A successful scientist, father of Celestial, and husband to Gloria. He met Gloria while still married to his first wife; the two had a relationship for three years before Franklin filed for divorce in order to marry Gloria. As a young man he taught chemistry and performed experiments in his basement, eventually inventing a chemical that prevented orange juice from separating. His subsequent financial success allowed his family to rise in social class. He sides with Roy when Celestial tells him she’s leaving her husband for Andre.
Franklin Davenport Quotes in An American Marriage
The An American Marriage quotes below are all either spoken by Franklin Davenport or refer to Franklin Davenport. 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 2, Chapter 2
Quotes
“I’m ready. But I can’t lie. Sometimes I feel guilty as hell for just being able to live my life.”
I didn’t have to tell him that I understood, because he knew that I did. There should be a word for this, the way it feels to steal something that’s already yours.
Related Characters:
Celestial Davenport (speaker), Andre (speaker), Roy Hamilton Jr., Franklin Davenport
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 10
Quotes
Now Mr. Davenport was loyal to Roy above his own daughter. In a way, the whole black race was loyal to Roy, a man just down from the cross.
Related Characters:
Andre (speaker), Roy Hamilton Jr., Celestial Davenport, Franklin Davenport
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Franklin Davenport Character Timeline in An American Marriage
The timeline below shows where the character Franklin Davenport appears in An American Marriage. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Chapter 2
...when he was born. Celestial reminds Roy that her own mother, Gloria, was her father, Franklin’s, second wife, and reveals that she was in fact his mistress for three years while...
(full context)
...low-end art, because she loves watching little brown girls receive the dolls. She has accepted Franklin as an investor instead of opening the business with Roy as they planned. She tells...
(full context)
...writes to Celestial’s father, saying that he feels he has a lot in common with Mr. Davenport . He recalls the day he asked permission to propose to Celestial, and the way...
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Mr. Davenport writes Roy to tell him that Gloria prays for him every day. He revises Roy’s...
(full context)
Roy writes to Celestial, mentioning that he wrote to Franklin to ask him to talk to her. He recalls the first time he visited Celestial’s...
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Part 2, Chapter 1
Andre reflects on how, upon his parents divorced when he was seven, Celestial volunteered Franklin to be Andre’s new daddy, though Mr. Davenport never quite felt like a father to...
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Part 2, Chapter 2
...As a child, passing the house before it was theirs, Celestial worried it was haunted. Franklin told her it was haunted only by the ghost of history and he promised they’d...
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Celestial reflects on Franklin’s dedication to his experiments and his stubborn opposition to her and Andre. While he had...
(full context)
...jam cake that Gloria had made and soaked in rum, a treat she’d once given Franklin at the start of their courtship. Gloria can tell that Celestial has something to say,...
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...announcing that Roy will be released before Christmas. Sylvia, Uncle Banks, and Gloria celebrate, but Franklin says nothing. Andre stands to announce that he’s asked Celestial to marry him. Franklin asks...
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Franklin chastises Andre for taking advantage of a situation where his friend Roy is being held...
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Part 2, Chapter 10
...way to pick up Roy, Andre wishes he could talk to Carlos. He thinks about Mr. Davenport and how he’s been more loyal to Roy than to Celestial in this situation, and...
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Part 3, Chapter 3
...in his pocket, one of which he hopes will let him into their home. When Mr. Davenport deeded the house to Celestial, he stipulated only that Old Hickey couldn’t be cut down....
(full context)
