An American Marriage

by

Tayari Jones

Teachers and parents! Struggling with distance learning? Our Teacher Edition on An American Marriage can help.
A former high school classmate of Roy whom he runs into at Walmart after being released from prison. Davina invites Roy to dinner, and her care for him helps Roy transition back into outside life. She has a complicated relationship with her son, Hopper, who was incarcerated in the same prison as Roy. She and Roy end up marrying after Roy divorces Celestial, though she doesn’t want to have more children.

Davina Hardrick Quotes in An American Marriage

The An American Marriage quotes below are all either spoken by Davina Hardrick or refer to Davina Hardrick . 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:
Love and Marriage in Crisis Theme Icon
).
Part 2, Chapter 7 Quotes

“I know,” she said. “Nobody around here thought you did it. It was just the wrong race and the wrong time. Police are shady as hell. That’s why everybody is locked up.”

Related Characters: Davina Hardrick (speaker), Roy Hamilton Jr.
Page Number: 168
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire An American Marriage LitChart as a printable PDF.
An American Marriage PDF

Davina Hardrick Character Timeline in An American Marriage

The timeline below shows where the character Davina Hardrick appears in An American Marriage. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 2, Chapter 7
Love and Marriage in Crisis Theme Icon
Parenthood as a Choice Theme Icon
The Effects of Incarceration Theme Icon
...a small family tree that does not include Celestial’s name. At Walmart Roy runs into Davina Hardrick, a woman with deep Eloe roots whom he remembers from high school. Davina invites... (full context)
Love and Marriage in Crisis Theme Icon
Parenthood as a Choice Theme Icon
The Effects of Incarceration Theme Icon
When Davina finally invites him in, Roy admires her figure. She asks if he’s still married and... (full context)
Parenthood as a Choice Theme Icon
Appearances vs. Reality Theme Icon
Race and Class Theme Icon
Davina reveals that her father ran off before she was five years old. Looking out the... (full context)
Love and Marriage in Crisis Theme Icon
Parenthood as a Choice Theme Icon
The Effects of Incarceration Theme Icon
Race and Class Theme Icon
Roy tries to say a blessing before the meal, but he chokes up and Davina takes over. She simply says, “Bon appétit,” and Roy again thinks of Celestial, who always... (full context)
Love and Marriage in Crisis Theme Icon
Parenthood as a Choice Theme Icon
Appearances vs. Reality Theme Icon
The Effects of Incarceration Theme Icon
Race and Class Theme Icon
Davina tells Roy that she won’t pour him another drink because the area has become dangerous... (full context)
Part 2, Chapter 9
Love and Marriage in Crisis Theme Icon
Parenthood as a Choice Theme Icon
The Effects of Incarceration Theme Icon
Race and Class Theme Icon
Roy spends about thirty-six hours at Davina’s house, finally leaving when she has to go to work. Big Roy waits for his... (full context)
Part 2, Chapter 11
Love and Marriage in Crisis Theme Icon
Parenthood as a Choice Theme Icon
...can up and go.” He fills in the rest of her meaning and heads to Davina’s house, but she’s not home. (full context)
Love and Marriage in Crisis Theme Icon
Appearances vs. Reality Theme Icon
Roy goes to Walmart to see Davina. He apologizes to her for leaving town abruptly and not sticking around to see what... (full context)
Part 3, Chapter 5
Love and Marriage in Crisis Theme Icon
Appearances vs. Reality Theme Icon
The Effects of Incarceration Theme Icon
...different—she’s sadder, and her scent has changed too. He reflects on how welcoming and comforting Davina had been when he first got out. Celestial asks how he feels and he tells... (full context)
Part 3, Chapter 7
Love and Marriage in Crisis Theme Icon
Parenthood as a Choice Theme Icon
Appearances vs. Reality Theme Icon
The Effects of Incarceration Theme Icon
Race and Class Theme Icon
Roy reflects on the fact that Davina didn’t insist on wearing a condom. Instead, she opened her home and herself to him.... (full context)
Love and Marriage in Crisis Theme Icon
Parenthood as a Choice Theme Icon
Appearances vs. Reality Theme Icon
The Effects of Incarceration Theme Icon
Roy goes back to his room and calls Davina. She asks if he’s all right, and he tells her he doesn’t know what to... (full context)
Part 3, Chapter 13
Love and Marriage in Crisis Theme Icon
Parenthood as a Choice Theme Icon
Appearances vs. Reality Theme Icon
The Effects of Incarceration Theme Icon
...so he won’t have to return home to take care of him. Next, Roy phones Davina to wish her a merry Christmas. She asks him if what’s between them is something... (full context)
Love and Marriage in Crisis Theme Icon
Appearances vs. Reality Theme Icon
The Effects of Incarceration Theme Icon
...care, and she says she’s trying to be an adult. He tells her he called Davina a few minutes ago and that it wasn’t purely sexual. Davina had helped him figure... (full context)
Epilogue
Love and Marriage in Crisis Theme Icon
Appearances vs. Reality Theme Icon
...Dre. He has signed the divorce papers, sure it’s the right thing to do, with Davina as notary. He asks if Old Hickey survived. (full context)
Love and Marriage in Crisis Theme Icon
Parenthood as a Choice Theme Icon
Appearances vs. Reality Theme Icon
The Effects of Incarceration Theme Icon
Race and Class Theme Icon
Roy writes to say he and Davina are getting married. They’re not trying to have a baby. He’d like to be a... (full context)