Intimate Apparel: Act 1, Scene 4 Summary & Analysis

In a bedroom with a canopy bed, Mayme sits at a piano, playing a frenzied rag. She trembles angrily and her silk robe is torn. Esther knocks, but finally lets herself in and takes in the sight of Mayme. Mayme shakily says that the men make her sick and points out the tear in her robe. Esther soothingly says that she can fix it, but Mayme washes her face and genitals in a basin and says that for a dollar, the men think they own her. She stiffly says that she knows Esther doesn't approve, but she doesn't mind. She says that when Esther knocked on the door she was afraid that it was another man, and she's too tired right now.

Mayme sits back at the piano and plays a slower rag. Esther compliments it, and Mayme says that she wrote it. Mayme says that she once played it at home, and her daddy gave her 12 lashes for doing so. He was a proper man and didn't like "colored" things, so playing ragtime was a crime in his house. Mayme picks up a bottle of moonshine, which Esther suggests is the reason that Mayme is so tired. Mayme brushes this off and asks Esther to show her what she brought. Esther draws out a pale blue corset like the one she made for Mrs. Van Buren. Mayme looks touched, holds it up to her body, and asks to try it on.

Esther assures Mayme that she can try it on and says that she made one for a lady on Fifth Avenue. She points out the flowers as she starts to lace Mayme into the corset. As Esther works, she says that the wealthy white lady keeps asking what sex workers are wearing. She remarks that Mayme wants what the Fifth Avenue lady has, and the Fifth Avenue lady wants what Mayme has. Mayme models the corset, says she can't afford to pay for it, and asks how she looks. Esther deems her "grand" and says that according to Mr. Marks, the silk was made for fine Parisian ladies. He talked her into buying it.

This piques Mayme's interest, and she says that it sounds like Esther is sweet on Mr. Marks. Esther brushes this off by noting that Mr. Marks is Jewish, but Mayme says that she's been with Jewish men and that they're gentle. Esther tries to change the subject and Mayme ascertains that Esther hasn't had sex before. She self-consciously touches the beading as Esther says that George is still courting her. Mayme sighs that Esther is more interested in a man a thousand miles away than a man down the road and asks if she expects George to come to New York. Hurt, Esther says that she doesn't expect anything to come of this, and Mayme gently says that Esther certainly does—they all have dreams.

Mayme sits down on the bed and says that she's pretending to be a concert pianist playing in Prague. She's doing well for herself and says that she takes tea twice weekly with Esther, and asks Esther what her claim to fame is in their fictional European paradise. Esther says that she owns a beauty parlor for black women, where those women can be pampered and treated well. Esther gets into the charade and offers to take Mayme's coat, offers her tea, and then mimes giving her a book of pictures of the latest styles. She invites Mayme to put her feet up and says that in no time, she'll have a whole new look. Mayme sighs that she'd love to pay to be treated like a lady.

Esther admits that she has some money saved in the lining of her crazy quilt. Mayme sighs that the quilt sounds wonderful to a poor woman, but Esther says seriously that she's been saving money since she came to New York and honestly wants to open her beauty parlor. Mayme is shocked. She says that they were just playing; she's never been to Prague and will never get to go. Esther asks Mayme if she still wants to be in this line of work in ten years, but Mayme says she's tried to do better. She says that sex work isn't easy, and she's just lucky to be in this saloon, which is better than most.

Esther suggests that Mayme could try harder with her piano playing, but Mayme cuts her off and says that there are “wonderful ideas” “scattered all over [her] room,” but none of them are going to come true. She tells Esther that George is sweet, but he's not real. Esther pulls a letter out of her pocket and says that George is absolutely real. She offers the letter to Mayme who acts disinterested, but finally snatches it and smiles as she reads. She says that George got a new pair of socks and wants to know what Esther looks like.

Mayme is shocked that Esther hasn't already told George what she looks like, but Esther insists that she's too plain. Mayme says that Esther is the loveliest person she knows, and points out that men don't care about faces—they care about bodies. She strikes a pose and laughs. Esther, scandalized, says it's not Christian to write about that, but Mayme says that George just wants a pretty woman to think about at night. Esther nervously asks Mayme to help her write the letter. Mayme suggests that Esther ask Mrs. Van Buren, but Esther asks Mayme again. Mayme agrees, but declares that it's silly.

George appears and recites his letter to Esther. He says that it's raining, so work is stopped. The rum shop is the only business still going, and many men lose their savings overnight. He says that there are Indian girls selling themselves too, but he craves a gentlewoman. George says that he thinks about the suit he'll wear to meet Esther, and he's been imagining both the streets of New York and Esther sewing with silk thread.