Roberta Character Analysis in Recitatif

The other main character of the story. When Roberta arrives at St. Bonny’s, she is assigned to be Twyla’s roommate. The two girls are both eight years old, and one is white and one is black (though it is never made clear which is which). Roberta’s mother can’t look after Roberta because she is “sick”; toward the end of the story Roberta mentions that her mother was raised in an institution, which suggests that her illness is perhaps mental, rather than physical. Although Roberta seems to have been raised in a less neglectful way than Twyla (during a visit to St. Bonny’s her mother brings her lots of food, where Mary brings nothing), at eight she is still unable to read. Roberta leaves St. Bonny’s before Twyla, but later reveals that she returned twice after leaving—once when she was 10 and once when she was 14. When Twyla and Roberta first meet again, Roberta is dressed in a sexy, glamorous outfit, wearing lots of makeup, and smoking a cigarette. She is accompanied by two men, and the three of them are headed to an “appointment with Hendrix.” In this section of the story, Roberta is clearly a part of the rebellious youth culture of the 1960s. She is disdainful of Twyla for not knowing who Hendrix is, and seems to have embraced the hedonistic mandate of “sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll.” Roberta has undergone another transformation in the final stage of the novel. When she and Twyla meet in the gourmet market, she has married a rich man, Kenneth Norton, and become the stepmother to his four children. Throughout this section of the novel she is associated with luxury; she wears elegant clothes, buys expensive items such as “asparagus and fancy water,” and has a chauffeur. She also becomes a vehement opponent of forced integration, protesting the fact that her stepchildren are to be “bused” out of their neighborhood to another school. Overall, Roberta’s personality is less stable than Twyla’s, and she seems to have less of a secure sense of her own identity. It is also suggested that she is more flighty and self-centered than the serious, responsible Twyla, which is why it is surprising that in the very last passage, she seems so obsessed with Maggie’s fate and cannot find solace in Twyla’s reassurances.

Roberta Quotes in Recitatif

The Recitatif quotes below are all either spoken by Roberta or refer to Roberta. 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:

My mother danced all night and Roberta’s was sick. That’s why we were taken to St. Bonny’s.

Related Characters: Twyla (speaker), Mary (Twyla’s Mother), Roberta’s Mother, Roberta

Related Symbols: Dance

Page Number and Citation: 203

Explanation and Analysis:

This is the opening sentence of the story. Immediately, it highlights a connection between Roberta and Twyla through the explanation of why they are brought to St. Bonny’s. This connection becomes the basis of their deep (if unstable) bond that lasts into adulthood. Meanwhile, Twyla’s words also draw a parallel between Mary (Twyla’s mother) and Roberta’s mother, and their respective afflictions. Although we might not ordinarily think of “dancing all night” as a problem—and certainly not a condition, like an illness or disability—Twyla suggests that in this context, that is exactly what it is. Mary’s tendency to “dance all night” Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam vol

I liked the way she understood things so fast. So for the moment it didn't matter that we looked like salt and pepper standing there and that's what the other kids called us sometimes. We were eight years old and got F's all the time. Me because I couldn't remember what I read or what the teacher said. And Roberta because she couldn't read at all and didn't even listen to the teacher. She wasn't good at anything except jacks, at which she was a killer: pow scoop pow scoop pow scoop.

Related Characters: Twyla (speaker), Roberta

Page Number and Citation: 204

Explanation and Analysis:

Twyla has explained that although she and Roberta first didn’t get along—a fact that was largely due to their racial difference and the prejudice that Mary had taught to Twyla—their social exclusion by the other children led the two girls to become close. Here she emphasizes this idea, noting that although she and Roberta were teased by the other kids and did not perform well in school, this brought them even closer together. At the same time, Twyla’s words foreshadow the pressure that the girls’ friendship will undergo as a result of their racial difference when they grow older, as Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tene

We didn't like each other all that much at first, but nobody else wanted to play with us because we weren't real orphans with beautiful dead parents in the sky. We were dumped. Even the New York City Puerto Ricans and the upstate Indians ignored us.

