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Mr. Marks
The stern older woman who owns the boardinghouse where Esther lives. Mrs. Dickson is proper and well to do, and for a widowed black woman, she's doing extremely well for herself. She came into these fortunate circumstances after her husband died, leaving her the boardinghouse. Though Mrs. Dickson recognizes that her marriage was fundamentally flawed—her husband was addicted to opium—she still holds up marriage for sensible reasons as an aspirational ideal, and she wastes no time in cautioning Esther to not marry George for love. Despite, or possibly because of, how long Esther has been at the boardinghouse (and because of Mrs. Dickson's tough love), she and Esther are very close. Esther chooses to return to the boardinghouse after her marriage to George fails. Mrs. Dickson shows that while she might be a nosy busybody at times, she's also a respectful and forgiving friend by agreeing to not question Esther about her marriage and accepting her back with open arms.
Mrs. Dickson Quotes in Intimate Apparel
The Intimate Apparel quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Dickson or refer to Mrs. Dickson. 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:
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Act 1, Scene 5
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Esther: DON'T! This quilt is filled with my hard work, one hundred dollars for every year I been seated at that sewing machine. It's my beauty parlor. So you see I don't need Mr. Charles for his good job and position.
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Act 1, Scene 6
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Mrs. Dickson: Bless his broken-down soul. He had fine suits and perfect diction, and was too high on opium to notice that he was married. But I would not be a washerwoman if it killed me. And I have absolutely marvelous hands to prove it.
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Act 2, Scene 2
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Esther: But it Sunday. I'll put on some tea, and sit, let me mend your shirt. You can't go out with a hole in your shirt. (Esther touches the hole in his shirt.) What will they say about your wife? I won't hear the end of it from Mrs. Dickson.
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Mrs. Dickson Quotes in Intimate Apparel
The Intimate Apparel quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Dickson or refer to Mrs. Dickson. 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
Esther: DON'T! This quilt is filled with my hard work, one hundred dollars for every year I been seated at that sewing machine. It's my beauty parlor. So you see I don't need Mr. Charles for his good job and position.
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Act 1, Scene 6
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Mrs. Dickson: Bless his broken-down soul. He had fine suits and perfect diction, and was too high on opium to notice that he was married. But I would not be a washerwoman if it killed me. And I have absolutely marvelous hands to prove it.
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Act 2, Scene 2
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Esther: But it Sunday. I'll put on some tea, and sit, let me mend your shirt. You can't go out with a hole in your shirt. (Esther touches the hole in his shirt.) What will they say about your wife? I won't hear the end of it from Mrs. Dickson.
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