Wash (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: William Faulkner
- First Published: 1934
- Type of Plot: Psychological
- Time of Work: 1872
- Setting: Sutpen's Hundred, Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi
- Principal Characters: Wash Jones, Thomas Sutpen, Milly Jones, Milly's newborn daughter, An old black Woman
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
- Subjects: Sexism, South or Southerners, Cruelty
- Locales: Yoknapatawpha County (fictive)
The Story
The opening page and a half, set in 1872 at dawn on Sunday morning, presents all principal characters except Wash Jones. It begins with Thomas Sutpen standing above the pallet where Milly Jones and her child lie; Sutpen's arrogance is seen in his stance, with whip in hand, as he looks down on the mother and child. His mare has also given birth; the contrast between his attitude toward the colt and toward his and Milly's child presents the central problem of the story: The mare has borne a male; Milly, a female. If Milly were a mare, he would provide better quarters...
[The entire page is 1718 words long]
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