Related Characters: Twyla (speaker), Roberta

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 204

Explanation and Analysis:

Twyla has continued to explain her and Roberta’s transition from a place of dislike and prejudice to close friendship. Both girls perform badly in school, but bond over the fact that they understand each other without asking questions. In this passage, Twyla describes the girls’ exclusion from the other children at St. Bonny’s, who have a higher social status because they are “real orphans with beautiful dead parents in the sky.” Twyla repeats this childlike phrase several times throughout the story, and it serves as an illustration of the peculiar logic that dominates life at the shelter. Whereas we might Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Vol

I used to dream a lot and almost always the orchard was there. Two acres, four maybe, of these little apple trees. Hundreds of them. Empty and crooked like beggar women when I first came to St. Bonny's but fat with flowers when I left. I don't know why I dreamt about that orchard so much. Nothing really happened there. Nothing all that important, I mean. Just the big girls dancing and playing the radio. Roberta and me watching. Maggie fell down there once.

Related Characters: Twyla (speaker), Roberta, The Gar Girls (The Older Girls), Maggie

Related Symbols: Dance, The Orchard

Page Number and Citation: 205

Explanation and Analysis:

Twyla has introduced the “gar girls,” the teenagers who wear makeup and dance to the radio in the orchard. She has explained that she and Roberta were afraid of the gar girls, but in this passage notes that she doesn’t think of the orchard as being significant other than as a place where she and Roberta would watch the girls dancing from afar. Her description of the “empty and crooked” trees in the orchard implicitly links the orchard to Maggie, who is bow-legged and whom Twyla perceives to be a person without interior consciousness—in other words, who is “empty.” The Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et

I thought if my dancing mother met her sick mother it might be good for her. And Roberta thought her sick mother would get a big bang out of a dancing one. We got excited about it and curled each other's hair.

Related Characters: Twyla (speaker), Roberta, Mary (Twyla’s Mother), Roberta’s Mother

Related Symbols: Dance

Page Number and Citation: 207

Explanation and Analysis:

During Roberta and Twyla’s time at St. Bonny’s, there is a visiting day during which relatives and other adults come to attend a church service and have lunch with the children. Roberta and Twyla grow excited over this prospect, imagining that their mothers will enjoy meeting one another. Like their “salt and pepper” daughters, Mary and Roberta’s mother are constructed as parallel versions of each other, even as they are also opposites. Whereas Roberta’s mother is sick and (as we later learn) deeply religious, Mary’s problem seems to be that she is too fun-loving and irresponsible to take care of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provi

Shoes, dress, everything lovely and summery and rich. I was dying to know what happened to her, how she got from Jimi Hendrix to Annandale, a neighborhood full of doctors and IBM executives. Easy, I thought. Everything is so easy for them. They think they own the world.

Related Characters: Twyla (speaker), Jimi Hendrix, Roberta

Page Number and Citation: 215

Explanation and Analysis:

Twyla has gone to the new gourmet market in Annandale out of curiosity, though she can only bring herself to buy Klondike bars as the other groceries are too expensive. In the checkout line, she runs into Roberta, who is dressed in elegant clothing and carrying expensive grocery items. In this passage, Twyla moves from a dazzled curiosity about Roberta’s new life to a bitter resentment of Roberta on the grounds of her (unknown) race. Rather than seeing Roberta as an individual, Twyla considers her a representative of negative stereotypes about her race: “Everything is so easy for them. They Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint ape

We went into the coffee shop holding on to one another and I tried to think why we were glad to see each other this time and not before. Once, twelve years ago, we passed like strangers. A black girl and a white girl meeting in a Howard Johnson's on the road and having nothing to say. One in a blue-and-white triangle waitress hat, the other on her way to see Hendrix. Now we were behaving like sisters separated for much too long.

Related Characters: Twyla (speaker), Jimi Hendrix, Roberta

Page Number and Citation: 216

Explanation and Analysis:

Having run into one another at the gourmet market, Roberta asks Twyla to join her for a coffee. Twyla briefly worries about the Klondike bars she has just bought melting in her car, but chooses not to mention them and go to the coffee shop with Roberta. Unlike the scene in Howard Johnson’s, now the two women warm to each other and descend to a joyous, childlike state—“like sisters separated for much too long.” Twyla’s words emphasize the fact that she and Roberta do have a familial relationship to one another, even though at other points in the story this Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum d

You got to see everything at Howard Johnson's, and blacks were very friendly with whites in those days. But sitting there with nothing on my plate but two hard tomato wedges wondering about the melting Klondikes it seemed childish remembering the slight.

