Cora is a character we don't really get a lot on as we continue later in the book. She does provide some deep insight into various Bundrens, but at the same time she is a very comedic. I picture her as the typical busybody neighbor. Cora's nosy ways and opinion of herself as being morally superior remind me a lot of a character in Anne of Green Gables named Rachel Lynde. She's the neighbor of the Cuthberts who involves herself in everything that's going on and is always gossiping. She's very tough on Anne, making rude comments about her and criticizing her for everything. I distinctly remember one part of the story where the Cuthberts' cow had gotten loose and into Rachel's cabbages. She completely blamed Anne and yelled at her about it even though it wasn't her fault. She also unnecessarily said Anne's hair looked like a carrot- which she was very sensitive about. Even though Rachel means well, she comes off as not very likable.
Cora doesn't really have much to entertain herself outside of work around the house/farm, and they live in the country so she preoccupies herself with getting into the business of the closest people to her- the Bundrens. She seems to have a strong moral compass and an opinion on everything the Bundrens do. One particularly strong example is her opinions on Addie's religious stance. There are multiple times when we get glimpses back to when Addie was healthy and she was discussing religion with Cora (both from Addie and Cora's perspectives). Cora took it upon herself to save Addie. She tries to convince Addie to put herself in God's hands and rethink her sinful and cynical ways. She says that Addie can't make judgements because that's God's job. This seems a bit contradictory considering that Cora herself is judging Addie. However, Addie thinks about sin and religion much differently than Cora does. It's almost like she actually completely ambivalent on the inside but puts on this mask of having some kind of religious belief since Cora (and Whitfield?) care about religion a lot.
I totally agree that Cora acts as a comedic character in the story, and I think you bring up an interesting point about how Cora and Whitfield probably put a lot of pressure on Addie when it comes to religion because they are such devout christians while we haven't seen the Bundren family as being particularly involved in the church.
ReplyDeleteI never really put much consideration into Cora as a character, but I would agree with most of these points. Cora really has few sources of entertainment besides involving herself in the Bundrens' affairs. She fulfills a pretty important role of contrasting the Bundrens esp. regarding religion.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite description of Cora comes from Vernon Tull himself, and I don't have my book in front of me, but it's the point at the end of one of his early chapters when he contemplates how if God needed to take a day off, Vernon reckons he could leave Cora in charge for a bit, and that she'd probably find a few things she'd like to change, and she'd go ahead and do it. And they'd probably be changes for the better. Or, at least, we'd all better go ahead and agree that they are, as it'll be easiest for us that way.
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