Quentin Compson

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Quentin Compson is a fictional character created by William Faulkner. He is an intelligent, introspective son of the Compson family. He is featured in Faulkner classics such as The Sound and the Fury and Absalom, Absalom! and also appears in a Faulkner short story, That Evening Sun. Some of his thoughts are articulated with Faulkner's innovative stream-of-consciousness technique. In Absalom, Absalom!, he attempts to solve and reflect on a tragedy/mystery in the past. The passage in The Sound and the Fury's entry gives more information about the character.

After moving North to study at Harvard College, Compson eventually commits suicide.

A plaque on the Larz Anderson Bridge over the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts, commemorates his life and death. The small brass plaque, located on the brick wall of the bridge about eighteen inches from the bottom in an alcove near the Weld Boathouse, reads:

"Quentin Compson.
Drowned in the odour of honeysuckle.
1891-1910"

Quentin Compson is also the name of his niece, the illegitimate daughter of his sister Candace (Caddy).

[edit] Sources

• Bombardieri, Marcella. "Bridging Fact and Fiction Marker a Nod to Faulkner." The Boston Globe. January 19, 2001.