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The clerkin the shoe department meets Mrs. Sommers shortly after she has bought and put on her new stockings. He is bewildered by the juxtaposition between the luxurious silk stockings and the rest of Mrs. Sommers’s shabby clothes. The clerk symbolizes a sort of puritanical judgment; although he is probably working class too, he is surprised to see a poor woman like Mrs. Sommers making seemingly imprudent and frivolous purchases. Mrs. Sommers, however, is not dissuaded by the clerk, and continues browsing in a demanding and fussy manner, explaining that she doesn’t mind paying extra for the perfect pair of boots. Mrs. Sommers enjoys the buying power afforded to her by the dollars in her purse and the authority that it gives her over the clerk.
The Clerk Quotes in A Pair of Silk Stockings
The A Pair of Silk Stockings quotes below are all either spoken by The Clerk or refer to The Clerk . 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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A Pair of Silk Stockings Quotes
Her foot and ankle looked very pretty. She could not realize that they belonged to her and were a part of herself.
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The Clerk Character Timeline in A Pair of Silk Stockings
The timeline below shows where the character The Clerk appears in A Pair of Silk Stockings. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
A Pair of Silk Stockings
...her old stockings in her bag, Mrs. Sommers makes a beeline for the shoe department. The clerk there is surprised by the combination of her luxurious silk stockings and otherwise shabby appearance,...
(full context)
