# Felice Venable — Cimarron character guide

> Felice Venable in Cimarron by Edna Ferber.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Felice, a Venable, Venable

**First appearance:** 0004-i

## Snapshot

Sabra's Southern cousin, whose visits bring lavender-scented linen, stately silver, and the old Venable disapproval of everything frontier Oklahoma has made of the family.

## Who they are

Felice belongs to the Louisiana branch of the Venables, the clan whose chests of linen and flashing sideboards represent the tradition Sabra left behind. She and her relatives call Cimarron by his full Spanish name, a small act of correction that stings Sabra into realizing how much of Yancey she has let shape her son. Through Felice's genteel shock at the raw new country, the novel measures the distance between the Old South Sabra came from and the rough town she is helping to build.

## Relationships

### [Sabra Cravat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/characters/sabra_cravat)

_family_

Sabra's mother, a refined Southern lady who disapproves of Sabra's frontier life and Yancey's influence.

### [Yancey Cravat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/characters/yancey_cravat)

_family_

Mother-in-law and son-in-law, with Felice viewing Yancey as an irresponsible adventurer who ruined her daughter's prospects.

### [Yancey Cravat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/characters/yancey_cravat)

_family_

Mother-in-law and son-in-law, with Felice viewing Yancey as an irresponsible adventurer who ruined her daughter's prospects.

### [Sabra Cravat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/characters/sabra_cravat)

_family_

Sabra's mother, a refined Southern lady who disapproves of Sabra's frontier life and Yancey's influence.

### [Sabra Cravat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/characters/sabra_cravat)

_family_

Sabra's mother, a refined Southern lady who disapproves of Sabra's frontier life and Yancey's influence.

### [Yancey Cravat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/characters/yancey_cravat)

_family_

Mother-in-law and son-in-law, with Felice viewing Yancey as an irresponsible adventurer who ruined her daughter's prospects.

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/chapters/i)

Matriarch of the Venable family, who laments the absence of Southern customs and is indifferent to the bustling Wichita society.

### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/chapters/ii)

Vehemently opposes Yancey's plan to take Sabra and Cim to Oklahoma, insisting on her Southern refinement.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/chapters/iii)

Mentioned as Sabra's mother who is 'wild' about the move.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/chapters/iv)

Opposes the departure, takes to her bed, and issues contradictory orders while trailing about the house in a white dimity wrapper.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/chapters/xii)

Criticizes Sabra's appearance and life choices; represents the old Southern gentility Sabra is leaving behind.

### [Chapter XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/chapters/xiv)

Sabra's mother, mentioned as a model for Sabra's hysterical 'Marcy temperament' display.

### [Chapter XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/chapters/xv)

Visits from Wichita with other Venables to bring Sabra home, but is rebuffed; she scorns Yancey's memory.

### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/chapters/xx)

Mentioned as Donna's grandmother, critical of Yancey and approving of Donna's pragmatism.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/characters/felice_venable
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cimarron_se/characters