Caddy Compson Timeline and Summary

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• Caddy un-snags Benjy’s shirt.
• They crawl through the fence together, Caddy guiding Benjy all the way.
• Caddy tells Benjy to keep his hands in his pockets. It’s cold out.
• It’s also Christmas. As Caddy says, no one wants to be hand-less on Christmas day.
• Uncle Maury wants Caddy and Benjy to deliver a letter to one of his lovers, Mrs. Patterson. It’s a Christmas present.
• Benjy’s in the water with Caddy when Roskus comes to get them for dinner.
• Caddy squats down and gets her dress wet.
• Versh says that her mom will whip her for getting wet.
• Caddy argues that she won’t get whipped.
• After all, she’s seven. She should know.
• Quentin, her brother, says she will. He knows more. He goes to school.
• Declaring that she’s going to run away, Caddy says that she doesn’t care if she gets whipped or not.
• Caddy tells Frony and T.P. that everyone has to mind her the night Damuddy dies.
• Caddy wants to see what’s going on in the main house.
• She gets Versh to boost her up into the tree.
• Benjy watches as Caddy’s muddy drawers disappear up into the tree.
• Frony whispers up to Caddy to ask what she sees.
• Caddy explains to Maury that his name’s been changed to Benjy.
• Caddy tries to hug Benjy when she doesn’t smell like trees (she’s wearing perfume).
• Benjy, of course, bellows.
• Caddy can’t quite figure out what the problem is. Jason sneers at her dress, saying that Benjy’s probably bellowing because she’s become so prissy.
• Caddy tries to get Benjy to tell her what the problem is.
• Benjy hears water in the bathroom. When Caddy comes out, she smells like trees.
• Caddy understands. She blames herself for not listening to Benjy. Together, the two go downstairs and give the perfume to Dilsey.
• Caddy sits on a swing with her boyfriend, Charlie.
• Benjy finds them and gets angry. Of course, he can’t say anything, but he bellows.
• Charlie gets mad, too, wondering why Benjy’s allowed to roam about without anyone to look after him.
• Caddy tries to push Charlie away. He pulls her to him.
• Benjy notices how fast Caddy breathes.
• Caddy breaks away from Charlie and runs with Benjy into the house.
• She washes her mouth out with soap.
• Caddy runs off with Dalton Ames.
• Quentin finds Caddy down in the branch (that’s a stream, remember?).
• She’s lying down with her legs in the water.
• Quentin asks her over and over if she loves the man.
• Caddy doesn’t say anything, but she puts Quentin’s hand over her heart, where he feels her blood throbbing.
• Quentin suddenly pulls out a knife and threatens to push it into Caddy’s throat.
• Caddy sees Dalton. She runs up to him, and Quentin sees their bodies blur together.
• Caddy tells him to go back to the house, but Quentin says he’s going for a walk.
• He comes back, and Caddy’s alone.
• As they walk, Quentin pushes her to find out how she feels about her lover.
• He threatens to kill Caddy a few times.
• They’re both crying. Caddy insists that she’s bad.
• Caddy gets pregnant. She leaves, then comes back with a fiancé, Herbert Head.
• Herbert mentions to Quentin that he once thought Quentin was Caddy’s lover, not her brother. He’s all she ever talks about.
• Herbert’s smarmy. Quentin urges Caddy not to marry Herbert: she’s sick, so she can’t marry him.
• Caddy says she has to – otherwise, Benjy will be sent to Jackson.
• (Jackson is where the mental institution is.)
• Quentin asks Caddy if there have been many men for her.
• She’s distracted; she says there have been too many, then asks him to look after Benjy again.
• Quentin tells Caddy that he wants to run away with her and Benjy.
• She scoffs – there’s no money. Besides that, their father is drinking himself to death.
• Caddy gets married and leaves.
• Soon after she has her baby, however, Herbert realizes that he’s not the father.
• He leaves Caddy.
• Caddy sends her daughter, Quentin, to Jefferson to be raised by her mother.
• She sends lots of money to Quentin, but Jason steals most of it.
• Mrs. Compson refuses to mention Caddy’s name in the house.
• Caddy shows up at her father’s funeral.
• No one had told her about his death – she just read it in the paper.
• Jason notices that someone’s put expensive flowers on his father’s grave – and on Quentin’s.
• Angry that Caddy showed up, Jason boasts that no one even speaks her name at the house.
• Caddy offers to pay Jason fifty dollars for a sight of her daughter.
• Jason, ever the businessman, asks for one hundred.
• After some haggling, she agrees.
• Jason tells her where to stand, and then he gets Quentin and the buggy.
• When they pass Caddy, Jason whips the horses so that they fly by her.
• Jason watches with delight as Caddy runs frantically after the buggy.
• The next day, Caddy shows up at the store.
• Jason’s furious. She should know better than to come into the town.
• Caddy wants to see her baby, but Jason refuses.
• He threatens to tell Mother she’s here if she doesn’t leave immediately.
• Unable to do anything, Caddy leaves.
• Jason realizes that Dilsey will probably let her into the house, so he rushes home.
• Sure enough, she’s been there. He can tell by the way that Benjy is bawling.
• She sends Quentin fifty dollars, which Jason takes.
• Caddy sends Jason a letter insisting that Jason telegraph her about Quentin’s well-being.