Willy Summary and Analysis

Willy was married to Lillian's eccentric great-aunt Lily who Lillian was named after. Lily was much younger than her siblings and only about ten years older that Lillian's mother. Lillian was about ten years old when Aunt Lily and Uncle Willy lived in a big house on St. Charles Street in New Orleans. Uncle Willy was a well-known citizen in New Orleans and famous throughout the state. He held an important position in a large corporation where he had an up and down career. He borrowed money and gambled it away. He'd borrowed from Lily's inheritance and lost it, paid it back, borrowed again but eventually was not allowed to borrow any more.

Willy's behavior led to a long silence between him and Lily. Their son, only known by the nickname, Honey, who was a few years younger than Lillian, sat...