Tom's much-loathed Aunt Dottie raised him in Boston after his parents’ death, though she constantly complained about it. She teased and taunted Tom cruelly, and often called him a “sissy,” comparing him to his father, whom she insisted had also been a “sissy.” She sends Tom infrequent checks and he occasionally writes letters to her.
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Aunt Dottie Character Timeline in The Talented Mr. Ripley
The timeline below shows where the character Aunt Dottie appears in The Talented Mr. Ripley. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6
...lurid observations of Marge and Dickie’s relationship. He writes and sends a letter to his Aunt Dottie , “cutting himself off from her.” He is eager for distance from her snide letters,...
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Chapter 12
...a “sharp thrust of shame,” remembering both Dickie and Marge’s questioning of his sexuality and Aunt Dottie ’s labeling of him as a “sissy.”
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