- Addie Bundren – Addie is married to Anse and the mother of Cash, Darl, Jewel, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman.
- Anse Bundren – Anse is Addie's husband, later her widower. He is the father of all the children but Jewel.
- Cash Bundren – Cash is a skilled and helpful carpenter and the eldest son of the family. In his late twenties, he builds Addie's coffin. Throughout the novel, he builds an attachment to his tools and proves to be heroic, but to a fault.
- Darl Bundren – The second eldest of Addie's children, Darl is about two years younger than Cash. Darl is the most articulate character in the book; he narrates 19 of the 59 chapters. Much of the plot is fueled and narrated by Darl as, throughout the book, he descends into insanity.
- Jewel Bundren – Jewel is the third of the Bundren children, most likely around nineteen years of age. A half-brother to the other children and the favorite of Addie, he is the illegitimate son of Addie and Reverend Whitfield. No one, other than Addie, seems to know this.
- Dewey Dell Bundren – Dewey Dell is the only daughter of Anse and Addie Bundren; at seventeen years old, she is the second youngest of the Bundren children. She was impregnated by Lafe and, as the family journeys to Jefferson, she unsuccessfully seeks an abortion.
- Vardaman Bundren – Vardaman is the youngest Bundren child, somewhere between seven and ten years old.
- Vernon Tull – Vernon is a good friend of the Bundrens, who appears in the book as a good farmer, less religious than his wife.
- Cora Tull – Cora is the wife of Vernon Tull. She is very religious and judgmental.
- Eula Tull – Cora and Vernon's daughter.
- Kate Tull – Cora and Vernon's other daughter.
- Peabody – Peabody is the Bundrens' doctor; he narrates two chapters of the book. Anse sends for him shortly before Addie's death, too late for Peabody to do anything more than watch Addie die. Toward the end of the book, when he is working on Cash's leg, Peabody candidly assesses Anse and the entire Bundren family from the perspective of the community at large. Dr. Peabody is also a recurring character in the Yoknapatawpha County universe.
- Lafe – Lafe is a farmer who has impregnated Dewey Dell and given her $10 to get an abortion.
- Reverend Whitfield – Whitfield is the local minister with whom Addie had an affair, resulting in the birth of Jewel.
- Samson – Samson is a local farmer who lets the Bundren family stay with him the first night on their journey to Jefferson. Samson's wife, Rachel, is disgusted with the way the family is treating Addie by dragging her coffin through the countryside.
- Other narrators: MacGowan, Moseley, and Armstid
This content is from Wikipedia. GradeSaver is providing this content as a courtesy until we can offer a professionally written study guide by one of our staff editors. We do not consider this content professional or citable. Please use your discretion when relying on it.
