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Caesar Wilks
Black Mary is Aunt Ester’s housekeeper and protégé. A young woman whose brother, Caesar, is a domineering official in the Hill District, she cooks for Aunt Ester and generally keeps the house running. In exchange, Aunt Ester shares her wisdom with her, hoping Black Mary will take on her name when she dies, presumably wanting Black Mary to continue to serve the community as a spiritual advisor. But Black Mary eventually gets annoyed at Aunt Ester for always telling her to do things in a particular way. When she snaps and says she can do the chores however she wants, Aunt Ester doesn’t get mad—rather, she asks what took Black Mary so long, implying that she has been testing the young woman and waiting for her to stand up for herself (perhaps a sign that she’s ready to step into Aunt Ester’s role. While Citizen stays at Aunt Ester’s house, he and Black Mary have several romantically charged encounters—encounters in which Black Mary gives him subtle life advice about how to be “right” with himself. In the end, they both decide that they’re “right” with themselves and that Citizen should come pay Black Mary a visit when he’s back from Alabama, suggesting that they intend to begin a romantic relationship. In contrast, Black Mary disowns Caesar after he shoots Solly, telling him once and for all that she wants nothing to do with him.
Black Mary Quotes in Gem of the Ocean
The Gem of the Ocean quotes below are all either spoken by Black Mary or refer to Black Mary. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1, Scene 5
Quotes
BLACK MARY: What’s the two pennies for? Why he got to find two pennies?
AUNT ESTER: That’s only to give him something to do. He think there a power in them two pennies. He think when he find them all his trouble will be over. But he need to think that before he can come face to face with himself. Ain’t nothing special about the two pennies. Only thing special about them is he think they special. He find them two pennies then he think he done something. But, he ain’t done nothing but find two pennies.
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Act 2, Scene 4
Quotes
CITIZEN: I don’t know. Sometimes I lay awake at night when I be lonely and ask myself what I would say to her. Sometimes I tell her to stop being lonely. I tell her it’s something she doing to herself. But then I’m laying there lonely too and I have to ask myself was it something I was doing to myself? I don’t know. I ain’t lonely now. I ain’t got no woman but I still don’t feel lonely. I feel all filled up inside. That’s something I done to myself. So maybe I did make myself lonely.
BLACK MARY: You got to be right with yourself before you can be right with anybody else.
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Act 2, Scene 5
Quotes
Caesar, I gave you everything. Even when I didn’t have to give you. I made every way for you. I turned my eyes away. I figured if I didn’t see it I couldn’t hold fault. If I held fault I couldn’t hold on to my love for you. But now you standing in the light and I can’t turn away no more. I remember you when you was on the other side of the law. That’s my brother. The one who used to get out of bed to take me to school. The one who believed everybody had the same right to life…the same right to whatever there was in life they could find useful. That’s my brother. I don’t know who you are. But you not my brother. You hear me, Caesar? You not my brother.
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Black Mary Quotes in Gem of the Ocean
The Gem of the Ocean quotes below are all either spoken by Black Mary or refer to Black Mary. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1, Scene 5
Quotes
BLACK MARY: What’s the two pennies for? Why he got to find two pennies?
AUNT ESTER: That’s only to give him something to do. He think there a power in them two pennies. He think when he find them all his trouble will be over. But he need to think that before he can come face to face with himself. Ain’t nothing special about the two pennies. Only thing special about them is he think they special. He find them two pennies then he think he done something. But, he ain’t done nothing but find two pennies.
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Act 2, Scene 4
Quotes
CITIZEN: I don’t know. Sometimes I lay awake at night when I be lonely and ask myself what I would say to her. Sometimes I tell her to stop being lonely. I tell her it’s something she doing to herself. But then I’m laying there lonely too and I have to ask myself was it something I was doing to myself? I don’t know. I ain’t lonely now. I ain’t got no woman but I still don’t feel lonely. I feel all filled up inside. That’s something I done to myself. So maybe I did make myself lonely.
BLACK MARY: You got to be right with yourself before you can be right with anybody else.
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Act 2, Scene 5
Quotes
Caesar, I gave you everything. Even when I didn’t have to give you. I made every way for you. I turned my eyes away. I figured if I didn’t see it I couldn’t hold fault. If I held fault I couldn’t hold on to my love for you. But now you standing in the light and I can’t turn away no more. I remember you when you was on the other side of the law. That’s my brother. The one who used to get out of bed to take me to school. The one who believed everybody had the same right to life…the same right to whatever there was in life they could find useful. That’s my brother. I don’t know who you are. But you not my brother. You hear me, Caesar? You not my brother.
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