Intimate Apparel: Act 2, Scene 4 Summary & Analysis

Esther enters Mayme's boudoir. Mayme is excited and says that she's been saving up for something new. She wants something that a young woman might wear on her wedding night. Esther jokingly says that Mayme never speaks like this and asks what's going on. Mayme says that they all call him "Songbird," and when they were finished the first night, Mayme didn't want him to leave. She invited him to stay for a drink and didn't mind when he drank her whole bottle. She says that he's gentle, not angry like most black men, and he comes three times per week and always leaves before midnight. Esther says he sounds wonderful.

Mayme admits that this man has a rich wife that causes him trouble, and he talks horribly about her often. Esther says that the wife is probably awful, but Mayme should still be careful. Mayme shushes Esther and then excitedly pulls out the gift that this man recently gave her: the smoking jacket that Esther made. Esther is shocked and says that the man must like her a lot. She talks about how fine the fabric is. Mayme says that the man says that she's his girl, and she half hopes that he's telling the truth. Esther asks what Mayme thinks should happen to the wife, but Mayme says she's probably "just a sorry gal." Esther suggests that the wife might be good, and that the man might just be saying things to woo Mayme.

Mayme insists that it doesn't matter. Esther asks Mayme if she ever thinks about the women who wash her clients' underwear and says that there's a woman out there who nervously gets up every five minutes, waiting for her husband to come home—but because she thinks so highly of him, she doesn't ask questions. Mayme isn't interested in listening, but Esther says that this woman thinks her husband is playing cards, and she isn't angry when he comes home because she just wants him next to her. Mayme, exasperated and hurt, reminds Esther that she's complicit in this business and says that she doesn't want to worry about the wives. Esther goes home.

George stands in his brand new suit while Esther pins the hem of the pants. George thinks it makes him look American. He says that it seems like more men are wearing shorter jackets that are more colorful, but Esther says that the men who dress like that aren't gentlemen. She starts to tell him the story that accompanies this Scottish wool, but George cuts her off. Esther finishes pinning and asks him to take them off so she can finish them. George says he needs to wear the pants out this evening, so he'll just wear them pinned. Esther is surprised; she bought pork chops to make the way that George likes, and she has a surprise. She asks George if he wants it now, and he excitedly agrees to close his eyes.

Nervously, Esther puts on lipstick and puts a rose in her hair. She pulls off her dress and is wearing a corset much like Mayme's. She strikes an awkward pose and tells George to open his eyes. George is visibly disappointed and chuckles in disgust and amusement. He tells Esther to get dressed, and Esther asks if this isn't what he wants. She puts his hand on her waist and timidly reminds George that he has responsibilities. She asks why he won't touch her. George grabs her and kisses her, and though it's rough, Esther lets him. George pushes Esther away and says that she just wants him to do what she wants so she can feel powerful.

George says that in Panama, he knew where he stood: he had income and nobody judged him. Esther, however, promised all sorts of things in her letters, but none of the things she promised have come to fruition. Now, he says, there are 12 draft horses for sale, and Esther just wants him to "lie down." Esther tells him to stop and George eyes the crazy quilt. She refuses to give him the money, saying that it's half of her life. George asks what he's supposed to do when his own wife doesn't believe in him. He knows he can make money with the draft horses and in two years, they can be a fashionable couple, Esther can have her beauty parlor, and he will come home for supper every night and sleep only with Esther.

George touches and kisses Esther again, too roughly. She asks if he's telling the truth and when he assures her he is, she breaks away, rips open her crazy quilt, and pulls out the money. She puts the cash in George's hands and seems almost relieved. George looks surprised to have gotten his way and he smiles as he fondles the cash. Esther asks George to put the money back and buy the horses tomorrow, but George ignores her and puts the money in a bag. Esther sits, humiliated, and pulls on her dress. She whispers and asks George if he loves her. He callously says she looks spooked and says that she's his wife.

In a whisper, Esther says she didn't write the letters. George doesn't hear her, and Esther says it again, loudly. She admits that she's been afraid that he'd find out that she lied and retrieves a stack of letters tied with a ribbon. She says that she looks at them every day, but she can't read them and she can't tell if they tell the truth or not. She says she believed from the letters that George loved her, but she knows that George isn't the gentleman he made himself out to be: a gentleman would've thanked her for the money. Yelling, she asks George who wrote his letters.

George says that an old man wrote the letters, and that he paid extra for the fancy handwriting. Esther says that she's not really Mrs. Armstrong. She and George are strangers, and at least before they were married, Esther knew that she was a good and decent woman. George reaches for her, but Esther recoils. George says that he's not a thief; he meant what he wrote even if he didn't write the words. He promises to bring her horses and says they can begin again.