# Cora Kabnis — Cane character guide

> Cora Kabnis in Cane by Jean Toomer.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Cora, Cora an Kabnis

**First appearance:** 0043-part-iii-kabnis

## Snapshot

Ralph Kabnis's sister, whose cool palms and starched dress are the only shelter her feverish brother can bear to be pressed against.

## Who they are

Carrie Kabnis moves through the cellar of Father John's church with a tenderness her brother cannot accept, restraining his contempt and drawing the fever from his hot cheeks with her firm cool hands. When Father John mutters that the sin is the white folks' lie about Jesus, she alone stays to listen, wet-eyed, while Kabnis rages. She is the one steady presence in his Northern exile, the sister whose touch shames and soothes him at once.

## In the story

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-iii-v)

A tall, thin mulatto woman; she laughs loosely and later sprawls on the mattresses with Kabnis.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters/cora_kabnis
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters