Red Dead Wiki
Register
Advertisement

John... I love you. Don't you forget that... not ever now.
Abigail Marston in The Wheel

Abigail Marston (née Roberts) is a recurring character in the Red Dead series, featured as a major character in both Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2.

With the addition of the Liars and Cheats DLC pack, Abigail Marston is also a multiplayer character model that may be selected in the 'Redemption' section of the Outfitter.

AbigailRobertsBio

Biography in RDR 2 (click to enlarge)

History[]

Background[]

An orphan who grew up scraping out a living in dive bars and brothels in the West, Abigail is a strong, straight‐talking woman who has seen a lot of life and knows what it takes to survive against the odds.
Rockstar Games' description of Abigail.

Abigail Marston was born in 1877 as Abigail Roberts. An orphan, Abigail eventually became part of the Van der Linde gang after being introduced to them all by Uncle in 1894. As a prostitute, she slept with most of the members of the gang, but ultimately fell in love with John and fell pregnant with their son, Jack, when she was only eighteen. She and John also had a daughter, sometime later. John temporarily left the gang for roughly a year when Jack was around one year old, but later returned. Abigail cared for John deeply and tried to get him to show more interest in their son, Jack. This resulted in arguments between the two, however, as John was not convinced that Jack was his son and had no interest in family life.

Events of Red Dead Redemption 2[]

Colter Chapter[]

Abigail first appears after traveling with the rest of the Van der Linde gang through the mountains following their botched ferry heist in Blackwater, taking shelter in an abandoned mining town. She points out that Davey Callander had succumbed to his wounds. Not long after, she reluctantly requests that Arthur Morgan go out into the snowstorm and bring back John Marston, and after some convincing from Hosea, he grudgingly agrees and ventures out with Javier Escuella. When John is returned, she scolds him for his actions. Soon before the gang robs a Leviticus Cornwall train, she and Jack visit John, and Abigail becomes angry at John's lack of interest for their son.

Horseshoe Overlook Chapter[]

Abigail asks Arthur to take Jack out fishing, as she is concerned that her son is bored at the camp.

Clemens Point Chapter[]

Abigail becomes horrified when Jack is nowhere to be found, and learns that Jack was abducted by the Braithwaites. Dutch promises to bring Jack back to her, and she becomes horribly distraught when the gang learns he was not at the manor.

Saint Denis Chapter[]

After Arthur, John, and Dutch succeed in getting Jack back from Angelo Bronte, she rushes over to Jack and throws a party in celebration of his return.

Along with Hosea, Abigail scouted the Lemoyne National Bank, coming up with the idea of pretending to be real estate investors from New England to avoid suspicion. In a random conversation, Hosea can be overheard telling Simon Pearson that Abigail was "the best actress" he ever saw. He also mentions that during their trip to town Abigail "placed a little explosive device", that would create an "almighty bang" once they went back.[1]

When the gang finally tries to carry out the robbery of the Lemoyne National Bank at the end of Chapter 4 Hosea and Abigail take up the task of distracting the bank guards and the Saint Denis police by setting off a loud explosion a few blocks away from the bank. This however fails and Hosea gets captured by Pinkerton agents, while Abigail manages to escape and return to camp.

Beaver Hollow Chapter[]

In the aftermath of the botched bank job, Abigail learns that John was arrested and is sentenced to be hanged. Abigail pleads to Dutch to save him, but to no avail. She turns to Arthur and Sadie Adler to rescue John, to which they accept. On the day of the breakout, Abigail asks to join them both in rescuing John, but they refuse, saying that she'd just become another thing to worry about. She reluctantly agrees, and thanks them both. When John returns to camp, she embraces him out of relief. Having grown fearful for Jack and at the behest of John and Arthur, Abigail begins to look for Dutch's money stash so that they can escape.

During the train robbery, Abigail gets kidnapped by Agent Milton. As the rest of the gang decided to leave her, Arthur and Sadie rush to her rescue. Sadie also gets captured by Milton during the rescue attempt, before Arthur comes in and starts to free Abigail, only to be held at gunpoint by Agent Milton. After Milton reveals that Micah betrayed the gang to the Pinkertons, he and Arthur end up in a struggle, which is resolved when Abigail manages to break free of her confinements and subsequently shoots Milton in the temple with Sadie's revolver, saving Arthur. As the trio ride back, Arthur informs Abigail that John has seemingly died, causing her to weep. Arthur also tells Abigail and Sadie to go to Copperhead Landing, where they will find Jack and Tilly. Arthur bids them farewell but, before the two depart, a tearful Abigail gives Arthur the key to the chest containing the gang's money, and Arthur compliments her skill as a thief.

Pronghorn Ranch Chapter[]

Abigail is next to John on the wagon in the first scene of the epilogue, berating John for shooting someone, which forced them to upend from their previous residence. They decide to go to Strawberry, due to Abigail claiming that people there are reportedly honest and hard working. Once they arrive, she and Jack get a job cleaning the doctor's surgery in the town. After John gets a job as a ranch-hand at Pronghorn Ranch, she moves with the rest of the family into a cabin that the owner lets them use. An uneasy relationship between the two comes about and Abigail soon begins to worry about Jack, requesting that John must take him out riding. She also sets her sights on a plot of land for sale known as Beecher's Hope.

However, despite Abigail's wishes for John to avoid fighting, John continues to do so, attacking the Laramie Gang and, at one point, killing road agents in front of a horrified Jack. This leads to Abigail becoming frustrated with John's failed promises and as a result, she takes Jack away and leaves John, who becomes regretful.

Beecher's Hope Chapter[]

John writes a letter to Abigail asking her to come back, and says that he has bought the ranch she wanted and constructed a place for them to live. She returns with Jack and a dog named Rufus, and begins filling with joy when she sees what John has done with the originally-barren plot of land. However, this joy turns to worry as John continues to hunt bounties with Sadie to make some extra money. Despite this, she loves John more than ever, and goes on a trip with him to Blackwater. The two get their picture taken, go to the cinema, and go rowing on the lake at sunset, where Abigail accepts John's marriage proposal. Shortly afterwards, John goes with Sadie and Charles to kill Micah despite her pleas for him not to, but he returns safely and the two subsequently get married. After the wedding, Sadie and Charles depart, and Abigail tells John that they have a lot of work to do in order to keep the ranch going.

Events of Red Dead Redemption[]

After four years of peace on the ranch, Abigail and Jack are abducted in 1911, by Edgar Ross and agents of the newly appointed Bureau of Investigation. John is extorted into seeking out his former comrades throughout New Austin, Nuevo Paraíso and into West Elizabeth before their eventual release. During their time in captivity, Abigail stresses how difficult it was for Jack. She also hints that a guard made sexual advances but, with a little prompting on Mrs. Marston’s side, regretted that decision and no one tried it again.

Marston Ranch[]

Upon John's return to the ranch, Abigail criticizes him for having left, afraid that he had rejoined the gang. He assures her that that life is over and things on the ranch return to some level of normality.

While cooking, Abigail hears the sound of crows attacking the ranch's grain silo, and asks John to get rid of them once and for all. Later, Abigail receives a telegram from Bonnie MacFarlane telling them about the crops they lost from pests. She goes out with John to meet Bonnie, worried that John may be cheating on her. Abigail discovers that this is not true, and says afterwards that she liked Bonnie.

At some point afterwards, the ranch is assaulted by Ross and a large contingent of U.S. Army soldiers and lawmen. Uncle is killed in the initial assault, with Abigail and Jack fleeing to the barn alongside John. John demands that Jack ride Abigail to safety, saying that he will catch up. Accepting the realities of John's imminent sacrifice, Abigail and John declare their love and kiss before John sends the horse out the back door of the barn.

John exits the barn and is confronted by a large firing squad, where he is shot and killed in a showdown by their overwhelming numbers. Hearing the gunshots cease, Abigail demands that Jack returns to the ranch. There, they find John's bloodied body, peppered with bullet holes. Abigail is seen mourning the loss of her husband, clinging to Jack for support.

Epilogue[]

In 1914, Abigail Marston dies at approximately 37 years of age from unknown causes, and Jack buries her on the hill of the ranch next to John and Uncle.

Events of Undead Nightmare[]

Note: The events of Undead Nightmare are not considered part of the same canon as Red Dead Redemption. The following description is therefore not contiguous with the preceding section on Red Dead Redemption.

Rdr undead abigail marston official

During the Undead Nightmare DLC, John is in his house with Abigail and Jack. They are all talking about general things, like a book Jack is reading, but they mention that Uncle has not returned from what he was doing yet. Abigail states that, because of the storm, Uncle has probably taken shelter in a dry place nearby and will stay there until the storm subsides.

Later, when John and Abigail are in bed, an undead Uncle tries to attack them and John beats him back with a lamp, seemingly killing him or knocking him out. Abigail shows disgust at the bloodied body and turns away, sickened. John runs to get his gun from the barn, but when he comes back, Uncle has attacked Abigail and is biting her in the neck. John shoots Uncle in the head and tends to Abigail.

At John's call, Jack comes outside and sees Uncle's corpse, but is preoccupied with his mother's state. He runs to help his mother despite John's warning, however, Abigail turns to a zombie and bites Jack, turning him into an Undead as well. John runs to fetch his lasso from the barn and he then hogties both of them and after giving them both a plate of food, he leaves them in the house and sets out to find a cure.

Character[]

Personality[]

The life we led, that doesn't go away. It's never over.
Abigail Marston

Abigail is shown to be a motherly and protective woman. She's strong-willed, independent, and loves her family dearly and can be quite strict at times. She often finds herself at odds with John, disliking her husband's habits of endangering himself and the family in the name of revenge and redemption, not wanting to become a widow and more importantly, leaving their son fatherless.

