The Dressmaker

The Dressmaker

by

Rosalie Ham

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Dressmaker makes teaching easy.

Stewart Pettyman Character Analysis

Stewart Pettyman is the son of Evan Pettyman and Marigold Pettyman and is therefore Tilly’s half-brother (unbeknownst to either child or to Marigold). Stewart is an obnoxious and spoiled boy who bullies and sexually assaults Tilly when they are in school together. Ultimately, Stewart dies in an accident: he runs at Tilly to headbutt her, and, when she steps out of the way, he breaks his neck against a wall and passes away. Evan blames Tilly for Stewart’s death, and the Dungatar townspeople turn on Tilly and continue to hold this against her even when she returns as an adult. Evan also lies to Marigold about Stewart’s death. Marigold—whom Evan frequently drugs, abuses, and lies to—believes that Stewart was a good little boy who died when he fell out of a tree. As an adult, Tilly ultimately reveals the truth of Stewart’s death to Marigold, which contributes to Marigold’s decision to murder Evan.

Stewart Pettyman Quotes in The Dressmaker

The The Dressmaker quotes below are all either spoken by Stewart Pettyman or refer to Stewart Pettyman. 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:
Transformation, Illusion, and Truth  Theme Icon
).
Chapter 18 Quotes

'They've grown airs, think they're classy. You're not doing them any good.'

'They think I'm not doing you any good.' Tilly handed Teddy her smoke. 'Everyone likes to have someone to hate,' she said.

'But you want them to like you,' said Molly. 'They're all liars, sinners and hypocrites.'

Related Characters: Tilly Dunnage (speaker), Molly Dunnage (speaker), Teddy McSwiney (speaker), Stewart Pettyman
Page Number: 161-162
Explanation and Analysis:

'lt's not that—it's what I've done. Sometimes I forget about it and just when I'm…it's guilt, and the evil inside me—I carry it around with me, in me, all the time. It's like a black thing—a weight…it makes itself invisible then creeps back when I feel safest…that boy is dead. And there's more.'

Related Characters: Tilly Dunnage (speaker), Teddy McSwiney, Stewart Pettyman
Page Number: 170
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes

He wasn't able to offer any sense of anything from his own heart to them, no comfort, and he understood perfectly how Molly Dunnage and Marigold Pettyman could go mad and drown in the grief and disgust that hung like cob-webs between the streets and buildings in Dungatar when everywhere they looked they would see what they once had. See where someone they could no longer hold had walked and always be reminded that they had empty arms. And everywhere they looked, they could see that everyone saw them, knowing.

Related Characters: Tilly Dunnage, Molly Dunnage, Teddy McSwiney, Marigold Pettyman, Stewart Pettyman, Edward McSwiney
Page Number: 178
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20 Quotes

The people of Dungatar gravitated to each other. They shook their heads, held their jaws, sighed and talked in hateful tones. Sergeant Farrat moved amongst his flock, monitoring them, listening. They had salvaged nothing of his sermon, only their continuing hatred.

Related Characters: Tilly Dunnage, Teddy McSwiney, Sergeant Farrat, Stewart Pettyman
Page Number: 185
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

Tilly feared football defeat would send the people to her, that they would spill enraged and dripping from the gateway of the oval to stream up The Hill with clenched fists for revenge blood.

Related Characters: Tilly Dunnage, Molly Dunnage, Teddy McSwiney, Stewart Pettyman
Page Number: 189
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26 Quotes

'I realized I still had something here. I thought I could live back here, I thought that here I could do no more harm and so I would do good.' She looked at the flames. 'lt isn't fair.'

Related Characters: Tilly Dunnage (speaker), Molly Dunnage, Stewart Pettyman, Ormond, Pablo
Page Number: 215
Explanation and Analysis:

'Then when he couldn't have his son anymore, I couldn't have you.' Molly wiped tears from her eyes and looked directly at Tilly. 'I went mad with loneliness for you, I'd lost the only friend I had, the only thing I had, but over the years I came to hope you wouldn't come back to this awful place.' She looked at her hands in her lap. 'Sometimes things just don't seem fair.'

