The football symbolizes the close-knit community in Dungatar, which Tilly and her mother, Molly, are excluded from. The community—except for Tilly and Molly—are united by their love of football and their support for the Dungatar team. The football pitch therefore represents the town and the community, who see themselves as true insiders in Dungatar. The football pitch sits directly beneath the Hill on which Tilly and Molly live, and it looks up at them like an “eye.” In this way, the pitch symbolizes the idea that the community scrutinizes Tilly and Molly’s behavior and judges and gossips about them. By contrast, the Hill represents Tilly and Molly’s existence as outsiders, separate from this inner circle of acceptance and participation.
Get the entire The Dressmaker LitChart as a printable PDF.
Football Pitch Symbol Timeline in The Dressmaker
The timeline below shows where the symbol Football Pitch appears in The Dressmaker. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Sergeant Farrat drives Tilly through Dungatar’s town center. They pass the football pitch and the school. Tilly remembers her own childhood in Dungatar: she recalls how the school...
(full context)
...post office. At the end of the high street, the road leads to the oval football pitch , which looks up at Tilly like an eye. Tilly turns away from the town...
(full context)
Chapter 2
All the other Dungatar residents are at the football pitch cheering their team on. Fred Bundle, who runs the hotel and pub, can hear the...
(full context)
...Elsbeth Beaumont prepares a roast dinner. William Beaumont is in the changing rooms at the football pitch , laughing and joking with the other players. He drinks watermelon spirits with Scotty Pullit,...
(full context)
Chapter 21
...sits out on her porch that afternoon and listens to the cries from the Dungatar football field , where a game is being played. She is afraid that if Dungatar loses, the...
(full context)
