Character Analysis

Mrs. Venable: Mrs. Venable only cared about one thing in her life--her son.  Her relationship with her son was very unique.  Sebastian, his poetry, his garden, and their summer vacations together were the only things she talked about.  She blamed his death on Catharine because it was his last summer vacation, and she was not there to take care of him.  Not only did she have to grieve for her only son's death, but also at the beginning of the play, she became a widow; however, the death of her husband was not as important as the death of her son.  After her husband's death, she became very rich.  The only thing she wanted to do with her money was to erase the story of how Sebastian died from Catharine's head.  She never believes the story of how Sebastian dies, so she never truly understands why he died.

Miss Catharine Holly: Catharine was Mrs. Venable's niece.  At the beginning of the play, all of her family members believe she lost her mind after Sebastian's death; therefore, they never believe her story on how he died.  She made herself forget what happened in Cabeza de Lobo, but slowly reveals parts of the story to the doctor.  Her aunt wants the doctor to perform a lobotomy on her, but Catharine knows that it's only out of hatred and jealousy.