Related Characters: Molly Dunnage (speaker), Tilly Dunnage, Evan Pettyman, Stewart Pettyman
Page Number: 216
Explanation and Analysis:

'Pain will no longer be our curse, Molly,' she said. 'It will be our revenge and our reason. I have made it my catalyst and my propeller. It seems only fair, don't you think?'

Related Characters: Tilly Dunnage (speaker), Molly Dunnage, Teddy McSwiney, Stewart Pettyman, Pablo
Page Number: 218-219
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Dressmaker LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Dressmaker PDF

Stewart Pettyman Quotes in The Dressmaker

The The Dressmaker quotes below are all either spoken by Stewart Pettyman or refer to Stewart Pettyman. 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:
Transformation, Illusion, and Truth  Theme Icon
).
Chapter 18 Quotes

'They've grown airs, think they're classy. You're not doing them any good.'

'They think I'm not doing you any good.' Tilly handed Teddy her smoke. 'Everyone likes to have someone to hate,' she said.

'But you want them to like you,' said Molly. 'They're all liars, sinners and hypocrites.'

Related Characters: Tilly Dunnage (speaker), Molly Dunnage (speaker), Teddy McSwiney (speaker), Stewart Pettyman
Page Number: 161-162
Explanation and Analysis:

'lt's not that—it's what I've done. Sometimes I forget about it and just when I'm…it's guilt, and the evil inside me—I carry it around with me, in me, all the time. It's like a black thing—a weight…it makes itself invisible then creeps back when I feel safest…that boy is dead. And there's more.'

Related Characters: Tilly Dunnage (speaker), Teddy McSwiney, Stewart Pettyman
Page Number: 170
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes

He wasn't able to offer any sense of anything from his own heart to them, no comfort, and he understood perfectly how Molly Dunnage and Marigold Pettyman could go mad and drown in the grief and disgust that hung like cob-webs between the streets and buildings in Dungatar when everywhere they looked they would see what they once had. See where someone they could no longer hold had walked and always be reminded that they had empty arms. And everywhere they looked, they could see that everyone saw them, knowing.

Related Characters: Tilly Dunnage, Molly Dunnage, Teddy McSwiney, Marigold Pettyman, Stewart Pettyman, Edward McSwiney
Page Number: 178
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20 Quotes

The people of Dungatar gravitated to each other. They shook their heads, held their jaws, sighed and talked in hateful tones. Sergeant Farrat moved amongst his flock, monitoring them, listening. They had salvaged nothing of his sermon, only their continuing hatred.

Related Characters: Tilly Dunnage, Teddy McSwiney, Sergeant Farrat, Stewart Pettyman
Page Number: 185
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

Tilly feared football defeat would send the people to her, that they would spill enraged and dripping from the gateway of the oval to stream up The Hill with clenched fists for revenge blood.

Related Characters: Tilly Dunnage, Molly Dunnage, Teddy McSwiney, Stewart Pettyman
Page Number: 189
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26 Quotes

'I realized I still had something here. I thought I could live back here, I thought that here I could do no more harm and so I would do good.' She looked at the flames. 'lt isn't fair.'

Related Characters: Tilly Dunnage (speaker), Molly Dunnage, Stewart Pettyman, Ormond, Pablo
Page Number: 215
Explanation and Analysis:

'Then when he couldn't have his son anymore, I couldn't have you.' Molly wiped tears from her eyes and looked directly at Tilly. 'I went mad with loneliness for you, I'd lost the only friend I had, the only thing I had, but over the years I came to hope you wouldn't come back to this awful place.' She looked at her hands in her lap. 'Sometimes things just don't seem fair.'

Related Characters: Molly Dunnage (speaker), Tilly Dunnage, Evan Pettyman, Stewart Pettyman
Page Number: 216
Explanation and Analysis:

'Pain will no longer be our curse, Molly,' she said. 'It will be our revenge and our reason. I have made it my catalyst and my propeller. It seems only fair, don't you think?'

Related Characters: Tilly Dunnage (speaker), Molly Dunnage, Teddy McSwiney, Stewart Pettyman, Pablo
Page Number: 218-219
Explanation and Analysis: