cipal storytellers (Kozikowski 149).
Raney is one of the strongest of Edgerton's characters, and she tells of her marriage and the differences between herself and her husband. Charles comes from a big town, Raney from a small one. Raney is a devout Southern Baptist, and Charles, more liberal in his thinking. She is a racist, and he has a black friend. The novel is about Raney's adjustment to marriage, difficult under the best of circumstances, but especially difficult for these opposites. They speak to a marriage counselor at one point and are told to listen to one another. Sound has indeed brought them together, for it was music they found they had in common. Raney expresses how this attraction has worked upon her:
Charles is very intelligent, and good looking in his own way--his head is slightly large, but I think it just seems that way because his shoulders are narrow--and, oh, we had one or two little fusses getting ready for the wedding, but not more than you'd shake a stick at. And we've been playing music at different gatherings right along through all this--getting better and better and having lots of fun. Charles learns real fast and we like the same music mostly (Edgerton, Raney 17).
Raney is compared by one critic to Huck Finn because her voice is sharp and natural:
Raney is a small-town girl, conservative, half-educated, and prejudiced in a variety of ways. But she's also honest, goodhearted, funny and sensible (Pearson 3).
Raney's character is presented with humor, which makes some of her prejudice and small-mindedness more palatable:
With very little plot and no pretension, this charming vignette about the marriage of Raney, a smalltown Southern Baptist, to Charles, a biggertown Southern Methodist with a B.A., makes you smile at the artful innocence of the bride and the smart-aleck liberalism of the groom ("Raney" 60).
Edgerton is so skilled at creating this character and making her live on ...