The Robber Bridegroom
Eudora Welty
Summary
Clement Musgrove was an innocent planter. He meets two guys at an inn. One of them is a bandit, Jamie Lockhart, and the other is a famous folklore figure, Mike Fink. Jamie saves Clement from being robbed and murdered by Fink. Clement tells Jamie about his past, when his first wife and two sons were captured, tortured, and killed by the Indians. His daughter Rosamond remains, and he remarried an ugly woman named Salome. Salome harasses Rosamond, who in turn fights this by creating her own fantasy world. Salome has hired a man, Goat, to follow Rosamond and "finish her off" if he finds the chance. Rosamond was sent to the far side of the woods one day to get the finest herbs. While she was there, she met Jamie, the bandit, and he robbed her of her clothes. Ever since that day, things were different.
Cover of the book
The Robber Bridegroom by Eudora Welty. N.d. Photograph. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. <http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/870455.The_Robber_Bridegroom>.
Characters
Rosamond is the main character. She is a little girl who lost her mother and is now stuck with an evil stepmother. She does what her stepmother tells her to do and respects her. Her father doesn't know how bad she has it. Clement Musgrove is the father. He lost his first wife and two sons. He is not mentioned much in the story. Salome is the stepmother. She is trying to get rid of Rosamond so she doesn't have to deal with her. Goat is the person that Salome hires to get rid of Rosamond. Jamie is the bandit that robs Rosamond and they become friends.
Favorite Passage
“The moon shone bright, and it cast a fair light: ‘Welcome,’ says she, ‘my honey, my sweet! For I have loved thee this seven long year, And our chance it was we could never meet.’ Then he took her in his armes-two, And kissed her both cheek and chin, And twice or thrice he kissed this may, Before they were parted in twin.”
This is the song that Rosamond sang to pass the time away. I like it because it is a nice song.