Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Dressmaker, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Transformation, Illusion, and Truth
Vengeance and Suffering
Secrets, Hypocrisy, and Conformity
Memories, Progress, and the Past
Healing, Medicine, and Power
Summary
Analysis
Ruth drags another heavy chest from the post office up to Tilly’s house. At the top of the Hill, she meets Sergeant Farrat, who is about to visit Tilly. Sergeant Farrat asks what the box contains, and Ruth tells him that it’s full of fabrics, jewels, and feathers. Tilly, who has just come out, looks knowingly at Ruth, who gasps and covers her mouth. Tilly and Sergeant Farrat take the box inside, and Tilly makes Sergeant Farrat a cup of tea.
Ruth accidentally reveals that she goes through Tilly’s mail. This is one of many examples of how nosy the Dungatar residents are—they love to snoop into and gossip about other people’s business. People like Ruth enjoy learning others’ secrets because they feel that this gives them power. Because people are afraid that their secrets will get out, they will do anything to prevent this and are easily manipulated because of this.
Themes
Sergeant Farrat asks Tilly if he can open the box, and Tilly agrees. Sergeant Farrat delightedly pulls silks, envelopes full of fashion drawings, and packets of feathers from the chest. The last item inside is a gorgeous red fabric. Sergeant Farrat wraps it around himself and struts before the mirror. He tells Tilly that he can sew and that he wants to help with accessories, and Tilly happily agrees.
Sergeant Farrat’s friendship with Tilly puts him at ease—he doesn’t feel the need to hide his love of fashion from her, which he usually conceals because he is afraid of being judged or socially ostracized. In contrast to the other Dungatar residents, Tilly is open-minded and accepts Sergeant Farrat for who he is. This creates a genuine connection between them, as Sergeant Farrat is able to develop his passion and help Tilly at the same time.
Themes
The Dungatar residents gather at Windswept Crescent for the Social Club Gala held outside in the grounds. William shows Reginald and Scotty the field, talking vaguely about his plans for the farm. Gertrude surveys the scene anxiously from her lounge chair and bosses Muriel around. Faith O’Brien sneaks off to meet Reginald while Hamish guards his model train set and stops children from playing with it. Lesley demonstrates dressage for the Dungatar children and parents, but the horses bunch up in a herd together instead of staying in line.
Gertrude’s marriage to William has given her delusions of grandeur, and she becomes extremely entitled because she feels that the marriage has transformed her into a grand and important person. Meanwhile, Hamish’s romanticized view of the past is satirized as he wants to prevent any changes to the railway system, which he works for. However, just as it is arguably irrational that Hamish does not want children to play with his trainset, it is foolish to believe that one can prevent change, because change is inevitable.
Themes
Halfway through the afternoon, the Dungatar residents get bored and start a football game on the lawn. Elsbeth tells her snobbish relatives, who are visiting for the day, that this is what one expects from the “riff-raff.” In the stables, Lesley asks Mona what she will wear to the presentations that evening. Mona replies that she will wear her bridesmaid’s dress again, but Lesley says that Mona should get Tilly to make her something instead. Mona asks Lesley if he has a date for the evening, and Lesley jokes that he is taking Lois Pickett. At this, Mona and Lesley dissolve into laughter.
Elsbeth believes that she is better than the Dungatar residents because she married into a wealthy family. Elsbeth’s pretense at refinement is an illusion, however—really, her family relies on Alvin, Gertrude’s father, who lends them money. Although Mona is accepted by the Dungatar community, she is treated like an outcast by her family. Therefore, Mona and Lesley form a bond because they are both outcasts and crave human connection.
Themes
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That evening, Mona enters the hall for the presentations wearing a beautiful dress that Tilly has fixed up for her. Lesley is her date, and he’s shown her how to walk with poise. As they make their way through the hall, Lesley hisses at Mona that her petticoat is showing. They slip outside for Mona to fix this and then rush back in to go onstage. The crowd breaks out laughing, and Mona realizes that she put her dress back on inside out.
Lesley tries to transform Mona into a refined and graceful young woman. Although Tilly’s dress almost makes this transformation possible, Mona’s clumsiness reveals her true character.
Themes
Meanwhile, rather than going to the Social Club, Tilly and Teddy take Molly to the cinema in Winyerp. They see Sunset Boulevard, and Molly talks loudly all the way through it. They put Molly to bed when they get home, after which Teddy asks Tilly about her past. She tells him that she went to school in Melbourne and then got a job in a clothing factory, where she was supposed to work until she had paid off her debt to her “benefactor.” Teddy asks if she knew who this was, and Tilly says yes.
Rather than participate in the Dungatar community activities, Tilly, Molly, and Teddy—who are all outcasts in the town—go outside of Dungatar for their entertainment. This reflects the idea that Tilly has had experiences elsewhere and has become open-minded and worldly as a result of this. Teddy is also naturally open-minded and does not follow along with the town’s narrowminded rejection of Tilly. However, Tilly is reluctant to open up to Teddy and tell him about her past. On another note, Sunset Boulevard is a film about a forgotten film star who yearns for her glory days as a great actress, much like the Dungatar residents romanticize their own conservative values which are rooted in the past.
Themes
