# Junius Murray — Plum Bun character guide

> Junius Murray in Plum Bun by Jessie Redmon Fauset.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Junius Murray

**First appearance:** 0003-home

## Snapshot

Angela and Virginia's father, a postal worker whose hard-won respectability on Opal Street represents everything his elder daughter is determined to escape.

## Who they are

Junius Murray, with his wife Mattie, built the little house on Opal Street out of poverty and homelessness, and to him it is the ne plus ultra of ambition. His stories of arduous trades and infinitesimal savings would make a latter-day Iliad, but to Angela they describe only a life she means at any cost to avoid. His quiet pride and the family's modest security form the baseline against which Angela's restlessness and reinvention are measured.

## Relationships

### [Angela Murray](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plum_bun_se/characters/angela_murray)

_family_

Angela's father, a loving but more cautious figure who disapproves of passing.

### [Angela Murray](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plum_bun_se/characters/angela_murray)

_family_

Angela's father, a loving but more cautious figure who disapproves of passing.

### [Angela Murray](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plum_bun_se/characters/angela_murray)

_family_

Angela's father, a loving but more cautious figure who disapproves of passing.

## In the story

### [Plum Bun: A Novel Without a Moral](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plum_bun_se/chapters/plum-bun)

The father, who does not pass and represents a different relationship to racial identity.

### [Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plum_bun_se/chapters/home)

Junius represents the stability and sacrifice within the family home, grounding the narrative of domestic life.

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

Angela's dark-skinned father, who understands and accepts his wife's harmless 'passing' and prefers exploring old Philadelphia with Virginia.

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

Junius is the patriarchal figure, a good provider, who enjoys singing bass and leading the family in hymns.

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

Mattie's husband, a tall, black, grave coachman who delivers a note for her and later marries her.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plum_bun_se/chapters/v)

Praised by Mattie for his wisdom; shares a tender moment with Virginia after dinner.

### [Home Again](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plum_bun_se/chapters/home-again)

Angela's father, part of the family reunion, representing the stability of home.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plum_bun_se/characters/junius_murray
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plum_bun_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plum_bun_se/characters