Pa's older brother, John has, for many years, carried the responsibility for the death of his young wife during her first pregnancy. Midway through her pregnancy term, she had complained of stomach pains. John refused to get a doctor, because he was sure she had simply "Et too much." By the next afternoon, she was out of her head with pain and soon died from a burst appendix. Wracked with remorse for this "sin," John alternates between drunkenness and widespread acts of haphazard charity. He lives with the burden of this individual sin, which seems to become overwhelming during times of family crisis.
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