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Allusions
Scene 6
Explanation and Analysis—A Southern Girl:
In Scene 6, Amanda transforms into a Southern Belle, mimicking a younger version of herself. She does so because the Wingfields are accepting their first gentleman caller for Laura and, recalling the memory of when she, too, would host gentlemen callers, Amanda becomes a version of her past self. Not only does Amanda alter her appearance—and enough so for Tom to be “distinctly shocked” and for Jim to be "thrown off" by her heavy-handed "social charm"—but she also speaks in a different dialect:
we’re having a very light supper. I think light things are better fo’ this time of year. The same as light clothes are. Light clothes an’ light food are what warm weather calls fo’. You know our blood gets so thick during th’ winter — it takes a while fo’ us to adjust ou’selves! — when the season changes [...] I ran to the trunk an’ pulled out this light dress — terribly old! Historical almost! But feels so good — so good an’ co-ol, y’ know. . . .
Related Themes:
