The characters / Likely connection
Arlene Cullum
A likely identity connection, supported by compatible details but not established as one person.
Distinctive identical name and matching childcare role in Maine; plausible chronology.
Separate catalog identities: Arlene Cullum (Bag of Bones) and Arlene Cullum (Dolores Claiborne).
Stories and supporting passages
Bag of Bones
Read the passage Spoilers · Story context
I work five days a week, and in August, when we do the microfiche update, it'll be six. Right now Ki gets her lunch at Vacation Bible School and her dinner from Arlene Cullum. I see her in the mornings.
Distinctive identical name and matching childcare role in Maine; plausible chronology.
Dolores Claiborne
Read the passage Spoilers · Story context
In the summer I left him with Arlene Cullum—Vera wouldn’t have a crying baby in the house, not her—but when she and her husband were gone, I’d bring both him and Selena in with me. Selena could be mostly left alone—even at two going on three she could be trusted most of the time.
Distinctive identical name and matching childcare role in Maine; plausible chronology.
Read the passage Spoilers · Story context
… when I went to work for her in the first place—this was in 1949—I went like you’d go into a dragon’s cave.
Distinctive identical name and matching childcare role in Maine; plausible chronology.