them (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Joyce Carol Oates
- First Published: 1969
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Naturalism
- Time of Work: 1937-1967
- Setting: The Midwest
- Genres: Long fiction, Naturalistic literature
- Subjects: 1950’s, 1960’s, Family or family life, Murder or homicide, 1940’s, Midwest, 1930’s, Violence, Romanticism
- Locales: Midwest (U.S.)
Characters Discussed
Loretta Wendall, née Botsford, the mother of Jules and Maureen. A generally passive and not particularly intelligent woman, she has an extravagantly romantic nature that is never satisfied. Her one truly independent gesture, an escape to Detroit from the stifling home of her in-laws, ends in humiliation but does achieve her goal of leaving the country for the city. As she grows older, she becomes more limited in her aspirations and more shrewish in her complaints. She is crudely racist and moralistic but is also a survivor in a brutal and violent...
[The entire page is 686 words long]
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