A Spool of Blue Thread

Red is a loving husband and patient father. He owns a construction company, and his nature is much like his profession: ordered. This outlook on life is what pits Red and Denny against one another so often. Denny won’t settle down or take pride in anything, while Red admires hardworking individuals who know their orders, themselves, and what they want in life. He blames Abby’s “ideas” as a social worker for Denny’s character, while she blames his overbearing masculinity as a construction worker.

Red begins losing his hearing, which symbolizes a breakdown in the family unit. The family unit is tied to the house it lives in, and Red treats the house like just another family member. As Red—and Abby—diminish, so too do the family and the house. Red decides to leave the house after Abby dies. The house, which Red inherited from his father, has essentially haunted the family. By novel’s end, Red is ready to let go, thus symbolizing his ability to now say goodbye to Abby.

Denny is the black sheep of the family. He hardly keeps in touch, is secretive, and blames his mother Abby for most of his problems. Denny’s character represents the inability to let go of the past. Despite his siblings growing up and starting families of their own, Denny remains stuck in the family of his memory, at a time in his life when he never felt like he belonged. Denny does have moments of redeeming qualities, but these are usually short-lived based on his self-destructive nature. He does, however, change slowly. He loves his daughter, Susan, even when it’s revealed that she’s not really his. He also loves Alison, whom he’s estranged from. At the end of the narrative, after making peace with his mother’s death, he journeys to Alison’s house—someone no one in the family knows—in an attempt to repair their relationship and finally build a home.

Stem, or Douglas, isn’t a Whitshank by blood. He also wasn’t adopted legally by the family. Despite his father’s death and his mother’s abandonment, Stem becomes the son most like Red, a fact that angers Denny. Stem is calm, collected, and ordered, much like Red. He goes into the family business without protest, highlighting a knack for staying put like most of the Whitshanks. When Stem finds out that Abby knew his birth mother, and that he used to make fun of his birth mother without even knowing who she was, Stem has a crisis moment. Oddly, it’s Denny who gets him to see that he’s a Whitshank regardless of blood, which causes Stem to revert back to his calm demeanor. 

Amanda is the oldest daughter of Abby and Red. She works in a law firm and is straightforward to the point of bluntness. Despite this, Amanda is the one who gets things done. She calls Denny and tells him to stop treating his family rudely, thus initiating his reestablishment in the narrative. Despite her no-nonsense demeanor, Amanda suffers from marital problems because her husband is free-spirited, a trait that the Whitshanks find off-putting.

Jeannie is the daughter of Red and Abby, and like Stem, she goes immediately into the family business after graduation. Jeannie is a hard worker, yet her relaxed nature contrasts sharply with her sister Amanda’s. Like Amanda, Jeannie marries a man named Hugh. Hugh is similar to Red, highlighting just how much Jeannie respects her father and her family’s steadfastness. Jeannie suffers from post-partum depression and enlists Denny to care for her child. This act suggests that Jeannie is closer to Denny than the others, and is quick to forgive.

Junior is the patriarch of the Whitshank family, despite the family not really knowing much about his past or origins. It’s later revealed that he’s from North Carolina, and from humble beginnings. After having sex with a minor (whom he later marries) and fleeing the state, Junior begins his odyssey to remake himself by moving to Baltimore. Junior’s younger self exhibits confidence, determination, patience, and optimism. Once his future wife tracks him down, Junior’s ideals change. Though he doesn’t love Linnie Mae, he sticks with her, showing both a kind and cruel side (he hates her but also pities her). As his status in society grows, his bitterness with the rich grows as well because they refuse to accept him. By novel’s end, Junior has morphed into a bitter man who, despite his successes, is never satisfied with his station in life. 

Linnie Mae is introduced as a warm, loving mother who silently fosters the Whitshank clan. She loves her husband Junior, and Abby admires her. Linnie Mae’s mothering and good-natured traits are called into question, however, when she upbraids Abby for working in a poor black neighborhood filled with “dangerous people.” This event fleshes out Linnie Mae’s overly sheltered origins as a privileged country girl in North Carolina. There, she fell in love with an older man, committing a crime when she not only sleeps with him routinely but pursues him relentlessly. This highlights a naivete that can still be seen (especially in her assessment of people of color). Though she’s portrayed as simple, Linnie Mae knows exactly how to get what she wants, even though it’s never revealed that she’s actively trying to do so. Her entire story about being wooed by Junior turns out to be a contrived—and successful—attempt to secure Junior as her husband.