The woman
Table of contents
Outer characterization
We never learn the name of the woman in Ron Rash’s short story “Last Bridge Burned”. The woman is probably “thirty at most” (l. 36). She comes from Nashville, but she has lost the place she lived in (l. 112). She is an alcoholic at the time of the main events (l. 87), but within two years, she has managed to overcome this addiction and become a successful singer (l. 157).
When he first sees her, Carlyle notices her rough appearance: “The woman was barefoot and a scrape above her left eye seeped blood, her right forearm scraped and bleeding also. Though it was October, she wore only frayed jeans and an oversized black t-shirt. The clothes looked slept in” (ll. 4-5). On the other hand, he also admits “there was a prettiness about...
