I was the only one having a tough time. Also, I think I'll even revisit this novel again.
I started reading the book and it was ok - but I changed to audiobook and it is SOOOOOOooo wonderful - I'm on my 4th listening
I'm in the middle of listening to Delta Wedding on CD. I love the poetry of Eudora Welty's writing and the mystery yet familiarity of her characters and their inner thoughts.
Sally Darling is a gorgeous, nuanced, sensual reader. I could listen to her reciting the phone book. What a plus that she has this lush prose to interpret instead.
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