# Cora Tull — As I Lay Dying character guide

> Cora Tull in As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Cora, Cora Tull

**First appearance:** 0003-cora

## Snapshot

Vernon's wife, a hymn-singing neighbor who measures the Bundrens against her own certainty of salvation and finds them wanting.

## Who they are

Cora visits Addie's deathbed, sings about bounding toward her God, and delivers verdicts on everyone in earshot. She is pious, gossipy, and convinced that Addie's suffering is a lesson, that Anse is a cross, and that her own reward is waiting. Her voice gives the novel its sharpest counterpoint: a woman who thinks she knows what death means, standing beside a family that cannot agree on anything.

## Relationships

### [Anse Bundren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/anse_bundren)

_social_

Neighbors; Cora judges Anse harshly for his selfishness and lack of piety, while he remains oblivious.

### [Cash Bundren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/cash_bundren)

_social_

Neighbors; Cora approves of Cash's industriousness and quiet nature, unlike the rest of his family.

### [Jewel Bundren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/jewel_bundren)

_social_

Neighbor and young man; Cora disapproves of Jewel's temper and pride, seeing him as sinful.

### [Anse Bundren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/anse_bundren)

_social_

Neighbors; Cora judges Anse harshly for his selfishness and lack of piety, while he remains oblivious.

### [Anse Bundren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/anse_bundren)

_social_

Neighbors; Cora judges Anse harshly for his selfishness and lack of piety, while he remains oblivious.

### [Jewel Bundren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/jewel_bundren)

_social_

Neighbor and young man; Cora disapproves of Jewel's temper and pride, seeing him as sinful.

## In the story

### [Cora](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/cora)

Narrates the chapter, expressing frustration over unsold cakes and observing Addie's condition.

### [Cora](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/cora)

Narrator and moral commentator; expresses judgment and piety regarding the Bundrens.

### [Tull](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/tull)

Offers religious comfort and practical concern; critical of the family's situation.

### [Tull](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/tull)

Vernon's wife; insists on going to the Bundrens as a Christian duty, singing hymns and interpreting events as a judgment on Anse.

### [Tull](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/tull)

Discusses the river crossing with Tull, attributing the accident to the hand of God.

### [Cora](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/cora)

Narrates the chapter, expressing her religious views and praying for Addie.

### [Addie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/addie)

Addie recalls Cora's prayers and judgments about sin and duty, which Addie dismisses as mere words.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters/cora_tull
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/characters