Joanna Burden

E535839

Joanna Burden is a central, reclusive abolitionist-descended woman in William Faulkner’s novel "Light in August," whose complex relationship with race, religion, and the protagonist Joe Christmas drives much of the story’s tragedy.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Statements Referenced by

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Character in a novel
Fictional character
appearsIn Light in August NERFINISHED
associatedWithAuthorCycle Yoknapatawpha County saga NERFINISHED
associatedWithTheme Abolitionism NERFINISHED
Guilt
Outsider status
Race
Redemption
Religion
Sexuality
Southern racism
Violence
causeOfDeath Homicide
conflictWith White community of Jefferson
createdBy William Faulkner NERFINISHED
deathInWork Murdered in Light in August NERFINISHED
drivesPlotOf Light in August NERFINISHED
familyBackground Descended from New England abolitionists
firstPublicationContext Light in August (1932) NERFINISHED
gender Female
houseLocation Outskirts of Jefferson NERFINISHED
killedBy Joe Christmas NERFINISHED
literaryAnalysisCategory Outsider figure in Southern Gothic
Tragic heroine
literaryPeriod Modernist literature
moralPerceptionInText Ambiguous
narrativeFunction Catalyst for Joe Christmas’s fate
nationality American (fictional)
occupation Philanthropist toward Black institutions (fictional)
perceivedAs Outsider by the Jefferson community
politicalView Sympathetic to Black people in the American South
relationshipTypeWithJoeChristmas Benefactor
Lover
relationshipWith Joe Christmas NERFINISHED
religiousBackground Protestant
residence Jefferson, Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi (fictional) NERFINISHED
roleInWork Central character in Light in August
setDuring Early 20th century
setIn American South NERFINISHED
socialStatus Reclusive
supports Black charities
Black schools
symbolizes Burden of racial history
Northern liberal conscience in the South
viewedByCommunityAs Race traitor

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Light in August character Joanna Burden
Joe Christmas kills Joanna Burden