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Denmark Vesey
Sarah and Nina’s mother. She is a harsh mistress to her slaves, and a stickler for propriety and status in the upper echelons of Charleston society. Though horrified by the actions of her daughters, Mary stays loyal to them as family. Mary is never swayed by any of the arguments her daughters make against slavery, believing wholeheartedly in the mistaken ideas of racial superiority.
Mary Grimké (Mother / Missus) Quotes in The Invention of Wings
The The Invention of Wings quotes below are all either spoken by Mary Grimké (Mother / Missus) or refer to Mary Grimké (Mother / Missus). 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:
).
Part 1
Quotes
Don't let her fall anymore. That's the prayer I said. Missus told us God listened to everybody, even a slave got a piece of God's ear. I carried a picture of God in my head, a white man, bearing a stick like missus or going round dodging slaves the way master Grimké did, acting like he'd sired a world where they don’t exist. I couldn’t see him lifting a finger to help.
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Every girl comes into the world with varying degrees of ambition," she said, "even if it’s only the hope of not belonging body and soul to her husband. I was a girl once, believe it or not."
She seemed a stranger, a woman without all the wounds and armature the years bring... "The truth," she said, "is that every girl must have ambition knocked out of her for her own good. You are unusual only in your determination to fight what is inevitable. You resisted and so it came to this, to being broken like a horse."
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Mary Grimké (Mother / Missus) Quotes in The Invention of Wings
The The Invention of Wings quotes below are all either spoken by Mary Grimké (Mother / Missus) or refer to Mary Grimké (Mother / Missus). 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:
).
Part 1
Quotes
Don't let her fall anymore. That's the prayer I said. Missus told us God listened to everybody, even a slave got a piece of God's ear. I carried a picture of God in my head, a white man, bearing a stick like missus or going round dodging slaves the way master Grimké did, acting like he'd sired a world where they don’t exist. I couldn’t see him lifting a finger to help.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Every girl comes into the world with varying degrees of ambition," she said, "even if it’s only the hope of not belonging body and soul to her husband. I was a girl once, believe it or not."
She seemed a stranger, a woman without all the wounds and armature the years bring... "The truth," she said, "is that every girl must have ambition knocked out of her for her own good. You are unusual only in your determination to fight what is inevitable. You resisted and so it came to this, to being broken like a horse."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