Related Characters: Twyla (speaker), Roberta

Related Symbols: The Klondike Bars

Page Number and Citation: 219

Explanation and Analysis:

At the coffee shop, Twyla has asked Roberta why she was rude to her when they met at Howard Johnson’s 12 years earlier. Roberta has responded dismissively, saying it was because of the state of race relations at the time. This confuses Twyla, who remembers groups of friends made up of different races coming into Howard Johnson’s all the time. To Twyla, this was an era of increasing racial harmony, particularly among young people—although this opinion only shows that the ability to perceive racial tensions often depends on one’s particular position in society. However, rather than standing by her contrasting Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia.

"Well, it is a free country."
"Not yet, but it will be."
"What the hell does that mean? I'm not doing anything to you."
"You really think that?"
"l know it."
"l wonder what made me think you were different."
"l wonder what made me think you were different."

Related Characters: Twyla (speaker), Roberta (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 221

Explanation and Analysis:

Twyla and Roberta have confronted one another at the protest over busing. Twyla argues that there is nothing wrong with busing, whereas Roberta is outraged by the policy. The women’s argument—which is theoretically about a complex political issue—then descends into childlike bickering. Both women make vague, ambiguous statements, such that it is easy for the reader to lose track of who is saying what—an effect that coheres with the racial ambiguity hanging over the entire story. This sense of ambiguity is emphasized in the moment when both women say one after another, “I wonder what made me think you were Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis

“They're just mothers."
"And what am I? Swiss cheese?”
"l used to curl your hair."
"l hated your hands in my hair."

Related Characters: Twyla (speaker), Roberta (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 221

Explanation and Analysis:

Twyla and Roberta have continued to argue at the protest. Although they are supposedly debating the policy of busing, their comments have grown increasingly vicious and personal. Twyla exclaims that the women protesting busing along with Roberta are “Bozos,” referring to the bossy and authoritarian woman who was in charge St. Bonny’s. Roberta disagrees, saying they are “just mothers,” which Twyla then interprets as a personal insult.Things get even more personal when the topic turns to hair, and the intimate act of curling each other’s hair before their mothers came to visit. This is a particularly charged example because of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus temp

I brought a painted sign in queenly red with huge black letters that said, IS YOUR MOTHER WELL?. Roberta took her lunch break and didn't come back for the rest of the day or any day after. Two days later I stopped going too and couldn't have been missed because nobody understood my signs anyway.

Related Characters: Twyla (speaker), Roberta’s Mother, Roberta

Related Symbols: Protest Signs

Page Number and Citation: 223-224

Explanation and Analysis:

Although she earlier stated that she didn’t have a strong opinion on busing, Twyla has joined a counter-protest motivated by her argument with Roberta. She makes protest signs that address Roberta directly, and become increasingly strange and difficult for anyone except for Roberta to understand. Her final sign, reading “IS YOUR MOTHER WELL?”, has nothing to do with busing at all and instead takes the form of the refrain with which she and Roberta have ended most of their conversations as adults—by asking about each other’s mothers. Twyla’s words in this passage convey the sense that while Roberta has assimilated Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est.

And you were right. We didn’t kick her. It was the gar girls. Only them. But, well, I wanted to. I really wanted them to hurt her. I said we did it too. You and me, but that's not true. And I don't want you to carry that around. It was just that I wanted to do it so bad that day––wanting to is doing it.

Related Characters: Roberta (speaker), Twyla, The Gar Girls (The Older Girls)

Related Symbols: The Orchard

Page Number and Citation: 226-227

Explanation and Analysis:

Twyla and Roberta have accidentally run into each other again, this time in a diner where Twyla is stopping for a coffee on her way home, and where Roberta has gone after attending a luxurious ball at the Newburgh Hotel. Although Twyla is resistant to talking to Roberta, Roberta insists that she needs to tell Twyla something. In this passage, she reveals that her claim that she and Twyla kicked Maggie was false, but that she wanted to do it badly, which ultimately means the same thing: “wanting to is doing it.” Note that this is the same realization—it even Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impe

"Did I tell you? My mother, she never did stop dancing."
"Yes. You told me. And mine, she never got well." Roberta lifted her hands from the tabletop and covered her face with her palms. When she took them away she really was crying. "Oh, shit, Twyla. Shit, shit, shit. What the hell happened to Maggie?"

