The Dressmaker

by Rosalie Ham

The Dressmaker: Flashbacks 1 key example

Chapter 13
Explanation and Analysis—Tilly's Childhood:

Early in the novel, Ham makes it clear to the reader that something dark and difficult took place in Tilly's childhood—and that this was connected to her departure from Dungatur. From time to time the narrator and characters indirectly refer to this event, and the reader thereby receives gradual drips of information about Tilly's backstory. However, it's only through Tilly's own flashbacks that Ham fills out the reader's understanding of why she left Dungatar. In these flashbacks, Ham uses a simile to capture Tilly's childhood trauma and the extent to which these memories live on in her body and mind.