Caroline Abendsen
Caroline Abendsen is the wife of Hawthorne Abendsen, the author of the banned alternate-history novel The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. She is a woman of formidable competence and sharp intelligence, but she is also deeply unsettled by the disruptive truths that her husband's book and its most fervent readers bring into their lives. Her role in the novel is that of a protective gatekeeper, a realist who sees the danger her husband is in, and a reluctant witness to the unsettling revelations that the book provokes.
Identity and Household
Caroline Abendsen is described as a woman with reddish-brown hair, possibly around thirty-five years old, with strong, unwinking gray eyes and a smile that Juliana Frink immediately recognizes as "so thoroughly competent and remorseless." Juliana, a judo instructor and the ex-wife of Frank Frink, decides that only Irish blood could give Caroline's jawline such femininity. Caroline is the one who answers the phone when Juliana calls from Greeley, Colorado, and she is the one who greets Juliana at the door of the Abendsens' ordinary stucco house in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The house is not the fortress of rumor; it has a child's tricycle in the driveway, a living room with a piano and bookcases, and is filled with friends at a party. Caroline manages the household and acts as a gatekeeper for her husband, a man who is both a celebrated author and a target for Nazi assassins.
Role as Gatekeeper and Protector
Caroline is acutely aware of the danger her husband faces. When Juliana warns that the SD or Gestapo will eventually send someone to kill him, Caroline urges Hawthorne to at least carry a weapon. "I know someday someone you invite in and converse with will shoot you down, some Nazi expert paying you back; and you'll be philosophizing just this way. I forsee it," she says, her fear and frustration palpable. She is the practical one, the one who sees the threat clearly and wants to take action, in contrast to Hawthorne's fatalistic acceptance. She also acts as a social buffer, guiding Juliana through the party and introducing her to Hawthorne, but her smile vanishes when the conversation turns serious.
Witness to Revelation
Caroline is present for the novel's climactic revelation. When Juliana, having consulted the I Ching, asks the oracle why it wrote The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, Caroline is the one who reveals the book's secret origin. She tells Juliana that Hawthorne made thousands of choices for the novel by means of the I Ching's lines, over a period of years. "One by one Hawth made the choices. Thousands of them. By means of the lines. Historic period. Subject. Characters. Plot. It took years," she explains. She is the one who urges Hawthorne to tell Juliana the truth, saying, "She's right; she's entitled to know, for what she did on your behalf." When Hawthorne hesitates, she offers to ask the oracle herself. She is a witness to the moment when the oracle's answer—the hexagram Inner Truth—is revealed, and Hawthorne is forced to confront the possibility that his fiction is, in fact, true.
Reaction to Disruption
Caroline is deeply unsettled by Juliana's visit and the truth it uncovers. After Juliana leaves, Caroline tells her, "You're terribly, terribly disruptive." She admits to Juliana that she is upset and cannot take it all in, despite the fact that Juliana may have saved Hawthorne's life. "If you saved Hawthorne's life it's dreadful of me, but I'm so upset; I can't take it all in, what you've said and Hawthorne has said," she confesses. Her reaction is one of anger and confusion, not the pleased excitement Juliana expected. She represents the human resistance to a truth that is as terrible as death, and harder to find. Her final, forced smile is a gesture of civility in the face of an overwhelming reality.