Related Characters: Roberta (speaker), Twyla (speaker), Roberta’s Mother, Mary (Twyla’s Mother), Maggie

Related Symbols: Dance

Page Number and Citation: 227

Explanation and Analysis:

Roberta has become hysterically upset over the incident with Maggie, and Twyla has attempted to comfort her, telling her that they were just children. In an effort to distract her, Twyla returns to a consistent refrain in the women’s relationship: their habit of asking about each other’s mothers. At first this seems to help, however the last words of the story are in the form of Roberta’s sudden exclamation: “What the hell happened to Maggie?” As a result, the story ends on a climactic, unresolved note. While Twyla has been able to move on from the incident with Maggie and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui

Roberta Character Timeline in Recitatif

The timeline below shows where the character Roberta appears in Recitatif. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Twyla, the narrator, explains that she and Roberta were in a shelter called St. Bonny’s because Twyla’s mother “danced all night” and Roberta’s... (full context)

...she felt “sick to my stomach.” Her mother, Mary, had told her that people of Roberta’s race never washed their hair and “smelled funny.” Twyla tells “Big Bozo,” the woman who... (full context)

After Big Bozo leaves, Roberta asks Twyla if her mother is sick too; Twyla responds that her mother (Mary) isn’t... (full context)

...of supper was popcorn and a can of Yoo-Hoo.” She explains that sometimes she and Roberta were tormented by the older teenage girls at the shelter, who wore makeup and seemed... (full context)

...distinctive, rocking manner. She wore a “stupid little hat—a kid’s hat with earflaps.” Twyla asks Roberta if Maggie can scream, worrying what would happen if someone tried to kill her; Roberta... (full context)

Twyla recalls that Big Bozo was “disappointed” in her and Roberta, because they were the only children at St. Bonny’s who had been “dumped” by their... (full context)

Twyla is so happy to see Mary that she briefly forgets about Roberta, until Roberta comes to introduce her mother to Twyla and Mary. Roberta’s mother is “bigger... (full context)

...brought anything to eat for lunch, and Twyla again thinks, “I could have killed her.” Roberta’s mother, meanwhile, brought a large array of food; Roberta brings Twyla some graham crackers after... (full context)

Roberta leaves St. Bonny’s in May, and on her last day she and Twyla sit in... (full context)

...is August and a Greyhound bus has just stopped at the diner. Suddenly, Twyla sees Roberta, who is smoking a cigarette and accompanied by two men with excessive facial hair. Roberta... (full context)

Twyla reintroduces herself, and Roberta remembers her. They exchange small talk, and Roberta lets out “a private laugh that included... (full context)

Suddenly Twyla hears Roberta call out her name. Roberta is “dressed to kill,” wearing diamonds and a white dress... (full context)

Roberta explains that the man she married a year ago, Kenneth Norton, is from Annandale. Twyla... (full context)

Twyla reflects that it feels as if 20 years have disappeared and she and Roberta are children again. She recalls the teenage girls at St. Bonny’s, who they called the... (full context)

Twyla asks Roberta if she ever learned to read, and Roberta triumphantly reads the menu aloud. They recall... (full context)

Twyla has no recollection of Maggie being pushed, but Roberta insists that this is what happened and that she and Twyla had been frightened. Roberta... (full context)

Suddenly Twyla decides she wants to go home, and feels angry at Roberta for not apologizing for the incident at Howard Johnson’s. She asks Roberta if she was... (full context)

...until one day when she drives past a school about to be integrated and sees Roberta carrying a sign that reads: “MOTHERS HAVE RIGHTS TOO!” (full context)

Roberta approaches Twyla, and the two women quickly realize that both their children are on lists... (full context)

The picketing women surround Twyla’s car and begin rocking it, and Twyla instinctively reaches for Roberta, “like the old days in the orchard.” Roberta, however, does not take Twyla’s hand, but... (full context)

...other names and make obscene gestures. Twyla realizes that her sign doesn’t make sense without Roberta’s; she also notes that Roberta was ignoring her and possibly didn’t notice she was there.... (full context)

...“crazier” signs that no one can understand, including one that reads “IS YOUR MOTHER WELL?”. Roberta leaves the protest and doesn’t come back; eventually, Twyla does the same. Classes are suspended... (full context)

Twyla looks for Roberta at Joseph’s graduation, but doesn’t see her. She continues to dwell on the question of... (full context)

...a diner, where she decides to stop for a cup of coffee. There she sees Roberta, wearing an elegant evening gown and fur coat and accompanied by two other people who... (full context)

Roberta tells Twyla that she resolved to tell her something if the two of them ever... (full context)

Roberta confesses that Twyla was right, that it was only the gar girls who kicked Maggie.... (full context)

Roberta Character Analysis

Roberta Quotes in Recitatif

Recitatif Quotes

Roberta Character Timeline in Recitatif