Appearance[]

In 1899, Abigail is a young woman with blue eyes and dark brown hair, which she wears tied in a bun. When sleeping, she wears it in a braid, which reveals that her hair is a lot longer than it seems at first. Abigail usually wears a light brown or blue blouse, a worn-looking black belt, a dark blue or a checked green skirt, and black boots. At Colter she wears a checked grey and white knee-length coat, a grey scarf, and a dark brown patterned gloves. At the Horseshoe Overlook camp, she usually wears the same coat but unbuttoned and occasionally with a white shirt instead of the brown one. During a bank robbery in Saint Denis, Abigail wears a navy blue dress with white patterns, a dark blue belt with a bow, a beige hat, and dark blue gloves.

In 1907, Abigail often wears a blue plaid shirt, an orange shawl or brown scarf, a black belt with a golden buckle, a brown skirt, and black boots. Other outfits include a white shirt and a blue shawl with a more elegant skirt and hat, as well as an all white wedding gown in the end credits.

Her appearance is relatively similar in 1911, where she instead wears a worn-looking, checked beige and brown skirt, a dark blue blouse with a light green shirt underneath, a black belt, and black boots.

Mission appearances[]

Red Dead Redemption
Undead Nightmare
Red Dead Redemption 2

Murders Committed[]

Quotes[]

Red Dead Redemption[]

Multiplayer[]

  • "I see you ain't learn no manners."
  • "I've had enough of this."
  • "Call yourself a man."
  • "What's the matter with you?!"
  • "You really are a strange man."
  • "You've clearly had one too many blows to the head."
  • "You damn fool."
  • "Oh, ain't you quite the gentlemen all the sudden."
  • "You think I'm afraid of you."
  • "I'll kill you mah self!"
  • "Oh, like hittin women do you?!"
  • "Are you completely insane?!"
  • "You idiot!"
  • "Clumsy oaf."

Red Dead Redemption 2[]

Trivia[]

General[]

  • John and Abigail share the same first names as the second President of the United States and the second First Lady; John Adams and his wife, Abigail.
  • John and Abigail also share the same names with Arthur Miller's characters Abigail Williams and John Proctor, who have a secret relationship in 'The Crucible'.
  • Like Edgar Ross, Abigail's height seems to differ between games. In Redemption 1, John is shown to be about a head taller than her, while their height difference is not quite as significant in Redemption 2.

Red Dead Redemption[]

  • It is often joked that she is a bad cook by her family and she sarcastically tells John when he returns to Beecher's Hope not to worry as, during her abduction, she was enrolled in a cookery school.
    • A reference is made in Red Dead Redemption 2: John will mention that he misses Pearson's cooking in the epilogue.
    • In "American Venom", Abigail will tell Uncle to cook, to which John will retort that it is not a bad idea.
  • In the mission "Pestilence", Abigail reveals that both herself and John were orphans.
  • If killed while the invincible cheat is on, there will be an earthquake for a few seconds. The same thing happens if Jack or Uncle are killed. The next time the player dies, the "You have killed a member of your family" message will appear in place of the normal death screen.
  • She appears as wallpaper artwork on the back of the physical Undead Nightmare map. This artwork depicts her as a zombie in her rancher clothes, yet in the game, she is in her pajamas the whole time she is undead.
  • She becomes very jealous when she hears Bonnie's name, seeming to believe that John was attracted to her to the point she went with him to deliver corn to the ranch just to meet her.
  • Her appearance and personality are very similar to the character of Etta Place in the western film, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
  • In multiplayer, she wears different clothes than in single player. In single-player, her outfit is a blue-violet top and a pink plaid long skirt; in multiplayer, her outfit is a white and blue plaid top and blue pants so the player can ride a horse. Similar changes apply to Luisa Fortuna.
  • Abigail reveals that she is illiterate in the mission "Old Friends, New Problems".

Red Dead Redemption 2[]

  • Despite her pleas for John to change, and despite John's efforts to change himself, Abigail was ultimately correct in John's actions getting them all killed. Her final, unsuccessful attempt to stop him was to talk John out of hunting down Micah Bell. This act of revenge put Edgar Ross onto John's trail, who later forced him to kill the rest of his old gang before betraying and killing him. Abigail died several years later, leaving Jack as the only surviving member of the family.
  • After the credits, Abigail will bug John about doing the chores on the ranch so that their new property remains in a good condition.
  • After taking Jack fishing, Arthur will write in his journal about how he thinks he should have married her (before she fell for John), and that Mary is the reason this did not occur.
  • As well as Arthur, it is implied that Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella wanted to be with Abigail and the fact that John succeeded helped to fuel the former's jealousy of John. On top of this, Micah can be seen attempting to flirt with Abigail in camp, which she is disgusted by.
  • In the epilogue, Uncle may tell Abigail that Arthur considered John a lucky man for having Abigail, resulting in her crying.
  • When Arthur is asking Abigail how she is doing, she will respond that she is not doing well. In the epilogue, when John is asking Abigail how she is doing, she will respond that she is doing well.

Gallery[]

Red Dead Redemption[]

Multiplayer[]

Red Dead Redemption 2[]

Undead Nightmare[]

References[]

Navigation[]

Advertisement